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TODAY: Monday, May 15
Calvin Murray, Terrence Long
By John Sickels
Special to ESPN.com

REPORT FILED: MARCH 28

Tools and skills aren't the same thing. Many players enter professional ball because of their athletic tools: they run fast, are strong, look great in uniform, etc. Unfortunately, being athletic doesn't mean you will be a good baseball player. Kent Hrbek and Cecil Fielder were more valuable baseball players than Jim Thorpe and Herb Washington. Ideally, of course, we want a player with both tools AND skills, but those are often hard to find.

The hope of finding a player like that means that teams often give tools players chance after chance. Occasionally, a guy does make good on that promise. It doesn't happen as often as teams wish it would, but it does occur. Today we'll look at two such "tools" guys, whose careers took different paths.

Calvin Murray
San Francisco Giants
Position: OF Height: 5-11 Weight: 185 Born: 7/30/71 Bats: Right Throws: Right

Year Team Level G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS BA OBP SLG
1998 Shreveport AA 88 337 63 104 22 5 8 39 58 45 34 15 .309 .418 .475
1998 Fresno AAA 33 90 16 21 3 1 3 5 12 18 3 1 .233 .324 .389
1999 Fresno AAA 130 548 122 183 31 7 23 73 49 88 42 14 .334 .389 .542
1999 San Fran NL 15 19 1 5 2 0 0 5 2 4 1 0 .263 .333 .368

Calvin Murray first attracted interest way back in 1989, when he was drafted by the Indians in the first round out of a Texas high school. Everyone but the Indians seemed to know that Murray was going to go to the University of Texas, and indeed that's exactly what he did, joining the Longhorn baseball program, then one of the best in the country. Some guys he was drafted ahead of that year: Mo Vaughn, Chuck Knoblauch, Ryan Klesko, Jeff Bagwell, Tim Salmon, Shane Reynolds, Denny Neagle, Scott Erickson, J.T. Snow and John Olerud.

Murray was successful in college, and was drafted again in the first round in 1992, by the Giants, ahead of such notables as Shannon Stewart, Jason Kendall, Charles Johnson, Johnny Damon, Rick Helling, and Jason Giambi. The Giants were wild about Murray's speed and defensive ability, and thought he would develop some power to go along with it. Contract negotiations became acrimonious, however, after Murray signed Scott Boras as his representative. He eventually came to terms, but not before some bad blood developed between the respective parties.

That was 1992 ... just now, eight years later, does Murray have a chance to make the club. What happened?

Perhaps it was hubris for picking Boras as his agent, but it took a long time for Murray to adjust to hitting with wood. He hit just .188 in 37 games of Double-A in 1993, then just .231 in a full-season in 1994. He showed speed on the bases and in the outfield, but a complete lack of power against high-level pitching. Normally, a guy like this struggles with the strike zone, but Murray put up decent walk numbers, didn't strike out excessively, and made contact. He just couldn't hit the ball very far. He spent 1995, 1996, and 1997 shuttling back and forth between Shreveport and Phoenix, wearing the "first-round bust" label like a birthmark.

Things turned around for Murray in 1998, a result of experience and increased strength. He hit well at Shreveport for the first time, then did well at Fresno in 1999, earning a brief look in San Francisco at the end of the year.

Murray is having a good spring, and should make the Giants as a reserve outfielder. If he can get established with the bat, he will have a long career as a backup, since he has the wheels and glove that managers love. It's been a long road for Murray, and while he is far too old to be considered a legitimate prospect, he has a chance to contribute if used properly. Considering how long he spent in exile at Shreveport, that's all he can ask.

Terrence Long
Oakland Athletics
Position: OF Height: 6-1 Weight: 190 Born: 2/29/76 Bats: Left Throws: Right

Year Team Level G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS BA OBP SLG
1998 Binghamton AA 130 455 69 135 20 10 16 58 62 105 23 11 .297 .380 .490
1999 Norfolk AAA 78 304 41 99 20 4 7 47 23 41 14 6 .326 .374 .487
1999 Vancouver AAA 40 154 16 38 6 2 2 21 10 29 7 4 .247 .297 .351

Unlike Calvin Murray, Terrence Long is still young enough to develop into something very valuable.

Drafted by the Mets in the first round in 1994, Long is an exceptional athlete, not quite as fast as Murray, but still plenty quick, and stronger. He made slow progress through the New York system, bothered mostly by bad strike zone judgment. He started to improve that in 1998, and posted a pretty nice year at Double-A Binghamton. He continued to do well at Triple-A Norfolk last year, then was traded to the Athletics as part of the Kenny Rogers deal.

Long played poorly after the trade, but I think it was the best thing that could have happened to him. Oakland concentrates heavily on the importance of strike zone judgment in their minor league instruction, something that too many teams (like the Mets) still ignore.

2000 has been a good year for Long so far: he's hitting .388 with a .673 slugging percentage this spring, and has impressed observers with a more mature approach at the plate. He still may not make the team: he has options left, while Rich Becker and Ryan Christensen, Long's competitors for the center field job, do not. Assuming he goes back to Triple-A, Long should find the hitting environment of the Pacific Coast League to his liking. The Athletics have a lot of outfielders, but if Long plays well, he'll get someone's attention since scouts still like his tools and he isn't ancient as prospects go.

A demotion will test Long's maturity, which has been questioned at times. But if he sticks with it and doesn't let disappointment get the best of him, he could be a good example of how it is possible for an athlete to learn the skills that make his tools meaningful.

John Sickels is the author of the STATS 2000 Minor League Scouting Notebook. You can email your questions to him at JASickels@AOL.com.