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Torres breaks slump, record

One word can strike fear in the hearts of baseball players everywhere - slump.

Some call it a mental breakdown, others call it "slipping," but every player will find himself mired in one at one point or another in their career, and UA junior Erik Torres has been there.

Midway through the season, the starting third baseman's statistics began to drop.

"I was just struggling towards middle of the year," he said. "I was hitting the ball real well, but it became a confidence thing. Baseball's a mental game and (you have to) deal with it."

Torres officially ended his slump last Saturday, though, when he became just the third player in Arizona baseball history to hit three home runs in one game.

As his Wildcat teammates threw their caps onto the field to celebrate his "hat trick," Torres realized that he might have accomplished something special.

"I really wasn't thinking about it until I saw Ben Diggins throw his hat," he said. "I didn't know (about the record) at all."

His three homers, each solo shots, put Torres among elite company; former major leaguer Ron Hassey, father of sophomore second baseman Brad Hassey, was the last to reach such a plateau, hitting three shots against Weber State in 1974.

"Brad's like, 'way to break my dad's record,'" Torres said. "I had no clue."

According to UA pitching coach Bill Kinneberg, the three homers have been a giant boost to a Wildcats, who have been devoid of power at the plate since the departure of sophomore right fielder Shelley Duncan against Stanford in late March.

"It's great for him," Kinneberg said. "We need him to be good for the team to succeed. He solidifies the offense."

Torres, whose family hails from Sonora, Mexico, but was raised in Tucson, is a Los Angeles Dodger fan.

He now claims to be a fan of the Boston Red Sox, due mostly in part to his favorite player, shortstop Nomar Garciaparra.

"Nomar goes out there and plays the game right," he said. "He's not very tall, and he's Hispanic. I'm Hispanic as well."

Torres came to Arizona after an outstanding career at Sunnyside High School in Tucson. He quickly earned a reputation as a spark plug coming off the bench, batting .382 with a .727 slugging percentage as a freshman.

It soon appeared that the Wildcats had found their third baseman of the future.

"My freshman year, I got some playing time," he said. "It's always good to have a great season, especially your freshman year."

Unfortunately, Torres' sophomore year would not be as memorable. His batting average dropped to .295 and his slugging percentage dropped to .432, almost half of his previous year's total.

For the third baseman, the 1999 season was a learning experience.

"Last year, I got the feeling of what it's like to play every day," he said. "It was a maturing stage for me as a player."

This season, Torres has found himself focusing on "playing the game right" - trying to assume his role on the field with a quiet dignity.

"Playing the game right means playing one game at a time," he said. "You can't have your head in the third inning if you're in the first. The best team doesn't always win, the best players don't always win. Individual players who put on a blue-collar attitude (play the game right)."

In a perfect world, Torres would regain his role as the team's regular third baseman and be drafted into the pros.

But the family studies major, unlike many athletes, knows that things don't always work out.

"If things don't work out," he said, "I'd like to coach or work in the department of corrections, either way."

The position would fit Torres perfectly: the department of corrections, like third base, is a blue-collar job.