Arvada's Bozied hungry to make major league debut

By Jack Etkin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published March 4, 2008 at 12:45 a.m.

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Photo by Rob Carr / Associated Press

Arvada High School graduate Tagg Bozied, a power hitter who plays first base and left field, is in camp with the Florida Marlins. "I really feel like I can help the team win, any team in the world," he said. "That's how I feel about myself. And I'm just waiting for the right person to agree with that."

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In retrospect, Tagg Bozied would have been better off taking a third strike or hitting a weak pop fly than launching a walk-off grand slam.

That sounds absurd, but in a wicked instant, the game-ending scenario went from dramatic and storybook to gruesome and bizarre.

Bozied suffered a torn left patellar tendon as he reached home plate and braced himself to be buried by his giddy teammates.

He was playing for San Diego's Triple-A Portland (Ore.) affiliate on July 19, 2004, when that freak knee injury derailed his career.

Padres general manager Kevin Towers said Bozied, who went to Arvada High School, "was definitely opening our eyes again until he got hurt. It was just poor timing. He may have even been a September call-up that year."

Bozied, 28, has yet to play a day in the majors. He is in camp with the Florida Marlins, his fourth organization, having signed a minor-league contract with them Nov. 19. This is Bozied's fifth major league camp and his fifth time wearing a high number, No. 73 in this instance.

He finally was healthy for a full season last year for the first time since his injury and did well. For that, and the opportunity to be doing what he loves, Bozied is grateful.

But the reality is Bozied still is chasing a dream, still trying to get to the majors, a Promised Land he believes he would have reached had his career path not been eerily altered.

"That's the chip on my shoulder," Bozied said. "I'm not afraid to admit that. I have a chip on my shoulder. That's part of what makes me work. It's not directed any one way, to any one person, to the game, even. It's just that pounding on the chest that I want to get mine. Because I believe in my talent, I believe in my ability and I don't feel I've met my calling yet for what I have."

Versatility helps

Bozied is a right-handed hitting first baseman-left fielder who possesses what St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa called "big power."

La Russa knows that firsthand because Bozied was one of the final cuts in Cardinals camp last year. He spent the 2007 season at Triple-A Memphis (Tenn.), where he hit .264 with 24 home runs and 82 RBI in 130 games.

Bozied was upset the Cardinals didn't recall him in September. That played a part in his decision to sign with the Marlins. So did the fact the Marlins said they would play him more in the outfield - Bozied played 119 games at first base for Memphis, two in left field and two in right field - and the fact Florida has a left- handed hitting first baseman subject to injuries in Mike Jacobs and not a right-handed franchise cornerstone such as the Cardinals do in Albert Pujols.

In addition to Jacobs, the Marlins are set in left field with Josh Willingham. They also signed Luis Gonzalez, a left-handed hitting left fielder, for $2 million. Barring injury, the 40-year-old veteran will be on the Opening Day roster, meaning one fewer spot that could go to Bozied.

Jim Fleming, Florida's vice president of player development and scouting, said the Marlins signed Bozied because they wanted to add power to their system, because he complements Jacobs, who missed 74 games the past two seasons, and because Bozied has some versatility.

"He was a high pick," said Fleming, referring to 2001 when the Padres took Bozied in the third round out of the University of San Francisco, "lots of potential, got hurt. Those kinds of guys, traditionally you can hit on somebody like that because they're bouncing back and as they get healthier over the long haul . . . all of a sudden you start to see some of the things you want to see."

In Bozied's case, the Marlins, at least initially, could see those things at Triple-A Albuquerque, a place Fleming said offense reigns and someone with power such as Bozied could put up good numbers.

"Worst-case scenario, he's a great fit for Albuquerque," Fleming said. "Best- case scenario, he helps our big league team and puts some pressure on the guys that are here."

No doubts

Bozied has spent all or part of the past five seasons at Triple-A. True, he was hurt in June 2004 and didn't play much in 2005 before the Padres released him in April 2006. He signed about a week later with Triple-A Norfolk (Va.), a New York Mets affiliate, played only 60 games and said it wasn't until the final month of the season that he was healthy.

Health no longer is an issue for Bozied. So he can concentrate on reaching a destination and realizing those what-might-have- been thoughts that crept into his mind during the tedious, and sometimes dark, days of his lengthy rehabilitation.

"I just have a strong feeling that if I would've stayed healthy and on the field, I would've got an opportunity to play in the big leagues every day," Bozied said. "And there's not a doubt in my mind, I have the ability to do that, to this day.

"Part of the frustration of being in Triple-A is seeing guys in different situations on the roster, off the roster called up. . . . I know I can play and I feel I have a presence about me. It doesn't matter if I'm sitting on the bench or on the field. I really feel like I can help the team win, any team in the world. That's how I feel about myself. And I'm just waiting for the right person to agree with that."

What they're saying about Tagg Bozied

* San Diego general manager Kevin Towers: "Right at the end before we released him (in April 2006), we talked about putting him behind the plate. But the bad thing about behind the plate was after the knee injury, the squatting and stuff was going to be too difficult for him. He was willing to do anything just to get to the big leagues. Super kid, great work ethic, I mean this kid really was hungry to play in the big leagues."

* St. Louis manager Tony La Russa: "I can always tell how you feel (about a player) by how you would like to see a guy do. And I would like to see him do well. I hope he does very well and makes the club. Very solid guy."

* St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak, who went to Fairview High School and signed Bozied as a free agent: "He worked really hard here last spring. I really was trying to see if we could find lightning in a bottle with that power."

* Bozied, on having his left patellar tendon torn at home plate when teammates were congratulating him after he hit a walk-off grand slam in July 2004:

"I loaded myself to get jumped (on) like you've seen (David) Ortiz do a million times. I still had power from my right leg, so I kind of got like I was leaning into the pile and I fell on home plate. I knew immediately something was wrong. I actually don't remember hitting the ground. I blacked out for a couple of seconds. But when I came to, I knew something was wrong when I looked up, I saw my kneecap here (he points to his lower quadriceps) and my bone sticking up there (in kneecap area) and I'm like, 'Man, I'm done. I'm done playing.' I'm looking at my leg going, 'How am I ever going to play again?' Some of my teammates had to leave. It just looked that bad."

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