Astros: Take a quiz

Story by Gene Duffey | Pictures By Erik Williams

Quickie quiz.

Which Astros’ veteran began the season only two points behind Lance Berkman’s career .300 batting average?

a) Carlos Lee

b) Miguel Tejada

c) Mark Loretta

While many may guess the better known Lee or Tejeda, it is Mark Loretta who started the year with a .298 average for his 12-year career in the majors.

“It would be nice to reach (.300),” said Loretta, “It’s kind of a magic number.”

Loretta may be the most under appreciated Astro.

“He’s not a guy who’s going to grab headlines or toot his own horn,” said Geoff Blum, another veteran infielder. “I’m sure most fans don’t know (his career average). The players know. They have an understanding of what Mark’s done.”

The versatile Loretta has started games at second base, shortstop and third this season. He has delivered as a pinch-hitter. He has shared his experience with younger players.

“He’s very professional with the way he approaches the game, the way he goes about his defense, his preparation,” said Houston manager Cecil Cooper. “You can see that in the way he takes his at-bats, he takes pitches, he works counts, he looks for certain pitches. He just a professional player.”

Loretta hit .335 with 47 doubles for San Diego in 2004, playing in a 154 games. He hit .287 with 23 doubles last year for the Astros playing part time.

His consistency makes him one name that is often mentioned when people talk about trading veterans and building for the future, because Loretta has trade value. The Astros first acquired him from Milwaukee for the stretch run in 2002. Houston fell short of the playoffs, but it wasn’t Loretta’s fault. He hit .424 in 21 games, then signed with San Diego after the season.

Would he be surprised to be traded to contender?

“You can’t take too much stock in the rumors, because it’s out of your control,” he said. “I’ve dealt with it many times. I’m not going to say I’m immune to it. 

It doesn’t seem like this organization is going to have a wholesale firesale.”

The Astros’ trend has been to attempt to improve the team in the second half of the season, not start building for next year. 

Loretta enjoyed that September run with the Astros in ‘02, part of the reason he returned as a free agent in January 2007. He wanted to be in the National League, where those who don’t start get more chances to pinch-hit and get in games on double switches than in the American League.

Despite more downs than ups through the first four months for the Astros, Loretta still believes in the team. 

“I haven’t given up on this team this year,” he said. “Everybody has professional pride here. No matter what the standings say, everybody’s going to go out and give it their all. The game is always intense, no matter what. I think we’ve got a real good run left in us.”

Loretta, Blum and outfielder Darin Erstad are in the falls of their careers, versatile veterans who contribute anyway they can, bringing a selfless attitude to the ball park every day. 

Their jobs are tougher than they appear. It is not easy to hit consistently when you don’t play consistently.

“It’s tough,” said Blum, who can play all four infield positions. “You know what your job is. You take ground balls all over the place. You try to maintain your swing, so when you do get the call you’re ready to go. Most of the guys who have been around a while have been through similar situations.”

“It’s not an easy job to do,” said Cooper, the former Boston and Milwaukee first baseman. “Early in my career I did that and didn’t like it. Over time these guys have kind of grown into that. They know what’s expected of them. One key is you know yourself. You know what you can and can’t do.”

Loretta played part time when he first broke in with the Brewers in 1995. He made the return switch from playing every day to being a role player smoothly.

“I’ve been slated to be a part-time player and gotten a lot of at-bats,” he said. “Last year when Adam (Everett) got hurt, I played a lot. I sort of enjoy moving around a little bit. I’ve kind of come full circle.”

“He’s just good people all around,” said Blum.  “Even if he wasn’t a veteran, he’d be a good guy to have around just because he’s got a great mentality for a ball club, all the information he brings.”

Loretta’s career went the opposite direction than most.  

He played baseball and basketball in high school in La Canada, Calif. He wasn’t giving up on baseball when he left the sunshine for the cold and snow of Chicago, enrolling at Northwestern. 

He viewed the Wildcats baseball program as a place he could play right away. He had talked with Stanford, but no scholarship was offered. UCLA and Loyola Marymount told him he could probably play -- by his junior year.

 “The first semester was a cultural shock,” he said of moving to the Midwest. “You don’t get used to (the weather). In January and February you don’t see the sun for 20-30 days at a time.”

His parents encouraged him to stick it out through one year, at least. When baseball season began, despite having to practice indoors, Loretta became more comfortable. He discovered Big Ten baseball was pretty good and the university gave him a good education, earning a degree in business.

It was good enough that Milwaukee drafted him in the seventh round out of Northwestern in 1992. He made it to the majors in 1995, the year after the last strike nearly destroyed the game.

Loretta has done quite a bit for the game off the field. He is an active member of the Major League Players Association.

“Baseball was in dire straights,” he said of 1995. “To be involved in 14 years of labor peace is something I take pride in. There’s a little bit better relationship between owners and players than there has been. It’s a healthy business from a revenue standpoint. The drug thing has been one of the hardest (tasks). I think we’ve done just about everything we can. You can certainly make arguments that it took too long. There isn’t a perfect solution to it. It’s a fluid situation. I think it’s better than any other sport. It’s always a work in progress, but I think we’ve come a long way.”

He will turn 37 Aug. 14 and isn’t sure how many more years he will play. He talks about “job opportunities,” sounding more like a businessman than a second baseman.

He won’t be bored in retirement. His wife, Hilary, whom he met at Northwestern, was a junior Olympic skier. Loretta said he would like to do some skiing and try snowboarding. He is already involved in everything from a horse racing syndicate to the fashion business to the technology industry.

          “I like trying to make deals and trying to understand capitalism,” he said. “I’d like to stay connected (with baseball) some way. I don’t think that necessarily means jumping right into coaching at the professional level. That’s a tough grind. Maybe some front office stuff, or coach in high school. I figure that’s my expertise.”

“Mark is a real cerebral guy,” said Cooper. “In his personal life, it seems like he’s got everything together.”

Loretta understands that being a baseball player is better than being trapped in an office 9-to-5 for 50 weeks a year.

“If it ended today, I’d be very satisfied,” he said. “I’ve had some great teammates, had some good years and bad years, had some injuries, kind of done it all. It’s the camaraderie and the competition everybody misses when they leave. This type of atmosphere is such a close knit group. You spend more time with your teammates than your family. The guys I’ve talked to who retire, really miss that. You can’t simulate going out in front of 40,000 people and trying to beat somebody. I’m sure I’ll miss that about the game. But it can’t last forever.”