Crosby candidate for rookie of year as A's shortstop

He had big shoes to fill replacing Miguel Tejada.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Bobby Crosby began this season as a question mark.
Was he ready to take over for Miguel Tejada?
Could he handle the pressure of a big league season?
How would he hold up and work through a slump?
With his consistent play at shortstop and improving offense, Crosby has made himself into a legitimate candidate for AL Rookie of the Year honors in a matter of months -- despite his recent struggles at the plate.
And, as the Oakland Athletics prepare for Tejada's first trip back to the Bay Area since signing a $72 million, six-year contract with Baltimore last off-season, many have finally been able to let go of the former MVP and embrace his replacement.
Exceeded expectations
"He's good," general manager Billy Beane said of the 24-year-old Crosby. "He's probably exceeded expectations. He's played great defense, and he's on pace for 20-plus home runs. I don't think we could ask for much more."
Crosby didn't come into this season trying to be Tejada. It still stings that one fan held a sign for a nationally televised game last year reading "Keep Tejada, Sell Crosby."
The A's have told Crosby to just be himself, and he has focused on not trying to do too much.
"I think I'll always remember that sign. I had never proven myself. Any fan who's a true fan of the A's, they don't want to lose him," Crosby said of Tejada, the 2002 AL MVP. "It's good when I come up to the plate and I hear people clapping and applaud when I come up. It's definitely a confidence builder that they accept me."
Crosby is currently trying to get his stroke back. Manager Ken Macha gave him the night off Wednesday as a mental and physical break, which also included Thursday's off day. The shortstop headed into a weekend series at Tampa Bay in a 1-for-23 slump, batting .253 with 15 homers and 46 RBIs.
Had ups and downs
Just as Beane predicted, Crosby's season has been defined by ups and downs.
On May 8, he dropped a soft fly to shallow left field in the 10th inning against Minnesota, costing the A's the game. He also grounded into a double play and finished the day batting .183.
Then on May 22, Crosby hit a game-winning infield single in the 11th inning of a win over the Royals.
Earlier this month, Crosby made three sensational plays in a win at Yankee Stadium. His performance prompted New York third baseman Alex Rodriguez -- the reigning AL Gold Glove shortstop -- to say about the rookie: "The shortstop made about four or five great plays, and it was a real momentum stopper for us on several of them."
"I didn't know what to expect," Crosby said. "Billy told me coming in, 'There's going to be times when you think you're great and everything's going awesome, and then there will be other times when you think this is horrible.' It was dead on."
Changed batting stance
Crosby, the son of former major leaguer Ed Crosby, changed his stance at the plate after struggling for the first month. After getting a go-ahead two-run single in the seventh inning of a June 29 win over Anaheim, he acknowledged he wouldn't have hit the same pitch from Francisco Rodriguez early in the year.
"Every day he gets better," infield coach Ron Washington said. "I think out of spring training he began to get comfortable and carried it through to the season. Sometimes kids try to do things they can't do. When he makes a play, he keeps his fundamentals intact, and that's what allows him to make those plays."
A first-round draft pick in 2001 after three years at Long Beach State, Crosby hit .395 in 11 games at Class A Modesto that year. In 2002, he split time in his first full pro season between Modesto and Double-A Midland, batting a combined .295 in 132 games -- the seventh-best average in the A's farm system.
Crosby spent most of last year at Triple-A Sacramento, hitting .308 with 22 home runs, six triples, 32 doubles and 90 RBIs. In 125 games at shortstop, he committed 15 errors for a .973 fielding percentage.
The A's told Tejada last spring training they couldn't afford to re-sign him to the longterm deal he wanted, so everyone knew Crosby's chance was coming.
"No one expected Crosby to do what he did," pitcher Barry Zito said. "We knew he was a great player, but we didn't want to put pressure on him to fill Miggy's shoes. He's taken it and run with it. He's done some magical things at shortstop, and his bat has been electric. It's not easy to say, 'Kid, go out there and do it."'
Even when Tejada left for the off-season following the A's fourth straight first-round playoff loss last fall, he gave Crosby a sincere endorsement.
Crosby admits he was in awe at first after working all his life to make the majors. It didn't last long.
"When you haven't played there and it's something you've aspired to your whole life, and you grew up watching these guys play, I think you look more into it than what's really there," Crosby said.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.