Peralta has solid season in sights

The 25-year-old has become one of the Indians’ leaders.

gatehouse news service

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Jhonny Peralta sees things much more clearly these days.

It wasn’t just from the laser eye surgery that, he maintains, significantly improved his vision. His view of life and baseball is much more clear now than as a younger man.

“[Manager] Eric Wedge said to me, ‘Now you’re one of the veterans on this team, and you need to talk to the younger players,’ ” Peralta said. “I had to think about that. I wondered if anybody would listen to me.”

Peralta will turn 26 in May. He’s married. He’s beginning his fourth season as Cleveland’s starting shortstop. He was the Indians’ best player during the 2007 playoffs.

In other words, he’s no longer the overwhelmed 21-year-old who wondered if he could ever fill the shoes of Omar Vizquel, both on the field and in the hearts of Indians fans.

“I remember going out there and hearing people boo when they would [announce] my name,” Peralta said. “I said, ‘Wow.’ A lot of people would feel pressure in that situation.”

Wedge said he has learned to appreciate Peralta’s maturing process.

“He has a real understanding in regards to what he needs to do to be the best player he can be,” Wedge said. “He has a much better feel for what he needs to do. He’s stronger, he’s mentally tougher. He has better instincts and a better feel for the game. Those are things you want to see from a young player.”

There are some things Peralta wanted to see as well.

He elected to have laser eye surgery after batting .257 with 13 home runs and 68 RBIs in 2006. His numbers in 2007 rose to .270, 21 homers and 72 RBIs.

“I never paid any attention to my eyes before,” Peralta said. “After the surgery, I could really see a difference. It helped a lot.”

Peralta will never be mistaken for Vizquel defensively, but seemed to progress in that area last summer as well. Because he is relatively large for a shortstop (6-foot-1, 210 pounds), there has always been talk of Peralta eventually being moved to third base.

“The scout who signed me told me that I was going to be a big guy, so I might not always be a shortstop,” Peralta said. “I don’t know if I can say I’d never want to move. I’ve only played third base one time in [Triple-A] Buffalo, and it was really different. Shortstop is the only position I’ve ever played — and I’ve worked hard to become a better shortstop.”

That hard work helped Peralta enjoy an excellent postseason. He batted a combined .333 against New York and Boston and led the team in doubles (five), home runs (two) and RBIs (10). He was not charged with an error in 11 playoff games.

“I wasn’t nervous at all,” Peralta said. “If anything, the playoffs just made me feel like I should play harder. I wanted to be aggressive.”

Peralta has matured, both as a player and a person. It required some prodding along the way, but his bosses have noticed the progression.

“It’s no secret I was pretty hard on him a couple years ago,” Wedge said. “He never wavered. He always looked you in the eye. He wants to get better for the right reasons.”