May 19, 2002 5 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – The fans are still filing in, nobody is even sitting in the dugout yet and the TV broadcast is barely back from commercial. Alfonso Soriano won’t wait.

One pitch, 1-0 Yankees.

“Obviously, we don’t ask him to take a pitch when he’s leading off the game,” manager Joe Torre said.

Why would they?

Soriano, New York’s smiling second baseman, likes to begin with a bang. He homered on the first pitch he saw Thursday night, his fifth leadoff homer of the year.

That puts the single-season record of 12, set by Baltimore’s Brady Anderson in 1996, well within range. Torre even admitted he missed one of Soriano’s first-pitch homers last week at Tampa Bay because he wasn’t settled in his seat yet.

Blessed with a rare blend of power, speed and unwavering confidence, the 24-year-old native of the Dominican Republic has gotten so good so fast that he’s drawing raves normally reserved for established superstars.

“He does things that make everybody on the bench just kind of look at each other,” Torre said. “You just wonder how good he’s going to be. Somebody mentioned Lou Brock the other day, and I think that’s a good comparison.”

Brock, a teammate of Torre’s with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1969-74, not only piled up 149 homers, 938 stolen bases and 3,023 hits during his 19-year Hall of Fame career, he also struck out an awful lot for a leadoff hitter.

So does Soriano – a whopping 49 times in 192 at-bats this year. But when he connects, he makes it count. Soriano leads the Yankees with 11 homers this season, including three in the last three games.

“Anything he can get a bat on now, he’s hitting,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said Saturday. “You can’t make a mistake to him right now. He’s killing the ball.”

This is the kid who had two game-winning hits in the 2001 postseason, including a home run to end Game 4 of the AL championship series against Seattle.

He’s the same kid who homered off Curt Schilling in Game 7 of the World Series to put the Yankees ahead, only to see Arizona rally to win in the ninth inning.

Not bad for a rookie.

“Those home runs, they helped me. To hit them in the playoffs and the World Series is harder than the regular season, that’s why I feel so comfortable now,” Soriano said.

In his second big league season, Soriano leads the American League in hits (61), doubles (19) and total bases (113).

He has also among the league leaders with 33 runs scored and a .589 slugging percentage.

“Not too many guys have come to the big leagues and just taken off like a rocket,” Torre said. “We certainly don’t want to put him in a test tube. He’s got too much spirit, too much ability.”

And don’t forget speed. Soriano set a Yankees rookie record with 43 stolen bases last season. He’s only swiped six so far this year, but that’s partly because so many of his hits have been for extra bases.

Long and lean, even a bit gangly, the energetic Soriano looks more like a high school basketball player than a big league second baseman.

He horses around in the clubhouse with closer Mariano Rivera, but Soriano’s boyish face and wide smile belie a burning desire to compete.

That was never more evident than last month, when he was visibly upset about being left out of the starting lineup against countryman Pedro Martinez.

“He’s got a presence and a sense,” Yankees coach Willie Randolph said. “He’s not intimidated by too much. He stands right on top of the plate. It’s like, I can play, and I’m going to show you I can play.”

Born in San Pedro de Macoris, “the birthplace of shortstops,” Soriano played two seasons in Japan – mostly in the minors – before signing with the Yankees in 1998.

He quickly became a premier prospect at Double-A Norwich the next year, hitting two homers to win MVP honors of the Futures Game at Fenway Park during All-Star week.

Soriano was called up to the majors three times in 2000 but made seven errors in just 22 games – mainly as an injury replacement for third baseman Scott Brosius and shortstop Derek Jeter.

The Yankees started listening to trade offers.

“This has been like a movie for me,” Soriano said. “I remember in 1999 and 2000 when a lot of teams talked to the Yankees about me. I didn’t want to go to another team, I wanted to stay here.”

He got his wish, and the Yankees are reaping the rewards.

“It’s one of the best things we never did,” Torre has said.

With Jeter entrenched at shortstop, Soriano has had trouble making the transition to second base. He made 19 errors last year and has eight already this season.

He lacks natural instincts and loses focus at times, forgetting to cover the bag on balls hit to the left side.

“It’s not easy moving to the other side of the field,” said Randolph, a smooth second baseman during his playing days who has worked extensively with Soriano the last two years.

For now, the Yankees are content to marvel at Soriano’s offense while he works on his fielding. Practically everybody in pinstripes has their own opinion about whom he reminds them of.

Randolph sees similarities to Alex Rodriguez, reliever Steve Karsay goes with Nomar Garciaparra and Yankees broadcaster Jim Kaat keeps talking about Hank Aaron.

But Soriano has somebody else in mind: Rickey Henderson, who holds the major league record with 80 career leadoff homers.

“I want to be like Rickey,” Soriano said. “Because he’s leading off, he can run, hit home runs, he can do everything.”

Sounds familiar.