Chris Singleton remembers the good ol’ days.
“I used to come and sit at my locker,” he said, “and I could just chill out and relax.”
Those days weren’t so long ago. They came in the spring and early summer, when Singleton was a wide-eyed rookie hoping for a spot of playing time.
But as the season progressed, Singleton emerged as not only the White Sox’s starting center-fielder but as a legitimate candidate for Rookie of the Year. Singleton is proud of his accomplishments, but he has come to learn that success comes with a small price.
“Now it’s, `Do this interview’ or `Sign this picture,’ ” he said. “I don’t want to be rude, and I try to accommodate everyone as much as I can, but it can get tough. I’m learning along the way that you don’t have to say yes to everything.”
Singleton’s play has suffered as a result of the attention. He has just eight hits in his last 48 at-bats, a slump that has lowered his average from .329 to .308 since Aug. 3.
“We’ve had some young guys who have hit the wall,” Sox manager Jerry Manuel said. “Part of that is experience, knowing how to handle the full year.”
Manuel said Singleton is particularly susceptible to getting worn down because of his nature.
“He’s the kind of guy who can’t say no in terms of making appearances or giving his time,” Manuel said. “He’s a new dad as well. So given all that, and the fact that he’s a major-league rookie with all the intensity of the season, it’s going to be tough for him.
“He probably hasn’t even recuperated from Oakland yet.”
When the Sox were in Oakland two weekends ago, Singleton said he felt like silly putty, being pulled in every direction. Singleton grew up in the Northern California community of Martinez, near Oakland, so he spent much of the weekend entertaining friends and family, not to mention the local media.
“I didn’t even feel like a baseball player that weekend,” he said. “I felt like a talking head.”
Before the game on Friday, Singleton did four TV interviews and three radio one-on-ones and spoke to a half-dozen newspaper reporters.
“I understand people have a job to do,” Singleton said, “and I want to do my part to help them succeed. But I have to get better at managing my time. I guess that’s another thing you learn along the way.”
Manuel has tried to rejuvenate Singleton by resting him. The 27-year-old rookie didn’t start Monday or Thursday.
“If guys are fatigued, you want to do that so they stay away from injuries,” Manuel said. “The other thing to keep in mind is that every player is going to hit a slide. You try to help them by giving them a day off, so instead of going 1 for 15, they’re 1 for 11.”
Another young Sox outfielder, Magglio Ordonez, has been in a similar slump. Ordonez is hitting just .170 over his last 11 games.
“When young guys like Magglio get tired, they sometimes try to break out of a slump by hitting home runs, and then they get further and further into trouble,” Manuel said. “The young guys are not necessarily tired, but they’re tired of getting beat, and that can be draining. They have to learn to live with that. Now a guy like Ray (Durham), he knows how to make the day-to-day adjustments.”
Durham’s batting average has not fallen below .295 or risen above .299 since Aug. 5. That’s consistency.
