Joe Crede’s off-season rewards included a hometown parade, the key to his city, the retiring of his high school jersey and an acrimony-free contract negotiation.
Those perks came after his sensational finish to the White Sox’s World Series championship season that overshadowed lower back problems and hitting slumps in May and August.
Crede continued his tradition of arriving early to the Sox’s spring-training complex, and the Sox hope their homegrown third baseman can pick up where he left off.
“I’ll take the way I finished last year and bring it into this year,” said Crede, sporting long hair past his collar and on his chin. “I want to keep things simple and not too complicated. It seems everything clicked at the right time for me and hopefully I can keep it going this spring and take it into the [regular] season.”
Crede normally spends the entire spring working on his batting stance until he gets comfortable. But he might want to look at tape of the final two months.
Despite two herniated discs in his lower back, Crede batted .371 in the final month of the regular season, then hit four home runs and drove in 11 during the postseason.
Crede drove in the winning runs in Games 2 and 5 of the American League Championship Series.
He took his performance to a higher level by hitting a game-winning home run in Game 1 of the World Series, and then ignited a five-run rally in Game 3 with a homer off Houston’s formidable Roy Oswalt.
“It was definitely a confidence-builder,” Crede said.
With a healthy back and postseason success, the future could be even brighter for Crede.
Third baseman Josh Fields, the Sox’s first-round pick in the 2004 draft, is targeted for Triple-A Charlotte.
But Crede, 27, could strengthen his case by extending the improvement he made under tremendous scrutiny.
Crede said his back no longer is a problem, thanks to a strength program he wasn’t able to start until the end of the 2005 season.
Hitting coach Greg Walker expressed cautious optimism when assessing the progress of Crede, one of his closest pupils.
“He performed on the biggest stage a baseball player can perform at,” Walker said. “When you get to the World Series, that’s the most pressure, with the best pitching and all that. And he was one of the stars. He handled it great.
“Consistency, we’ve got to get it over a six-month period. That’s his battle this year, to take that swing over the long haul. There’s no magic answer, but I think he took a step forward at the end of the year. He’s just got to pick up where he left off.”
The expectations will be greater for Crede, who will enter his fifth season with the Sox. He developed into one of the top fielding third basemen in the AL with a .971 percentage and a 49-game errorless streak.
His defense was too good for the Sox to push for a midseason trade, and they were rewarded with his late-season heroics.
But the Sox want Crede to avoid the offensive ruts that tested their patience, especially when they scratched for production at the bottom of the order.
Crede batted only .155 in May and had only five home runs and 18 RBIs through the first two months.
But he re-energized the Sox’s offense with a .371 batting average, six home runs and 14 RBIs in September, including a 10th-inning home run to cap a two-homer game and beat Cleveland on Sept. 20 to extend the Sox’s lead in the AL Central to 3 1/2 games.
“Joe had a breakthrough year, but he’s got to come back and do it again,” Walker said. “He’s been working on some things the last couple years. I think he feels good about it.”
Crede also treasures the recognition he received in his hometown of less than 400.
“There was a lot of good stuff and honors that I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” he said.
That feeling can be duplicated with a consistent and productive season.
“Confidence is huge,” Walker said. “If anyone ought to have confidence, it’s him. He ended as good as anyone in baseball at the end of the year.”
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mgonzales@tribune.com
