NewsGload makes first start for Marlins
First baseman moved to right field for Wednesday's finaleBy Joe Frisaro / MLB.com
04/08/09 11:41 AM ET
MIAMI -- The transition for Ross Gload is now complete.The feeling of belonging came in part when he received his first pair of Marlins batting gloves. Acquired from the Royals on April 1, the 33-year-old played some Spring Training games with Florida wearing his Kansas City gloves.
"I was with blue batting gloves the first couple of games, but that's been taken care of," Gload said.
On Wednesday afternoon, Gload experienced another first -- being in the starting lineup for Florida for the first time. It came a week after the Marlins obtained him for a player to be named.
His Marlins debut came on Tuesday in an 8-3 win over Washington, but that was as a pinch-hitter.
Gload started in right field on Wednesday, a position he appeared in three times last year in Kansas City. Primarily a first baseman, the left-handed-hitting and throwing Gload also has experience as a corner outfielder. In his career, he's appeared in right field 42 times.
With a day game after a night game, Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez switched up his outfield. Cameron Maybin was given the day off, and Cody Ross moved from right field to center.
Gonzalez said that Maybin is healthy, and that he wanted Gload to get some at-bats.
Coming off the bench as a pinch-hitter, spot starter and situational player is Gload's role.
It comes at a time when he is adjusting to being a Marlin.
"You come in late [in Spring Training], and you're kind of the 25th man," Gload said. "You try to meet guys. You try to get comfortable, learn signs, learn the new area, learn the uniform. That's tough. But it's starting slow down a little bit. I've been here [seven] days or whatever."
He's been moving at a hectic pace since the trade.
"I've been to Jupiter, I've been to Miami, and we're starting to slow down a little bit," he said. "Once you're with the team, it's 25 guys and you're out there playing. Baseball is baseball at the end.
"This will be my fifth different team playing the outfield. That's not my primary position, but I can do it. I've done it. I'm not going to win a Gold Glove out there or anything."
Basically a left-handed version of Wes Helms, Gload, who turned 33 last Sunday, is the second-oldest player on the Marlins. Reliever Kiko Calero is 34, and Helms turns 33 on May 12.
The Marlins went after Gload because they felt he would fit the role of lefty bat off the bench.
"It's definitely a tough role: You sit on the bench," he said. "You get those ABs when you're up by 10 or they take guys out in the sixth or seventh, or you get days like [Wednesday]. You get the get-away game, the 12 o'clock game, the Sunday game, which is fine. These guys are out there playing hard every day. That's the role. You try to go out there and play hard, and try not to miss a beat."
Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
