Tuesday, June 17, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
SUN WIRE REPORTS
After tumbling from NL Rookie of the Year to the minor leagues in less than one year, Todd Hollandsworth says he can't do anything more than try harder.
On his first day back at Triple-A Albuquerque, Hollandsworth was asked the same question again and again. Isn't it hard to return to the minors after last year's accolades with the Los Angeles Dodgers?
"I've gone through difficult things before. I know all things work out good in the end," he said Monday as he prepared to play center field against the Tucson Toros.
"I know it's for my best -- that I can find my stroke down here, get back to playing Todd Hollandsworth baseball and hopefully take it back up to L.A. real soon."
Monday night against the Toros, Hollandsworth went 2-for-4, stole two bases and made a diving catch in the eighth inning on a sinking liner. Albuquerque won 9-6.
In reassigning the 24-year-old Hollandsworth, the Dodgers hope he can regain the stroke that helped him become the team's fifth straight rookie of the year.
Last season, he hit .291 with 12 homers, 59 RBIs and 21 stolen bases to join teammates Eric Karros, Mike Piazza, Raul Mondesi and Hideo Nomo as consecutive winners of the NL's rookie award.
This season, Hollandsworth was hitting just .232 with two homers, 18 RBIs and four stolen bases. Last Thursday night in Oakland, he went hitless in four at-bats before he was told to catch a plane to Albuquerque.
Dodgers general manager Fred Claire said last week that Hollandsworth is a championship-level performer, but the demotion was needed because he was struggling too much.
Hollandsworth agreed. He said his goals at Albuquerque involve relaxing and finding his hitting stroke.
"Trying not so hard at the plate, trying not to think so much and using the whole field, which has always been my game. I've kind of gotten one-dimensional at the plate and I've got to get back to driving the ball to the outfield," he said.
"I can't continually worry from at-bat to at-bat or pitch to pitch. I've just got to take it one day at time and get back to having fun out there," Hollandsworth said.
Albuquerque manager Glenn Hoffman said the Dodgers placed no timetable on Hollandsworth's stay.
"Todd's just coming down to work on his hitting, get him on track and get him back to the big leagues as soon as possible," he said.
Coming through the Dodgers' farm system, Hollandsworth helped Albuquerque win the 1994 Pacific Coast League title, then spent part of the 1995 season with the Dukes.
Sent back again, he has accepted the challenge.
"I'm not going to lose my confidence. I'm not going to lose faith in what I can do out there on the field," he said.
* MO HAS SURGERY: With Mo Vaughn, the Boston Red Sox were in last place in the AL East. They don't even want to think about what might happen without him. "It's going to kill us," outfielder Troy O'Leary said after learning Vaughn will miss up to six weeks due to knee surgery. "It hurts to see that happen. We know Stan-o (Mike Stanley) and Reggie Jefferson are quality hitters, but he's going to be missed." Vaughn was scheduled to have knee surgery today to remove torn cartilage from the outside of his left knee, which locked up when he slid into home plate Sunday night, team physician Dr. Arthur Pappas said. Pappas said the 1995 AL MVP will miss between 2-6 weeks. But he predicted it would be closer to six weeks because Vaughn's left knee is critical to his powerful swing. "We will have a better feeling once we have a chance to look inside," Pappas said.
* TWO ROYALS ON DL: The Kansas City Royals said they would place outfielders Joe Vitiello and Bip Roberts on the 15-day disabled list today and recall outfielder Jermaine Dye and activate pitcher Chris Haney. Vitiello will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee to remove torn cartilage. Roberts has a strained muscle in his side. Haney, who has been sidelined with a fractured left ankle, is scheduled to start Tuesday night against Houston. Dye, hitting .315 with seven home runs and 16 RBIs for the Triple-A Omaha Royals, was obtained in the spring training trade with Atlanta for Michael Tucker. He was sent down in May.
* BEESTON LEAVES JAYS: Paul Beeston has made it official: his 21-year tenure with the Toronto Blue Jays is over. Beeston, the team's president and chief executive officer, announced to a meeting of front-office personnel Monday that his time with the organization would be coming to an end. Speculation is that baseball owners have offered Beeston the job of major league baseball's chief executive officer.
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