‘Stuck’ man of letters

Steve Guiremand

Monday, July 27, 1998 | 10:41 a.m.

Albuquerque outfielder Eric Stuckenschneider finds himself in baseball's record books, but not for anything he has done on the field ... yet.

The 26-year-old owns the longest surname of any player in professional baseball ... 16 letters.

"And it's by three letters, so I don't think anybody will catch me," Stuckenschneider said before the Dukes lost to the Las Vegas Stars, 7-0, Sunday afternoon at Cashman Field.

Stuckenschneider, who goes by the nickname, "Stuck", seems comfortable with all the attention his German surname brings.

"A lot of people ask me about it," he said. "And people like to see it on the back of my uniform. It kind of goes all the way around to under my armpits."

Stars fans weren't lucky enough to see that sight Sunday. Albuquerque's red road uniforms didn't have players' names on their backs.

The soft-spoken Stuckenschneider, who attended Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, Mo., says he used to dread the first day of school when his name would draw more than its share of attention during roll call.

"You'd know when the teachers got to my name," he said with a smile. "They'd just kind of roll up their eyes."

Stuckenschneider's goal is now is a simple one: to make a name for himself on the baseball field.

"That's the plan," he said. "I want to become known for what I do on the field and not just for the length of my last name."

To that extent, Stuckenschneider has made some big strides in the last couple of seasons.

Last year at Vero Beach, he led the single-A Florida State League in runs (100), walks (101) and on-base percentage, and finished tied for fifth in stolen bases with 40. He also became the first Dodger minor league player to record 100 or more walks and runs in consecutive seasons.

This year, after a quick stop at double-A San Antonio, he was promoted to triple-A Albuquerque where he has settled in as the team's leadoff hitter and center fielder. He's hitting .286 with four homers and 14 RBIs in 31 games.

"If you had asked my back in '94 (when he signed with the Dodgers) where I'd be today, I probably wouldn't have said triple-A," Stuckenschneider said. "But there were a couple of injuries and Eric Anthony went to Japan and they brought me up.

"I had planned to spend the year in San Antonio, so this is kind of a surprise. Now it's up to me to make the most of it."