Thanks to surgery, Guiel has eye on ‘bigs’

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, April 29, 1999 | 4:28 a.m.

Like many members of the Las Vegas Stars, outfielder Aaron Guiel has his eyes set on playing in the big leagues one day.

And thanks to eye surgery last season, the 5-11, 205-pound former hockey star from Vancouver, B.C., may finally have a legitimate shot at achieving that vision.

Guiel missed 60 games last year because of vision problems caused by double astigmatisms. The rough surface on his eyes caused his contact lens to sit unevenly and blur his vision.

"I couldn't pick up the spin on the ball," Guiel recalled. "The contacts were never smooth and would also mess up my depth perception. It was getting to the point where playing baseball wasn't very fun."

Remarkably, Guiel still hit .260 with two triples and eight RBIs the first two months of the 1998 season. He also drew a pinch-hit walk in a game even though he and then-Stars manager Jerry Royster knew his chances of getting a hit where very slim because of his blurry vision.

Finally, as the condition continued to deteriorate, Guiel decided to undergo laser surgery to correct the flaw.

It meant missing almost two months of the '98 season, but turned out to be a career-saving move for Guiel.

After undergoing the eye surgery, Guiel came back to hit .374 with 11 doubles, two triples, five homers, 23 RBIs and 17 runs scored the final six weeks of the '98 season. He followed that up by playing a key role on Mexican Winter League champion Mexicali, hitting .277 with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs in just 53 games.

Guiel went into Wednesday night's 4-1 victory over Calgary batting .279 and tied for the team lead in home runs with three. He added his team-high sixth double.

With young outfield prospects like Gary Matthews Jr. and Mike Darr banging on the door to the big leagues, where does Guiel fit in the future of the Padres?

"That's difficult to say," Ramsey said. "He's in the mix. He's got a chance. But he needs to put up some numbers here this year, stay healthy and put himself in position to be wanted (by the Padres) and other big league teams."

* ROSSY ARRIVES: Ramsey didn't plan on playing 35-year-old infielder Rico Rossy, signed to a minor-league free-agent contract by the Padres on Monday, in Wednesday night's win.

"I want to give him a day or two to get ready," Ramsey said. "He hasn't had much work the last two or three weeks (since being released by the Kansas City Royals)."

But Rossy pinch-hit in the seventh inning, sacrificing Ed Giovanola, who had singled to open the frame, to second. Rossy then stayed in the game defensively and played two innings at shortstop.

* UP NEXT: The Stars continue their series with Calgary tonight at Cashman Field at 7:05 p.m. Right-hander Buddy Carlyle (2-1, 3.06 ERA) will start for Las Vegas against left-hander Brent Billingsley (0-1, 6.92). The series and homestand concludes on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. with former major leaguer Erik Hansen (0-1, 9.53) opposing Stars' right-hander Brian Tollberg (1-2, 5.84).