There’s no love lost between these two Stars teammates

Steve Guiremand

Friday, April 28, 2000 | 11:17 a.m.

Greg LaRocca and Jed Hansen are teammates on the Las Vegas Stars.

Both are infielders. The two dress only a few lockers apart. But don't look for the pair to do any double-dating soon.

The two were also involved in a brawl early last season between the Stars and the Omaha Golden Spikes. And it was during that fight that LaRocca suffered a season-ending torn pectoral muscle.

LaRocca, a former high school wrestling star, had pinned down Omaha shortstop Ray Hulburt during the altercation when Hansen, then a second baseman with the Golden Spikes, attempted to pull him off, tearing LaRocca's pectoral muscle in the process.

LaRocca missed the final five months of the season and didn't play again until late fall in Mexico. When he reported to spring training in Peoria, Ariz., in February, he found out Hansen had signed a free agent contract with Las Vegas and the two would be teammates.

"He apologized," LaRocca said. "But I kind of gave him the cold shoulder until now."

LaRocca wasn't quite ready to forgive and forget so quickly over what could have been a career-ending injury.

"It's just going to be a time where I'm going to say, 'OK, I'm over it,"' LaRocca said. "But I missed a whole year (because of the injury). And I think I would have gone to the big leagues last year."

Instead, LaRocca needed a strong spring training just to make it back to Las Vegas this year.

"(The Padres) were talking about the possibility of dealing me because we had a lot of players," LaRocca said. "We had six or seven guys for three positions."

But LaRocca has started a team co-high 17 games for Las Vegas this year, mainly at third base. He hit his first home run of the season in the Stars' 8-5 victory over Calgary on Thursday night at Cashman Field and also made the defensive play of the game in the first inning, an over-the-shoulder grab of a popup while running full speed down the left-field line.

"He's played absolutely terrific, especially defensively," Las Vegas manager Duane Espy said.

LaRocca, who once hit for the cycle for the Stars back in 1998, also was off to a good start offensively, hitting .346 before a 1-for-25 slump brought him down to the mid-.200s. He went 0-for-13 during a four-game series at Fresno last weekend when he was battling a virus that cost him to lose 10 pounds.

"In that Fresno series, (LaRocca) was coming back between innings and throwing up and then going back out and trying to hit and play," Espy said. "We didn't have anybody else available, so he had to play. And it killed his batting average."

"I needed a cork and a gag to just get out on the field and play," LaRocca said. "I couldn't keep anything down. I'd drink a glass of water and go back out there and throw up again. I had no strength."

LaRocca has put about five pounds back on in the past five days and, as his home run on Thursday night showed, he is regaining his strength.

He also seems to be ready to put his injured past behind him.

"(Hansen) didn't take a swing at me, but he still had to be pulling pretty hard to tear my pec," LaRocca said. "But now I'm starting to get to the point to where I'm starting to get over it."

* GAME RECAP: Stan Spencer upped his record to 3-0 and Mike Darr went 3-for-3 and scored three runs to lead the Stars (11-7) to their fifth victory in the last six games.

Outfielder Shane Monahan drove in three runs in his Stars' debut.

* UP NEXT: Game 3 of the Stars' five-game series with Calgary is tonight at 7:05 at Cashman Field. Right-hander Brian Tollberg (1-0, 3.46) goes for Las Vegas against Cannons right-hander Jason Grilli (1-3, 6.95). The series continues Saturday night at 7:05 with right-hander Junior Herndon (2-1, 6.55) opposing Calgary right-hander Carlos Castillo (0-2, 2.37). The series concludes on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 with right-hander Rodrigo Lopez (0-0, 3.50) starting for Las Vegas against right-hander Reid Cornelius (0-1, 5.21).