Raising the bar

Victoria Sun

Tuesday, May 9, 2000 | 9:31 a.m.

LOS ANGELES -- Another year, another injury.

Or in the case of Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Kevin Elster, another month, another injury.

Elster has been hurt numerous times in his 15-year career, the latest setback a pulled right groin muscle he incurred May 3 against the Atlanta Braves, which forced him onto the 15-day disabled list.

"What can you do?" he said nonchalantly at Dodger Stadium Sunday. "In the whole scope of things, it's not that big of a deal.

"I mean, I have friends and family members coming down with cancer, things like that. This is nothing. A little injury will cost me a couple of weeks and I'll get back to playing."

Plus, it might free some time for the Henderson resident to wrap up plans on a bar he hopes to open in Las Vegas next summer. The bar is a subject Elster loves to talk about.

So, will his bar have leopard-print couches?

"Maybe," he answers as he pictures the decor of the establishment he wants to build near Decatur Boulevard and Interstate 215.

What about other funky decorations?

"We might have some stuff like that," Elster said.

There are some things he does know. For one, it won't be a sports bar.

"I like to call it a multimedia watering hole," he explained. "Kind of a strange phrase, but there will be plenty of televisions.

"The volume will never be up on them, but the place will be rocking. Similar to the Hard Rock hotel with lots of music pumping through it. I want it to be a place where we can have impromptu jam sessions."

It will be called Hootie. And although Elster is good friends with Hootie and the Blowfish band members, he says the band is not involved with the bar and isn't sure if it will be.

He has already met with several architects to help design the bar he has dreamed of opening in Las Vegas for 10 years.

"The whole idea is the bar itself," he said. "When you walk in, you're hit with this huge 30-seat, somewhere around 90- to 100-foot bar that's against the back wall.

"Just the whole presentation of the bottles and everything is what turns me on about bars. I want it to be a place for locals. We all need a place to go and I'm kind of tired of the places we go now."

Two years ago, Elster was also tired of baseball.

He wasn't upset when he was released by the Texas Rangers in 1998 after he hit .232 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs in 84 games.

If anything, Elster felt free.

"I think it pretty much hit me right away," said Elster, a native of Huntington Beach, Calif. "I said 'Yeah, I've had enough,' so it wasn't long after that I decided to quit."

From the day the Rangers released him until spring training of this year, Elster didn't pick up a bat or a ball.

He spent all of last year hanging out by the swimming pool of his Henderson home with no desire to play baseball. One thing he was motivated to do was keep in shape by lifting weights, so he wouldn't have the mushy body of an ex-athlete.

That turned out to be a very wise move.

His brother Patrick asked if Kevin wanted to play again. Elster told him there were a few teams, including the Dodgers, that he'd be interested in playing for. Patrick called Dodgers general manager Kevin Malone, who invited Elster to spring training.

When he showed up for camp, Elster was in excellent condition, which helped him earn the starting spot at shortstop.

"When I was a kid growing up in Los Angeles, I was always a Dodger fan," Elster said. "And there maybe would have been one or two teams I would have liked to play for, and this was one of them.

"To have the chance to play here and with (Dodgers manager) Davey (Johnson) really turned me on."

Until his recent injury, Elster had been turning some heads with his reliable performance.

Known for his defense, Elster had his best offensive year in 1996 when he finished with 24 home runs and 99 RBIs. In two subsequent seasons with Pittsburgh and the Rangers, he had 15 homers and 62 RBIs before he was let go.

But even after taking more than a full year off, he was batting .250 with six home runs and 17 RBIs in 20 games with the Dodgers. On April 11, he hit three of those home runs and drove in four to help the Dodgers to a 6-5 win over the San Francisco Giants.

"I didn't know what to expect," he said of his return. "I knew I could go out and hit home runs, things like that.

"But I didn't know how my body would react. But shoot, so far, everything is going well except for the pulled groin muscle. I'm really happy with the way I'm playing.

"I feel about the same as I did before. I mean, I know how to play the game. I know how to play hitters, things like that."

When the season is over, he will evaluate how he feels about the game and whether he will return.

"I'm just going to see how it goes," he said. "I'm not making a whole lot of money this year.

"Hopefully, if you have a good year you can cash in on it and play another year. I would love to play here, I guess as long as I can. This is a great gig here in LA.

"Plus it's close to Vegas so I can go home during off days. This is my favorite city in the world."