"We never really had a problem, but maybe there were some things he expected me to know," Edmonds said. "I'm still pretty young, in baseball terms [27], and trying to figure out from the older guys how things are done. Hopefully, in a few years I'll become the player everyone wants me to be."
There's another little burden that has dogged Edmonds: expectations. People look at his statistics and conclude that if he could only remain injury-free, would put up most-valuable-player numbers.
But the combination of Edmonds' fearless play in center field and the natural wear and tear of a long season has led to injuries, and Edmonds simply isn't as effective when he's hurt.
"I felt I did what I was supposed to do last year--if I was able to play, then I played," Edmonds said. "I always wanted to be out there. It's just frustrating when I was really sore and hurting."
Edmonds' pain never seems to show on defense, though. In fact, his knee was killing him when he made baseball's most spectacular catch of 1997, racing back to the warning track in Kansas City to make a full-extension, over-the- shoulder diving grab of David Howard's drive.
That, along with several other superb defensive plays, earned Edmonds a Gold Glove, which he said is the one award he has always wanted.
Said Collins, "He takes such pride in his defense. . . . He doesn't have great speed but is blessed with such great instincts he gets great jumps."
Edmonds' outfield play seems almost reckless, but he's not about to change, even if it might keep him off the disabled list.
He knows only one way to play defense, a style that resulted in a diving catch of Colorado third baseman Vinny Castilla's sinking line drive earlier this spring . . . in an exhibition game.
"I have no idea why I did that," Edmonds said, laughing at himself. "Not a clue. There's not a thought process there. It's just instincts. I'm trying to win a game and make an out. I'm not trying to dive, but it's something I learned when I was young, that I've been doing since Little League."
So is having fun. Edmonds is a showman who has been known to take obvious pleasure in some of his home runs, who will flash a wide grin after making a great catch, and who is not reluctant to laugh during a game. He's just being Jimmy, and that won't change, either.
"I get paid a lot of money to play a game with the greatest players in the world--what could be better than that?" Edmonds said. "I like having fun. That's the way it goes. If it doesn't seem like I'm working hard sometimes, that's someone else's problem."
