April  15, 1995, Metro Edition

SECTION: Sports; Pg. 1C

LENGTH:  802  words
HEADLINE: Erickson looks to turn career around; New pitch could help former 20-game winner
BYLINE: Jim Souhan; Staff Writer
DATELINE: Fort Myers, Fla.
 BODY:
   The first batter Twins pitcher Scott Erickson faced this spring lifted a high fly to center field. Rookie Rich Becker circled under it, stared into the high Florida sun, and let the ball bounce out of his glove.

    The second batter hit a double-play grounder to short. All-Star Chuck Knoblauch threw the relay into the stands.

    To right his career, Erickson needs to spend this spring ridding himself of the negative attitude that has accompanied his negative statistics of the past two years.

    During the Twins' 6-1 victory over the Red Sox at City of Palms Park Stadium on Friday, his fielders gave him every reason to relive those lost years, during which he followed 30 losses by shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders when asked about his fielders, his home stadium, the state of umpiring, juiced baseballs or corked bats.

    Friday, the left side of the Twins infield made two errors in the second inning to match the two in the first.  "Some things haven't changed," Erickson said with a smile afterward.

    But maybe his fortunes will. Erickson has added a new pitch, a slow curve, to his sinking fastball and hard slider. Although he used it only a few times Friday, that pitch's presence should give him a valuable option against lefthanded hitters or when one of his hard pitches is not sharp.

    Not that he needed it Friday. New Red Sox slugger Jose Canseco came to the plate after the first two errors and reminded everyone, after eight months of no baseball and replacement baseball, what an epic battle between a hard thrower and a hard swinger looks like.

    Canseco worked the count full, then fouled off four pitches before Erickson blew him away with a hard slider. Canseco's mighty swing carried him across the plate.

    After hitting Mo Vaughn with a pitch, Erickson struck out slugger Mark Whiten with another slider.

    In the second, after errors put runners on second and third with one out, Erickson struck out the next two hitters with two more sliders. He finished his outing with a 1-2-3 third, zipping another slider past Vaughn for his fifth strikeout.

    "I had four months to get ready, and I was excited today," he said. "It's been a long time, and this is something I love to do."

    More important than his slider is his mood. The Twins spent four years trying to teach him a changeup; he resisted. "They would call it and I would throw it," Erickson said, "but I didn't really believe in it."

    This winter he fiddled with the slow curve, brought it to camp, and gave the Twins reason to believe he has a chance to return to his form of 1991, when he won 20 games.

    "He throws a good [slow curve] in the bullpen," pitching coach Dick Such said. "It's a little different in the games. He ditched the changeup we've been working with him on the last however many years. He feels more comfortable with the curve, and we'll see what happens with it. All he needs is something to keep hitters off-balance."

    That's the amazing thing about Erickson; no matter how futile his attempts were when he went 8-19 in '93 or 8-11 last year, he has not lost any fans among the scouts who sit behind home plate. They still see a young pitcher who stays in outstanding shape and can throw nasty pitches.

    Twins general manager Terry Ryan, one of Erickson's foremost proponents in the organization, was sitting behind home plate Friday and again liked what he saw.

    "We didn't do a very good job behind him, and he still pitched well," Ryan said. "He's got great stuff and he's durable, and I'll take that to the post every fifth day."

    This is Erickson's last chance with the Twins, and it is a chance he probably wishes he did not have. His agents made an oral agreement with the Colorado Rockies on a three-year, $ 6 million-plus deal during the strike, when it looked as if four-year players such as Erickson would be granted free agency.
    If the Twins struggle this season, Erickson probably will be traded to lighten the payroll. If they do not, and he pitches well, they could find a way to keep him.

    Amid the uncertainty of this winter, Erickson did what he usually does. He worked out and pitched.

    "I tried to stay sharp this winter - everybody knew the strike was going to end sometime," Erickson said.  "I went to a junior college to throw twice a week.  I pitched seven innings in a beer league game once, just to face hitters."

    The result? "I didn't want to embarrass anyone, so I let them get a few hits," he said. "There were a few guys screaming at first base - 'This is the greatest!' "

    During the last two years, a lot of American League hitters have expressed similar sentiments about facing Erickson. That may change, now that he is making changes.