Author:
Associated Press
[Edit]
|
Date Posted: 02/17/04 12:14pm
SAN DIEGO -- Ray Flores could hardly believe it: There he was at Chula Vista High, slipping into Padre pinstripes Tuesday.
The Sunday 18A Padres introduced their newest and lowest paying Cy Young Award winner a day after commissioner Terry Stephenson approved the trade moving Flores from the Marlins to the Padres.
"Wow! What a reception. I feel overwhelmed and very, very happy to be here," Flores said at a packed news conference.
"I still feel like someone's going to pinch me and wake me up."
The first reigning Cy Young Award winner to be traded, Flores will now play at Chula Vista High, perhaps three miles from the neighborhood where he was born.
"I feel very special and honored. I hope that translates into being a good team player," said Flores, who will shift to a #2 Starting Pitcher from an Ace Starting Pitcher.
"I'm pretty excited. This is a big, big one," Padres owner John Doe said Monday.
Flores is moving onto the biggest stage in town and will be expected to help the Padres win the Sunday 18A Championship for the first time in franchise history.
The sign board outside Chula Vista High proclaimed: "Ray-Ray, Welcome to CVHS."
"I've come to a point in my career when winning is the most important thing," said Flores, who played for three straight playoff teams including the Fall 2003 18A Championship with the S.D. Marlins. "And being a Padre -- it provides the opportunity, when you drive to the school, every Sunday you have a chance to win."
[ Post a Reply to This Message ]
|