The dream of a .400 season is dead for slumping slugger Darrell Ceciliani.
In his last 10 games, through Monday night’s action, when he had the night off, the slugger who once seemed poised to follow in the footsteps of New York–Penn League legend Jack Maloof, has not only been human, but decidedly sub-human, as he’s hit .244 in 45 at-bats.
The fortnight of failure has left Ceciliani batting just .351 — still good enough for the best in the league, but not good enough to get him into the history books.
By our calculations, Ceciliani would have to go 35 for 56 — or an astounding .625 — in the Cyclones’ last 14 games in order to hit .400.
It’s sad. Earlier in Ceciliani’s quest for greatness, he even attracted the attention of former mayor Rudy Giuliani, who praised the then-.369 hitter in an interview with our Cyclones columnist Stephen Brown.
Still, teammates aren’t worried that the late-season slump will ruin the Oregon native’s chance to catch the eye of big-league scouts.
“He’ll be all right,” said Cory Vaughn, the team’s slugging right fielder. “You’re focused on .400, but he’s going to end the season batting .350 or .360, so I’m not worried about Darrell. Man, I would love to hit .350!”
