Nationals prospect still working back up the courage to stare down blazing line drives hit at baseball's hot corner.

By JIM McCONNELL

Date published: 4/7/2005

WOODBRIDGE--It took Kory Casto all of three games to find out why third base is known as the "hot corner."

A converted outfielder, the then-23-year-old Oregon native was still in the early stages of his transition to third base at Class-A Savannah when a hard ground ball took a bad hop and hit him in the face during a game against Asheville.

Casto's eye socket was fractured in two places--an injury that threatened to end the career of one of the Montreal Expos' most promising prospects almost as soon as it had begun.

Casto missed only two weeks. The skin around his eye was still black and blue when he returned to the field, earning kudos within the Expos' organization for his courage.

The psychological scars ran deeper.

"It definitely spooked me," said Casto, who will start at third base for the Potomac Nationals when they open the 2005 season Friday at Salem.

The injury didn't affect Casto at the plate, where he hit .286 with 35 doubles, 16 home runs and 88 RBIs.

Casto struggled mightily on defense, though. He committed 35 errors, then chalked up a significant portion of that figure to his lingering uncertainty about continuing to place his body in the path of a speeding baseball.

"When bullets are getting hit at you, it's not all about talent," Potomac infielder Greg Thissen said. "It takes some real guts to stay down on a ball in the infield. You never know what could happen; the ball can always jump up and hit you right in the teeth."

First-year Potomac manager Bob Henley, who was Casto's skipper in Savannah last season, put more credence in Casto's expedited return than his high error total.

"A guy who had played 10 years would've had a hard time coming back from an injury like that, much less a guy in his first year at third base," Henley said. "That tells you a lot about his makeup, his toughness and his work ethic.

"Any time you make a position change, it's going to be difficult. But if anybody is going to make it smoothly, I think Kory can."

Date published: 4/7/2005