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http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/baseball/mlb/wires/03/10/2010.ap.bba.indians.peralta.0335/
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (AP) - Jhonny Peralta, who hit 24 homers last season and helped the Cleveland Indians contend in the AL, signed a contract extension that could keep the shortstop with the team through the 2011 season.
The Indians said Friday the 23-year-old player signed a five-year contract through the 2010 season with a club option for the 2011 season.
"Adding Jhonny Peralta to the current group of players already under contract solidifies a strong core of position players that will help to ensure a championship future,'' general manager Mark Shapiro said.
Peralta's agent, Bill Rego, said last week he did not want to carry negotiations into the season.
Peralta emerged as one of the top offensive shortstops a year ago in his first full season in the majors. He batted .292 with 78 RBIs in 141 games. His 24 homers were a club record for a shortstop - one more than Woodie Held hit in 1961.
"I think I can do even better this season,'' Peralta said. "I feel much more comfortable.''
Peralta was put in the unenviable position of replacing fan favorite Omar Vizquel, who left as a free agent after the 2004 season. Peralta got off to a slow start, hitting .222 last April and making nine errors in his first 46 games, before blossoming last summer.
"I knew some fans were going crazy because of those errors and comparing me to Omar,'' Peralta said. "I was feeling it a little.''
From May 6 until the end of the season, however, he hit .302 with 23 homers and 74 RBIs in 121 games to help propel the Indians into contention in the AL Central.
He spent much of the first half of 2005 batting ninth. When designated hitter Travis Hafner was injured, manager Eric Wedge moved Peralta into the No. 3 spot with dramatic results. Peralta went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs on July 23, his first game hitting third, and stayed there the rest of the season.
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (AP) - Jhonny Peralta, who hit 24 homers last season and helped the Cleveland Indians contend in the AL, signed a contract extension that could keep the shortstop with the team through the 2011 season.
The Indians said Friday the 23-year-old player signed a five-year contract through the 2010 season with a club option for the 2011 season.
"Adding Jhonny Peralta to the current group of players already under contract solidifies a strong core of position players that will help to ensure a championship future,'' general manager Mark Shapiro said.
Peralta's agent, Bill Rego, said last week he did not want to carry negotiations into the season.
Peralta emerged as one of the top offensive shortstops a year ago in his first full season in the majors. He batted .292 with 78 RBIs in 141 games. His 24 homers were a club record for a shortstop - one more than Woodie Held hit in 1961.
"I think I can do even better this season,'' Peralta said. "I feel much more comfortable.''
Peralta was put in the unenviable position of replacing fan favorite Omar Vizquel, who left as a free agent after the 2004 season. Peralta got off to a slow start, hitting .222 last April and making nine errors in his first 46 games, before blossoming last summer.
"I knew some fans were going crazy because of those errors and comparing me to Omar,'' Peralta said. "I was feeling it a little.''
From May 6 until the end of the season, however, he hit .302 with 23 homers and 74 RBIs in 121 games to help propel the Indians into contention in the AL Central.
He spent much of the first half of 2005 batting ninth. When designated hitter Travis Hafner was injured, manager Eric Wedge moved Peralta into the No. 3 spot with dramatic results. Peralta went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs on July 23, his first game hitting third, and stayed there the rest of the season.
