J.D. BOO: Cincinnatians were among the first major league fans to see the hated J.D. Drew, and the reception he got last week at Cinergy Field showed why Drew's talent better be so good he can overcome the label as one of baseball's real bad guys.

Drew -- the former Florida State star that major league scouts believe has superstar talent -- is reviled for sitting out an entire year in a contract holdout after being drafted by Philadelphia in 1997. The Phillies gave up, the Cardinals drafted him this year and signed him. Wednesday, Drew got his first major-league hit, a homer to center against the Reds.

Cinergy Field, which earlier in the game had been a chorus of cheers for McGwire, turned into a house of boos when Drew stepped to the plate, and the fan who caught his homer threw it back.

This, says former Phillie Mickey Morandini, is the reception Drew should expect. When fans see his name, they see dollars signs and outrageous demands, not talent.

"Over the long haul, I think he'll be perceived as a kid who was a little bit greedy, a kid who hadn't played an inning of major league baseball and wanted to be paid like a superstar," Morandini, who's now with the Cubs, told the Philadelphia Inquirer, warning that the worst abuse is yet to come. That won't happen until next August, when Drew (if he's in the majors) will visit Philadelphia for the first time.


“I was running at three-quarter speed wondering if I was going to get a sacrifice (fly) or a hit,” Drew said. “When I saw it go through, I didn't know if it hit his glove or how far it would roll. I just started running. I didn't know what was going to happen.” ~Drew about indside the park homer, July 2,1999