Nats keeping faith in Cristian

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By Mark Zuckerman

During those dark days in the summer of 2005, when Cristian Guzman's batting average was hovering around .190 and the boos at RFK Stadium were becoming more forceful, it was easy to believe the Washington Nationals had made a colossal blunder.

Four years and $16.8 million for this?

Those numbers - the batting average and the contract value - forever will be attached to Guzman's name. They are the first two things most fans associate with the Nationals shortstop, and they presented him with the biggest challenge of his professional life.

But those who know him best believe Guzman is better for it. If not for his struggles then, he might not find himself Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, representing Washington in the All-Star Game.

"I think he matured because he went through the booing and we gave him all this money and he didn't perform and he was always hurt," general manager Jim Bowden said. "Overcoming all of that, two surgeries, going from [artificial] turf to grass and overcoming the slow start here to being an All-Star? It's a great story."

Indeed, there will be few players introduced before Tuesday's game who can outdo Guzman's story of perseverance and redemption. Three years ago, the debate was whether he was one of the worst offensive players in baseball history. At the break he leads the National League in hits.

"I feel happy," he said last week upon learning he had been named an All-Star. "What can I say? I feel great. I'm going to New York."

That's about as deep and philosophical at the soft-spoken Guzman is going to get. Never one to seek the limelight, the native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, has been playing baseball in the United States for a dozen years now yet still isn't comfortable conducting large interviews in English.

He has been Washington's starting shortstop for 3 1/2 years, but even the club's most ardent fans probably feel like they don't really know the 30-year-old.

Guzman's teammates and coaches know that beneath the quiet exterior lies a determined competitor and influential clubhouse presence.