07/07/2007

One Orr Another

Couple works for Bums, one in the field, one in stands

BY JEFF PEEK

jpeek@record-eagle.com

Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump
Traverse City Beach Bums third baseman Sam Orr and his wife Kristen were married in November of 2005. "Its almost like a fun new adventure every time," Kristen said about the moves that come from a baseball career. The two moved from Florida, where Sam previously played, to Traverse City this season.

TRAVERSE CITY — Kristen Orr comes from a long line of diehard baseball fans.

Her grandmother, 80-year-old Jane Clove, is the Los Angeles Angels' longest-standing season ticket holder.

And when Orr first met her husband at Biola (Calif.) University, she joked that she was secretly disappointed because he played soccer, not baseball — then she found out later that he was also a member of the baseball team.

So, even though it's frowned upon by the Traverse City Beach Bums' management, Orr can't help but sneak a peek at the diamond while she works as a server at Wuerfel Park.

She's particularly fond of the Bums' third baseman, who also happens to be her husband, Sam.

"I'm not really supposed to watch,” Kristen said. "But I always watch when Sam bats.”

There were no married players on Traverse City's inaugural team last summer, so the Orrs are a rarity. When Jason Wuerfel, the team's vice president/director of player personnel, first offered Sam Orr a spot on the team, he found out it was a package deal. Orr asked that the team give his wife a job, too.

"That was a first for me,” Wuerfel said with a laugh.

Obviously, it wasn't a deal breaker, however. While Sam performs on the field, Kristen serves fans food and beverages in the suites and at the tables around the concourse.

"It's a lot of fun,” said Kristen, 24, who — her husband is quick to point out — is two weeks older than Sam. "The people are really nice and welcoming. I get to go the ballpark every day, and most of the servers are my age, so I've made a lot of friends.

"(In years past) I used to go the park and just walk in and sit down,” she said. "It's different here.”

Having a married couple on the team also posed a housing question for Bums management. Players live with host families, so where would the Orrs stay?

As it turned out, Jack and Nina Nowland were happy to take the couple in, along with the Orrs' black lab, Macey.

"We live with a great family,” Kristen said. "We're on a lake, and we have the entire downstairs to ourselves. It's perfect.”

When the season began in May, Kristen found that she not only had a good view of the action on the field, she also heard the fans' true feelings about her husband and the rest of the Bums.

"Fans can be tough,” Kristen said. "It can get frustrating, though, so I understand.

"When they know I'm married to Sam they're nice and complimentary about him, but sometimes they blurt stuff out. They'll say, 'No offense to your husband, but...' Most people are at least nice about it.

"I just wish he'd do better at home. It seems like all of his best games are on the road.”

Sam admits he didn't make a great first impression on Traverse City's fans. An eighth-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2004, Orr played at Class A Lakewood (N.J.) in 2005. But his throwing arm began to hurt during the off-season, and he missed all of 2006 while recovering from shoulder surgery in Florida. The Phillies released him during spring training earlier this year.

The Bums' home opener on May 25 was only Orr's third game in 18 months, and he committed three errors in front of a club-record 6,532 fans. Two of those errors came on the same play, allowing the batter to circle the bases on a pop fly.

Orr's agony over that performance was tempered by the presence of his wife, he said.

"Mentally, opening night was tough,” Sam said. "I was an experienced enough player to put it behind me, but that night when I got home I was pretty bummed.

"I'm not going to lie. That was a tough night.”

Of his wife, whom he married in November of 2005 after dating for three years, Orr said: "Words can't describe how much Kristen means to me and what she's done for me through all of the ups and downs.

"She knows when to kick me in the butt when I'm too low and when to knock me down when I get too high.

"Having your partner with you — somebody who loves you and wants to be by your side every day — that's pretty amazing.”

Sam joked that Macey fills Kristen's role on occasion.

"Sometimes I get so mad that I don't want to talk,” Sam said. "And the dog comes in and just sits next to me.”

Those dog days are becoming fewer and far between, however.

Orr's defensive problems — some of which have been caused by a wrist injury that forces him to wear a brace whenever he is on base — seem to be fading. In fact, he made three spectacular plays at Kalamazoo last weekend that left manager Jon Cahill shaking his head.

"Sam played unbelievable defense,” Cahill said. "He did it both ways — one to his left, one to his right — and he also made a great bare-handed play.

"When we first looked at Sammy, he definitely stood out, even though we knew he'd had arm problems. We felt he could help us, and being defensive-minded myself, I felt I could work with him and help him get better.

"He's worked really hard and he's done a great job of making the right adjustments.”

Cahill said the Bums always knew Orr could hit, and the 6-foot-2, 200-pound left-handed swinger has proved them right. Through Thursday's game he is batting .275 with three home runs, 28 runs and 25 RBIs.

He is also fifth in the Frontier League in on-base percentage (.431), reaching safely in 17 consecutive games from May 24-June 11.

"His contributions have been outstanding,” Cahill said. "We obviously don't have many guys with power — we're a gap-to-gap team — and Sam does a good job of putting the ball in play. He also runs well for a big guy.

"I think it's (been) a confidence issue,” Cahill added. "With all the transactions we've been making lately, I can only imagine what (the players) are thinking.

"But Sam's one of our core guys, and he's playing with more confidence now than he was earlier in the season.”

Orr said he hopes to catch the eye of another Major League Baseball organization, but his only focus right now is winning games for the Beach Bums.

"When you're with the team you have to make sure your focus is on the team,” he said. "My agent can worry about that other stuff.”

Kristen said she was more than willing to put her own goals aside to join her husband on a baseball odyssey that has taken the couple all over the country.

Kristen already owns a journalism degree and is taking more courses online. She does most of her studying while the Bums are on the road, and she's also spent time exploring the area.

"I love it here,” she said. "It's beautiful here, and people have been so nice. They want us to feel like we're part of the community.”

"This is definitely the nicest and easiest place we've lived,” Sam added.

The Orrs know that they won't be part of the baseball community forever, but neither of them wants to think about that just yet.

"I can't imagine our life without baseball,” Kristen said. "We're having fun. This is like an extended vacation.”

Or an extended honeymoon.