The image is etched in the minds of Washington Nationals fans everywhere, and not in a good way: The ball leaving closer Drew Storen’s hand and meeting Pete Kozma’s bat, sailing to right field and dipping in front of a helpless Jayson Werth. It’s the memory of a playoff series slipping away.
For Kozma, the recollection of Game 5 of the 2012 National League Division Series is a bit different. He still remembers the pitch he hit and the beer-drenched clubhouse celebration that follows, but he has never gone back and re-watched the game. It was one of the highlights of his young career. It also made him Public Enemy No. 1 in Washington.
“Yeah,” the St. Louis Cardinals infielder said Tuesday. “It’s a little different [playing here].”
Kozma returned to Nationals Park this week for just the second time since October 12, 2012, when his go-ahead two-run single propelled the Cardinals to a 9-7 victory. When Kozma entered Tuesday’s game at shortstop in the ninth inning, he was booed. When he stepped to the plate in the 10th, the boos grew louder.
He wasn’t sure whether the fans would remember, or care. But they did. And they do.
“I got a pretty good booing the one [other] time I came back,” Kozma said before Tuesday’s series opener. “It kind of makes me feel like I did something. It wasn’t like I hurt anybody. I just hurt their feelings. That was about it.”
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Kozma singled in the 10th inning on Tuesday but was stranded on the bases. It was his first hit of the season. Naturally, it came against the Nationals. He is 13-for-31 (.419) against Washington in his career, albeit in limited plate appearances.
The 27-year-old infielder only had 89 major league at-bats entering the 2012 NLDS but went on to start at shortstop for most of the 2013 season. Last year, the addition of shortstop Jhonny Peralta bumped Kozma off the Cardinals’ radar and down to Triple-A Memphis. He only had 23 big league at-bats, most of them in September after rosters had expanded.
Kozma bounced back with a strong spring, however, hitting .408 and showing his versatility by playing a number of new positions. A middle infielder by trade, he appeared both at third base and in the outfield for the Cardinals during spring training. Even then, when St. Louis played in Viera, Florida, he was booed by Nationals fans.
Kozma said he didn’t notice those boos. But he still respects how the two teams went back and forth in Game 5, and he respects the Nationals as a team this season.
“Yeah, they’re a little different with their pitching staff, obviously,” Kozma said. “If they stay healthy, they’re going to be a pretty solid team. We’re probably going to see them later on.”
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
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