It’s March 20, 1996, and the Orioles eked out a spring training win, 6-5, over the Florida Marlins. The highlight was a rare triple-play, which the O’s turned in the second inning. Starting in center field, and hitting his second homer of the spring, was Jeffrey Hammonds, a one-time phenom and top prospect who has been slowed by injuries and inconsistency. There’s opportunity in the outfield, though, and he has the tools to break out, but will this finally be the year he does?

Jeffrey Hammonds was born in March of 1971 in Plainfield, N.J. A two-sport star for Scotch Plains Fanwood High School, Hammonds focused primarily on baseball after tearing a knee ligament playing football in his junior year. The Blue Jays drafted him in the 9th round out of high school, but he opted to go to Stanford instead. It was the right choice.

He was a star at Stanford, becoming one of college baseball’s best players and leading Team USA to bronze at the 1991 Pan Am Games. He had a combination of speed, power, defense, and hitting ability that made him the complete package. Leading up to the 1992 baseball draft in June, he was a consensus top pick. He let teams know he wouldn’t come cheap, and expected a signing bonus similar to the previous year’s top pick, the Yankees’ Brien Taylor, which was $1.55 million.

On draft day, Hammonds hung out with his dad and two brothers — his mom had gone to work. Early in the afternoon, the Orioles selected him with the 4th overall pick. (Two picks later, the Yankees would select a skinny high school shortstop from Michigan named Derek Jeter.) Everyone was excited that Hammonds fell to the Orioles’ pick.

“The Orioles are my favorite team,” Hammonds told O’s GM Roland Hemmond when he called with the news. “I’m ready to do backflips up here.” (The Courier-News [N.J.], p. D1, June 2, 1992)

“We see Jeffrey Hammonds the same way everybody else sees him, as a can’t-miss prospect,” O’s scouting director Gary Nickels said. “Nobody’s talking about him as a run-of-the-mill player. We think he’s going to be an outstanding player at the major league level.” (The Courier-News [N.J.], p. D1, June 2, 1992)

That summer, Hammonds played on the U.S. national team in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, but he struggled and the team failed to make the medal stand. “Right now, I’m questioning why we went through all this and didn’t come away with a medal,” he said. “I don’t feel we’re a fourth place team. We’re much better than we showed.” (AP Story appearing in Morning Sentinel [Me.], p. 23, August 6, 1992)

The disappointment was short-lived as Hammonds joined the O’s organization with a $975,000 bonus, the highest of any player in the draft, and the highest ever at the time for a college player. He immediately became a top prospect, and the hype was through the roof.

The only thing, it seemed, that could slow Hammonds down was his own body. And it did. Repeatedly. Remember when he got injured in high school? Well, he also had injuries to his knee and wrist in college. And in the pros they have continued to pile up.

He debuted in the majors 1993 and impressed, hitting .305 across 33 games. But a herniated disk in his neck ended that season. He was sixth in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 1994, hitting .296, 8 homers, and 18 doubles in the strike-shortened season. He also had this fun moment — hitting a walk-off home run against the A’s in July.

But he also suffered a concussion in a home-plate collision that year and had to have reconstructive knee surgery following the season.

In July 1995, he hit the disabled list for the fourth time in his career, this time with a strained shoulder. In all, he played just 57 games in 1995 and was ineffective. His averaged dropped to .242 and his power was sapped as he hit just 4 homers.

And so now here we are leading into 1996 and the clock is ticking on the former phenom. He isn’t even guaranteed at bats, as the O’s brought back Mike Devereaux and recently traded for Tony Tarasco to rotate with Hammonds in left field. There have even been rumors that the O’s are looking to trade their former prized prospect.

“I’m not questioning my effort or my talent,” Hammonds told The Baltimore Sun’s Ken Rosenthal this spring. “I know I can play this game.”

The job still seems to be his to lose at this point, and if he is fully healthy, he could be a difference maker. But that’s a big if. As they say, the best ability is availability, and Hammonds has missed significant time in each of his pro seasons so far.

Welcome to a recurring segment where I find fun things in today’s (in 1996) Baltimore Sun!

On the front page of today’s sports section was this little blurb about the Orlando Magic’s Dennis Scott breaking the NBA record for 3-pointers in a season, with his 219th of the year. (If you are curious, the current record is 402, set by the Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry 20 years after Scott. Different era.)