Kouzmanoff's glove goes to Hall of Fame

Friar John got a glimpse of Kevin Kouzmanoff's glove Tuesday. It's leather.

Funny, could have sworn it would be Gold.

Anyway, the Padres and the National Baseball Hall of Fame gave us good reason to talk a little ball Tuesday. Coming off his record-setting defensive season at third base, Kouzmanoff donated his game-used glove to the Hall of Fame. Jeff Idelson, the Hall's president, visited the Padres clubhouse on Tuesday to pick up the glove.

"He had a phenomenal season," Idelson said. "The fact that he was able to do it day in and day out, maintain a focus, for a team that wasn't winning consistently makes it even more impressive."

Kouzmanoff made only three errors in 311 chances in 2009 for a .990 fielding percentage. He broke the record for fielding percentage set by Vinny Castilla in 2004, who posted a .987 mark for Colorado.

Kouzmanoff's glove will be displayed in a Padres locker that is part of the Today's Game exhibit. That section of the museum shows artifacts from the past 10 years.

"I hope you take good care of it," Kouzmanoff said upon handing over the glove.

Kouzmanoff is honored by taking his place in baseball history, but he knows he has to take care of the future, too. So the glove he donated is one he used during most of April. The glove that he used in games for the bulk of the season stayed right here in San Diego.

Both are Rawlings models.

"You go through slumps in defense, just like you do in hitting," Kouzmanoff said. "It's kind of weird. I felt pretty good the whole season defensively, except for those three plays. Usually, you go through a period where you just don't feel right or your timing is off.

"I'm fortunate enough to have had that good feeling all year. I hope I can build on that.

"I came into this being seen as a poor-fielding third baseman. I saw that and said, 'OK, there's another aspect where I can work on my game.' And I've been working hard on it all these years, and now it's paying off."

Some scouts have said that persistent back problems appeared to affect Kouzmanoff in the field when he got the bad-field tag. Kouz, however, said he never thought his back limited him in games.

"I just didn't get enough reps to get better," he said of his minor league days.

Practice, it seems, truly does make perfect. Or 99 percent perfect, in this case.

Kouzmanoff was in a generous mood Tuesday. He also offered up the bat he used in 2006 with the Indians to hit a grand slam on the first Major League pitch he saw -- becoming the first player to accomplish the feat on his first pitch.

"It's just sitting in my house," Kouzmanoff told Idelson. "You can have it."

Said Idelson: "We'll talk."

FJ

(Photos by Padres team photographer Chris Hardy. In the inset photo, Kevin Kouzmanoff presents National Baseball Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson, left, with a game-used glove for display in the museum.)