O's Mora Barely Recognized For Torrid Second Half Pace BALTIMORE, MD (wypr) - Melvin Mora's bat, glove and arm had beaten another team into submission, this time the Chicago White Sox. On this humid August night at Camden Yards, he had a home run, two other hits and two spectacular plays at third base.

He has been playing this way since the All-Star break. In the Orioles clubhouse afterward, he said that rather than explain it, he'd prefer to just keep it up.

I'm just having fun right going out there and hitting the ball. I'm not even thinking about what numbers I have put up in the past, I'm jut taking care of business right not, I'm just worried about right now.''

Now - you'd think he would have spoken those words from inside a swarm of cameras, microphones and notepads. However, on that night, that swarm was on the other side of the clubhouse, interviewing other players, like Nick Markakis -- far from Mora's locker in the corner, near an exit door. Mora is a compelling story on many levels. But no more than three reporters were there that night to listen.

I remember the first time they moved me from shortstop to third base after Cal left. The first two weeks was tough weeks for me - I made five errors in two weeks. It was a new position for me. But the fans never booed me. They always supported me there, they knew I could handle third base, and if it wasn't for them I wouldn't have made it. I think the fans have been tremendous to me. That's why I decided not to go nowhere, and that's why I signed that contract to stay here.''

So, why is Mora not celebrated more in the press?

The answer might lie not in Mora's words, but how he speaks them - with a noticeable accent, from being born and raised in Spanish-speaking Venezuela.

Nearly a third of major league players are from Latin countries, and very little is done to showcase these players to the American public.

I think he's had the most silent great year of anyone in baseball''

ESPN's Tim Kurkjian is a former baseball writer for the Sun. Mora is hitting .390 since the All-Star break, the highest batting average in baseball.

Go look at his numbers the second half of the year; it's incredible. He just had a 12-game stretch where he drove in 25 runs in 12 games.''

Kurkjian also knows about the clubhouse language barrier. Between players who do not speak English well and a media that makes little effort to speak Spanish, great stories tend to fall through the cracks.

Someone asked me the other day, is Vladimir Guerrero a Hall of Famer? Hello, have you looked at those numbers? But the reason we don't know, people ask that, is that they don't even know who Vladimir Guerrero is because we never hear from him. So yes, I think it affects Melvin Mora that he doesn't speak the language in such a sophisticated way like some other players. I think that barrier will always be there for people who don't speak the language. Although I must tell you, I've had hundreds of pleasant conversations with him. I think he speaks well. I just don't think people know that he speaks pretty well.

Amber Theoharris reports on the Orioles daily for the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, or MASN. Five years ago, she began learning Spanish, and uncovered some truths about the coverage of Latin players.

The sad thing is, if Melvin Mora was Brian Roberts or Grady Sizemore or, I'm trying to think of your all-American boys, he'd be all over SportsCenter right now for the second half he's been having. But it's basically been an afterthought.''

Simply describing a great play, or a mistake, or one's emotions, can lead to mischaracterizations and misperceptions. Another example, Theoharris said, is Orioles pitcher Daniel Cabrera - young, developing, inconsistent, and Dominican.

You get bombarded by lights, cameras, reporters asking you questions that you have a little trouble understanding to begin with, and then you're going to turn around when you're in a pretty emotional, frustrated state and try to explain what you did wrong and how you feel?''

Mora's game has spoken for itself - but he also speaks quite well for himself.

Most of the people are talking about, Oh, the numbers you're putting up' - but if you look at my numbers, my numbers are almost the same every year. I don't know why it surprises so many people.''

Melvin Mora states his case clearly. If only enough people were listening.

I'm David Steele, reporting from Camden Yards, for 88-1, W-Y-P-R.
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