I'm a big fan of Eric Chavez. He has talent and he's produced early in his career. But to place a burden of high expectations and extra pressure on him is unfair.

I've read scouting and media reports on him that are inaccurate. I know they're inaccurate because I've seen the Oakland Athletics' 25-year-old third baseman play often.

	Chavez

One report said he has a short swing. In fact, he has a long swing. Another said he could win a batting title. Because of his longer swing, I'm not so sure. That swing enables him to hit home runs and drive in runs. As a third baseman, that's what he should do.

In the past two seasons, Chavez has hit 30-plus homers, driven in 100-plus and won two Gold Gloves. So at some point you can say a player is on track to have a great career, but that's different than placing an unrealistic expectation on him.

Two years from now, if Chavez's numbers are still 30-100 -- instead of, say, 50-140 -- does that mean he didn't reach his potential? Not at all.

Bobby Murcer was supposed to be the next Mickey Mantle for the Yankees. But that's putting too much pressure on any player. Murcer had a good career, and maybe he did live up to his potential. Murcer learned that when a player doesn't live up to others' expectations, he's torn down as quickly as he was built up.

Sometimes the media projects an inflated potential for a promising player. For a player in this category, the phrase "he hasn't reached his potential" becomes erroneous. Because maybe the expectations were inaccurate. Therefore, maybe he has reached his potential.

To reach or even exceed your full potential, you need to be both physically and mentally tough. Some players possess both, but some don't. For some, there is always the negative pulling at the positive, which keeps them from attaining their highest level of play.

Darryl Strawberry might be an example of this. Everyone said he never reached his potential, but his physical potential was tied to the negatives he wrestled with mentally and emotionally. So perhaps, considering his physical and mental makeup, he did realize his potential.

An analyst for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan won back-to-back World Series with the Reds. He contributes a weekly column to ESPN.com.