`I PLAY BASEBALL' EX-CANYON PITCHER MAKES MOST OF PRO DEBUT.

CANYON COUNTRY - Chris Seddon is waiting for someone to pop the question.

``I'm just waiting for someone to ask me what I do,'' he said, ``so I can say `I play baseball. I'm a professional baseball player. I pitch.' No one's asked yet.''

The former Canyon High ace who was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' fifth-round draft pick this year, is back home, with people who have seen the hard-throwing left-hander devote his life to baseball since he was a child.

Like those people he grew up around, new friends of Seddon's in the West Virginia city of Princeton didn't have to ask, either.

Not everything went smoothly, but Seddon's first experience as a professional player was enough to intensify his dream of reaching the majors.

``I love it,'' he said of the career he began after giving up a scholarship to Loyola Marymount University and signing July 31. ``I can't get enough of it.''

Seddon will get a chance to play more baseball when he leaves next week for a six-week instructional league in Florida.

He concluded his season with the Rookie Princeton Devil Rays by earning his first win. During his month with the team, Seddon appeared in four games, making two starts and going 1-2 with a 5.11 ERA. He struck out 18 and walked six in 12 1/3 innings while quickly learning that professional batters can hit pitches he was used to having high school batters swing at and miss.

Like he's done for years, Seddon took the experience as a learning opportunity.

``He's always been very devoted to learning and doing what it takes to get better,'' said his father, Jon Seddon, who recalls Chris bringing a ball and glove to family gatherings so he wouldn't miss a day of pursuing his dream.

Having to watch so many games from the sidelines was a new experience for Chris, but made his playing time that much more special.

``I was excited,'' Seddon said of his debut. ``I was so happy to play. I'd been sitting on the bench for two weeks and they play every day and had been having a lot of doubleheaders. That was the most games I'd been to and not gotten to play. I was so excited when the coach told me to go warm up, that I was going in.

``My nerves didn't even catch up to me until later. I was like, `Oh wow, I'm actually playing in a professional baseball game.' I was jumping up and down in the bullpen. I couldn't wait to get in there.''

He also couldn't wait for life off the field to run smoothly after being presented with a series of obstacles upon his arrival in Princeton. First, his luggage was lost and not retrieved for a few days. Then, he went to get his physical and the 17-year-old's age became a factor as the doctors had to track down Seddon's parents for authorization. He learned to appreciate the value of money while living from paycheck to paycheck - he doesn't expect to receive the first installment of his nearly $500,000 signing package until next month - and living out of a hotel room with a teammate. Seddon wasn't informed of team rules, but learned them when he was fined $100 for violating curfew.

``There's a lot to learn,'' Seddon said. ``But I like it. It's a lot different than high school. ...

``Now that I'm back here, my friends tell me, `You're on your way, you're doing it.' It's weird. This is what I've wanted to do ever since I was little. Just playing baseball and now to get paid for it. I'm actually a professional baseball player.''