A GOOD STUDENT OF THE GAME LANCASTER CATCHER HITS FOR AVERAGE.

Byline: Arash Markazi Special to the Daily News

Jason Anderson doesn't just watch ESPN's ``Baseball Tonight,'' he studies it.

The Lancaster High catcher sits in front of his television set as if he's in a classroom - dissecting every at-bat, analyzing every strategy and soaking in every moment.

``I like to watch what the players are doing at the plate and hear what they're thinking about afterward,'' said Anderson, who played in the Daily News Bernie Milligan All-Star Game on June 8. ``I usually will go out and try to practice what I learn. Sometimes I like it and sometimes I don't, but either way I'm learning from the pros.''

Learning from professionals is nothing new for Anderson; his father Steve was a minor-league player in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system and his uncle, Jim Anderson, played six seasons in the majors with three different teams, including the Anaheim Angels.

``Baseball has always been a part of my life, its in my blood,'' Anderson said. ``I've been playing ever since I could hold a ball. Baseball is just in me and I love it.''

With a baseball pedigree and a relentless work ethic, Anderson finished his high school career as the greatest baseball player in the short seven-year history of Lancaster High. He is the first four-year varsity player in school history and holds 10 school records. None, however, fully describe what he has meant to the program.

``He is by far and away the best player we've had at our school, as far as everything, from his academics to baseball skills to his leadership on the field,'' Lancaster coach Doug Martin said. ``He is the ultimate of what you'd want from a baseball player. You can never replace a player like that.''

Almost single-handedly, Anderson, who set a school record by batting .544 with 49 hits this season, made the inconsistent Eagles respectable. Lancaster finished the year 12-12 after a 1-7 start, but its record would have been much different without Anderson behind the plate and in the ears of his teammates.

``He took the team on his back and said, 'All right, here we go, let's do it,' and he did whatever he had to do to help us win,'' Martin said. ``We kind of turned the tide at the end, but without him, we would have never done it, we might have won eight games all year.''

From the moment Anderson stepped onto the field as a freshman, Martin knew he was watching someone special. When Martin describes Anderson's freshman year, he reels off Anderson's statistics and key plays as if it had just happened.

``I knew he would be someone we would build the team around,'' Martin said. ``I remember the games he played like they were yesterday. You just knew he was different.''

While most prep catchers are given pitches by their coaches, Anderson called his own pitches throughout his career and earned the trust of his teammates and coaches in the process.

``There's no one that I would rather have behind the plate than Jason,'' said Lancaster pitcher Justin Zarley. ``If you've got a catcher back there who knows what he's doing, who knows what the batter is thinking and expecting, it makes it that much easier for me when I'm up there at the mound.''

Besides being a student of the game on the field, Anderson is an honor student in the classroom, finishing high school with a 3.85 cumulative grade-point average and scoring an 1160 on his SAT.

``That's what I'm most proud of,'' said his father, who played in the Bernie Milligan All-Star Game when he was a high school senior in 1980. ``Jay has always been an exceptional ballplayer, but where he differs from me is that he is a much better student than I was. I am so proud of the grades he has (gained) through the years.''

Despite Anderson's excellence in the classroom and on the field, he was unable to get any interest from NCAA Division I schools. Although he signed a letter of intent with Howard, a junior college in Texas, Anderson will visit Sonoma State next week and is unsure where he will end up.

``Whoever's going to get him is really going to get a steal,'' said his uncle Jim. ``I think division one schools are making a big mistake because he's going to put up big numbers at the next level. I don't say that from a biased standpoint, because I've talked with scouts and coaches alike and people are really underestimating what they have here.''

As Anderson weighs his college options, he shrugs off the lack of attention he has received from major baseball schools.

``There's really nothing I can do about that,'' Anderson said. ``As long as I'm able to play baseball and continue to improve and learn new things, I'll be happy.''

As long as his new school has ESPN, that shouldn't be a problem.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(color) Jason Anderson of Lancaster High is a solid student of baseball and carries a good grade-point average also.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer