BACK TO BASEBALL FORMER BIG-LEAGUER GLAD TO COACH VASQUEZ.Byline: Gerry Gittelson Staff Writer ACTON - The fun thing for Bob James Bob James can refer to different people:
For him, baseball remains baseball. It doesn't matter whether's he's saving 32 games (second in the American League American League (AL) One of the two associations of professional baseball teams in the U.S. and Canada designated as major leagues; the other is the National League (NL). in 1985) for the Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are a professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The White Sox are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the White Sox have played in U.S. in front of crowds of 50,000 at Comiskey Park , or whether he's coaching a group of young hopefuls at a remote desert high school. ``Three years after getting those 32 saves, I had blown out my arm and was out of baseball,'' said James, 44, who played at Verdugo Hills High in Tujunga and now lives in Canyon Country. ``I kind of went into a self-imposed exile for a few years. Then I finally decided I missed baseball more than baseball missed me, and I guess I had kind of an epiphany Epiphany (ĭpĭf`ənē) [Gr.,=showing], a prime Christian feast, celebrated Jan. 6, called also Twelfth Day or Little Christmas. Its eve is Twelfth Night. . I wanted to give something back.'' James' impact has been remarkable. Vasquez didn't allow a hit during its first three games, outscoring opponents 58-1 before improving to 4-0 with a 5-3 victory over rival Desert Christian of Lancaster on Tuesday. ``This has been really great. Bob's a great coach and he really knows his baseball,'' said senior right-hander Eddie Cook, who is 3-0 with a 0.54 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 13 innings. ``The practices are a lot tougher, but I've learned a lot of new pitches.'' Sophomore teammate Ryan McCarney is 1-0 with two saves and he's yet to allow a hit in eight innings, striking out 12. ``Bob has really helped. For me, baseball is very serious. It's my life,'' he said. Vasquez went through eight baseball coaches in eight years before James took over. Principal Steve Pinkston is merely hoping for stability - so much so that he even chipped in as an assistant coach last year. The fact a former major-league pitcher knocked on the door and happened to offer his services is a huge bonus. ``Coach James has a great demeanor, and that makes him really great with the kids,'' Pinkston said. ``He definitely knows how to get them motivated.'' Perhaps not surprisingly, Pinkston has decided to stick around as James' assistant. ``I'm having a blast,'' Pinkston said. What makes the situation special for James, who is married but has no children, is a chance to be an educator and to help groom young boys into men. ``My own life was like a whirlwind,'' he said. ``I was drafted in the first round as the ninth pick by the Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (French: Les Expos de Montréal) were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1969 until 2004. After the 2004 season, the franchise relocated to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Nationals. right out of high school - the first high school pick in the nation. And I first got to the major leagues in 1978 as a 19-year-old. I was awfully immature.'' James remembers his first major-league start as if it were yesterday. ``It was against the Mets, and my knees were shaking so bad it took everything I had to not let them knock together,'' he recalled. ``Dick Williams
Richard Hirschfeld Williams (born May 7, 1929 in St. Louis, Missouri) is a former player, manager, coach and front office consultant in Major League Baseball. happened to be my manager and he tried to calm me down. But I walked so many guys that I only lasted two innings.'' James threw hard - ``92 mph on the slow gun,'' he said - and eventually developed into one of the league's best relief pitchers relief pitcher n. Baseball A pitcher who replaces another during a game. Noun 1. relief pitcher - a pitcher who does not start the game fireman, reliever . His banner year was that season in 1985. But in his final four seasons, James appeared in at least 43 games and had 10 saves or more every year. He lasted eight seasons and earned more than $500,000 a year in his prime, but injuries forced him to retire before his 30th birthday. ``I hurt my knee in late '85 and, looking back, I think I came back too soon,'' he said. ``I was pitching with all arms and no legs, and that put such strain on my shoulder muscles by trying to overcompensate o·ver·com·pen·sate v. o·ver·com·pen·sat·ed, o·ver·com·pen·sat·ing, o·ver·com·pen·sates v.intr. To engage in overcompensation. v.tr. To pay (someone) too much; compensate excessively. that the muscle just tore.'' Had James lasted James Last (born Hans Last on April 17, 1929 in Bremen) is a German composer and big-band leader. Biography Last learned to play the piano as a child, then switching to bass guitar as a teenager. a few years longer into the 1990s, when salaries exploded, he undoubtedly would have become a multimillionaire mul·ti·mil·lion·aire n. One whose financial assets are worth several million dollars. multimillionaire Noun a person who has money or property worth several million pounds, dollars, etc. . As things are, James earns a small stipend sti·pend n. A fixed and regular payment, such as a salary for services rendered or an allowance. [Middle English stipendie, from Old French, from Latin st at Vasquez. He said he did manage to invest some money, and in a few years his major-league pension will kick in. Meanwhile, he's hoping to begin teaching a baseball class during the day at Vasquez. One thing is for sure: James is a natural coach. ``After practice the other day, a group of 10-year-olds were hanging out, so Bob worked with them for another hour or so,'' Pinkston said. Perhaps James has a lot more to offer than just baseball tips. ``I sure hope he sticks around for a while,'' Pinkston said, ``because in the classroom you learn from textbooks, but on the baseball field you learn how to deal with people and become a part of society. That's important.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour AV edition only) Vasquez baseball coach Bob James had an eight-year career in the majors as a pitcher, saving 32 games in 1985. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
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