IN THE NAME OF HIS FATHER CRESPI'S MATT SCIOSCIA CARVES OUT HIS OWN IDENTITY.Byline: HEATHER GRIPP Staff Writer If Angels manager Mike Scioscia ``That's where I have a lot of fun,'' said Matt Scioscia, Mike's Mike's may be:
n. 1. A noisy quarrel or fight. 2. A loud party. 3. A loud, roaring noise. intr.v. brawled, brawl·ing, brawls 1. To quarrel or fight noisily. 2. , I rag on him the whole day when he's he's 1. Contraction of he is: He's going to school today. 2. Contraction of he has: He's already been to the museum. home. I'm like, `Whoa dad, I thought you were a better fighter than that,' or something like that. Or I ask him if the umpire A person chosen to decide a question in a controversy that has been submitted to Arbitration but has not been resolved because the arbitrators cannot reach agreement, or one who has been chosen to be a permanent arbitrator for the duration of a collective bargaining agreement. was really right on a close play and it's interesting to hear what he says. There are some lines I don't want to cross, but other than that, it's fair game.'' The younger Scioscia's ability to bring humor humor, according to ancient theory, any of four bodily fluids that determined man's health and temperament. Hippocrates postulated that an imbalance among the humors (blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile) resulted in pain and disease, and that good health was to tense situations rivals his value as a hitter for Crespi High of Encino's baseball team. A sure way to get that smile to fade, though, is to mistake him as simply Mike Sciosica's son. Matt Scioscia is forging his own identity in the baseball world as a junior catcher/first baseman with the Celts The following pages provide lists of nations or people of Celtic origin, arranged by branch of Celtic ethnicity or language grouping: Goidelic Celts
``He hates it when he's introduced as Mike Scioscia's son instead of as Matt,'' teammate Jeff Warren said. ``He gets tired of it a lot. We just like to give him a hard time because we're his friends, but we know there's more to him. He fits in great and we wouldn't be where we are without him.'' Matt and his younger sister, Taylor, have been exposed to a variety of sports, music and church activities while growing up in Westlake Village. Their mother, Anne, enjoys tennis and is the one Matt says gave him his all athletic genes. Matt also played on Crespi's Southern Section champion football team this past fall. ``I'm just happy he enjoys sports,'' Mike said. ``It doesn't matter what it is. I never pushed him into baseball. I think that it's important for kids to experience and see what they like, and sports is just one avenue.'' However, the Scioscia name and baseball are linked in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , where Mike helped the Dodgers to two World Series titles as a catcher in the 1980s, and guided the Angels to their first World Series championship as a manager in 2002. ``People know the name,'' Matt said. ``So there's obviously a certain amount of expectations and stuff like that. But once you get down to it, it really just depends on who you are, and I just try to do the best I can. I certainly look to my dad and aspire to aspire to verb aim for, desire, pursue, hope for, long for, crave, seek out, wish for, dream about, yearn for, hunger for, hanker after, be eager for, set your heart on, set your sights on, be ambitious for accomplish some of the stuff that he has. I love baseball and just try the best that I can and try to put my own mark on the game.'' Matt calls his dad his favorite player, and his mother remembers Matt emulating Mike from an early age. ``Mike was able to get catching equipment in pretty much any size so he got some tiny gear for Matt,'' Anne recalled. ``When Matt was only 18months old, he would dress up in his chest protector protector /pro·tec·tor/ (-tek´ter) a substance in a catalyst that prolongs the rate of activity in the latter. and mask and watch daddy on TV. If Mike was catching, Matt would squat down and pretend to catch. And then when Mike would bat, he'd take the gear off and bat like his dad.'' Matt's earliest baseball memories are of playing in father-son games at Dodger Stadium • • [ . He appreciates perks perk 1 v. perked, perk·ing, perks v.intr. 1. To stick up or jut out: dogs' ears that perk. 2. To carry oneself in a lively and jaunty manner. such as being able to mingle with players in the dugout dugout: see canoe. and clubhouse, and being able to practice on Angel Stadium's field before games. He has gone to spring training and attends games frequently during the summer, but his own baseball schedule is cutting down on the time he spends with the Angels. ``It was a totally different aspect of baseball that I got to see at a young age,'' Matt said. ``Most kids don't get to experience a lot of the stuff I did. It obviously helped me realize how in-depth and fun baseball is. I've enjoyed it forever.'' Matt hopes to play professionally some day, but is set on playing in college first. Having been sidelined for nearly two years by a broken wrist and then a back injury, Matt is catching up defensively during his first full varsity season. He is working with a speed and agility coach in hopes of not ``running like my dad,'' but Matt's hitting is already among the area's best. Teammates tell stories of the long home runs he'd hit against them as youth league opponents. ``He's a very good hitter,'' Crespi coach Scott Muckey said. ``He has good power and loves to play. He's very enthusiastic about baseball and he doesn't expect any special treatment because of who his dad is. If you didn't know he was Mike Scioscia's son, you would never be able to tell, I'm sure he'd never tell you.'' Even if Matt isn't eager to listen to dad when it comes to things like chores, Mike is the first one Matt turns to for baseball advice. Mike often has his wife watch for specific things during Matt's games and relay the information back to him. ``It's really cool to know that, `Wow, he's my dad,' but he's also a coach, he knows what he's talking about,'' Matt said. ``So it's been really great to have his guidance and it's helped me. There have certainly been other coaches who have been influential, but my main coach has been my dad. And I do actually listen to him.'' Not everything about life as the son of a major-leaguer has been positive. Namely, there is the time apart, which was especially difficult when Matt was unable to have his father at Little League games. His mom (1) (Messaging-Oriented Middleware) See messaging middleware. (2) (Microsoft Operations Manager) Software that monitors and captures system and application events throughout the network. and grandmother were regulars at the games, but he laughs now at how little they understood the sport. ``It can be tough,'' Matt said. ``There's certainly been a lot of times you can't go see dad and go to the movies, or whatever, because it's a `No, son, I've got a road trip.' But when he comes home you get really excited. You try to treasure the time you have when he's home. '' The kids usually talk to their dad a few times a week during road trips. Time together at home is more likely to focus on school, church or other activities. During the offseason, Anne often finds Mike and Matt wrestling wrestling, sport in which two unarmed opponents grapple with one another. The object is to secure a fall, i.e., cause the opponent to lose balance and fall to the floor, and ultimately to pin the supine opponent's shoulders to the floor, through the use of body on the floor as they act out football games they are watching. ``To Matt, Mike's just his dad, and they're very close,'' Anne said. Said Mike: ``This game separates you a lot physically from your family. But the emotional part of it, there's a strong bond, and it's really strong for our family. ``It's just fun to see (Matt) grow as a person and as an athlete and to know that even though we have a lot of time away from each other, that emotional bond is very strong.'' heather.gripp@dailynews.com (818) 713-3607 CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- 2 -- color) As a child, Crespi High's Matt Scioscia, above, would emulate em·u·late tr.v. em·u·lat·ed, em·u·lat·ing, em·u·lates 1. To strive to equal or excel, especially through imitation: an older pupil whose accomplishments and style I emulated. 2. his father Mike while the elder Scioscia played for the Dodgers. (3) Crespi's Matt Scioscia is batting .324 and has 18 RBIs so far this season. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
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