It's all Greek to Stavros.

Byline: Rob Moseley The Register-Guard

Three generations of Stavros men have been born and raised in the United States since Peter Stavros emigrated from Athens, Greece. This summer, Peter's great-grandson Tony is hoping to complete the circle, returning to the Mediterranean in August as a member of the Greek Olympic baseball team.

Tony Stavros, who attended Willamette High School and Lane Community College, is among 30 players from which the final roster of 24 will be picked later this summer for the host country's baseball team.

Though Stavros never has been to Greece, his great-grandfather's bloodline makes him eligible for the Olympic team, which is being cobbled together with non-native Greeks because of the country's lack of tradition in the sport.

Greece qualified for the Olympic baseball tournament only because it is the host country and is thus able to participate in every sport. The team is made up mostly of American minor-leaguers hoping to take advantage of this loophole in order to fulfill their Olympic dreams, and Stavros jumped at the opportunity.

"How many people have a chance to go play in the Olympics?" said Stavros, 23.

Until recently, Stavros was a member of the Milwaukee Brewers organization after being signed as a free agent in 2001.

He spent parts of three seasons in the minor leagues, but this spring he has suffered from elbow inflammation, and the right-handed pitcher is in Eugene, helping coach baseball at Willamette and hoping his arm heals in time for him to get into shape for the Olympic team.

"As long as I can throw," Stavros said, "I still plan on going."

The Greek team is managed by Rob Derksen, who is an international scout for the Baltimore Orioles, the team owned by Greek-American Peter Angelos. Derksen began scouring the minor leagues in 2001 looking for players with Greek names, and during spring training the following year he expanded the search by meeting with players from each major-league organization.

Stavros said he was the only member of the Brewers who was eligible for the Greek team, and last fall he attended a tryout along with about 40 other interested applicants from the initial pool of more than 200. Derksen said the tryout was heavy on position players and short on pitchers, but regardless, Stavros made the cut.

"Right now I see him as a middle reliever," Derksen said recently, although, he added, "I think Tony's got the stuff to be more of a starter."

Stavros has worked mostly out of the bullpen as a professional. He appeared in five games during his first pro campaign in 2001, and the next year he worked as the closer for the Class-A Beloit Snappers of the Midwest League. Stavros went 5-2 that season with 17 saves and a 1.68 ERA, and he struck out 72 hitters in 69 2/3 innings.

Last season, pitching for the Class-A High Desert Mavericks of the California League, Stavros went 2-3 with three saves and a 4.46 ERA, working 84 2/3 innings in 46 appearances.

This fall, the natural progression would have put Stavros in Double-A, but he felt discomfort in his elbow at spring training in Phoenix and never threw a pitch. Doctors found no structural damage, but Stavros returned home, saying he is "technically retired" from pro baseball.

Stavros spent part of the offseason working out with the LCC baseball team, and he'll try to work himself back into shape with the teams at both Lane and Willamette once his elbow is ready.

"The only thing that's going to help it is time," Stavros.

Despite the impending final cut from 30 to 24 players after the Greek team's training camp at Baltimore's Camden Yards in early August, Stavros says he has an excellent chance to play with the Olympic team. He has spoken with Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Ben Sheets, a U.S. Olympic hero in 2000, about the prospect of playing in the Games. That only stoked Stavros' interest.

"He says it's going to be one of the best things you've done," Stavros said.

Stavros, who stands 6-feet-2 and weighs just more than 200 pounds, won't exactly look the part once he reaches the host country. With a pale complexion and red hair, he won't look much like the locals he hopes to represent.

"Obviously with the red hair, you look at me and say, `There's no way he's Greek,' ' Stavros said.

"Tony's a very unique Greek," Derksen admitted with a chuckle.

But for the purposes of this summer's tournament, the bottom line is that Stavros is Greek.

And with the collection of U.S. talent taking the field for the host country - not to mention the absence of the United States' team, which failed to qualify - the Greeks may even be in contention for a medal.

"We didn't know what we were going to find," Derksen said. "We were hoping to find a team that would just be competitive. We've gone from being competitive to being a medal contender."

If the Greek team does medal, very few - if any - of those medals would remain in the host country for very long. Most all of them would return to America.

And if his elbow recovers, Stavros may bring one of those medals all the way back to Eugene.

CAPTION(S):

Tony Stavros is working out with his former teams at Lane Community College and Willamette High School in preparation for a summer tryout for the Greek Olympic team.