RICE HAPPY WITH CHOICE ROYAL ALUM A TOP PITCHER.Byline: Nathan Brown Nathan Brown may refer to:
Some might have questioned his decision, but according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Royal High product Scott Rice, he made the right one when he opted to skip college and dive head-first into minor-league baseball. Five years later, Rice's decision seems to be paying off. Pitching for the Orioles Double-A affiliate Bowie (Md.) Baysox, Rice is an integral part of his team's push to catch first-place Akron (Ohio), a Cleveland Indians  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. affiliate, in the Double-A Eastern
League.
As a middle- to short-relief pitcher, Rice has 4-1 record with a 3.01 ERA and one save in 71 2/3 innings (sixth-most on the team), with 40 strikeouts and just 24 earned runs allowed. Rice has proved his durability by appearing in 54 games - third-most in the Eastern League. ``I'm happy about my decision; I have no regrets,'' Rice said. ``I made a decision for me ... to choose baseball as a career.'' Rice was signed as a ``raw talent'' by the Baltimore Orioles This article is about the contemporary American major league baseball team. For other uses, see Baltimore Oriole (disambiguation). The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland. in June 1999 after being scouted at the University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas strives to be known as a "nationally competitive, student-centered research university serving Arkansas and the world." The school recently completed its "Campaign for the 21st Century," in which the university raised more than $1 billion for the school, used . Before he threw his first pitch for the Razorbacks, Rice took an offer from the Baltimore Orioles and never looked back. Before signing, the 6-foot-6, 220-pound left-hander also took recruiting trips to USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. , LSU LSU Louisiana State University LSU Large Subunit LSU La Salle University (Philadelphia, PA) LSU La Sierra University LSU Link State Update (OSPF) LSU Learning Support Unit and California before deciding on Arkansas. About 30 other Division I schools were interested, but Rice chose the minors. ``I love it,'' Rice said. ``Hanging out with these guys, there's isn't an experience like it. I've seen the entire East Coast, a lot of history, a lot of towns. But I still have California in my blood.'' ``They don't shut up about California,'' fellow reliever Ryan Keefer mused of 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, transplants. ``He's a great friend, though, a real jokester.'' Keefer, a Pennsylvania native and Rice's teammate for most of their minor-league careers, knows the lefty has an advantage over most pitchers with his size and pitch movement. ``He's got a definite advantage, throwing with that kind of movement,'' Keefer said. ``It's not very often you see all that put together. His control and changeup change·up n. Baseball A pitch intended to look like a fastball, which actually approaches the plate at a slow speed, thereby causing the batter to swing prematurely. [Alteration of change-of-pace.] has improved a lot, and he's getting better in every aspect.'' Bowie pitching coach Larry McCall agrees. ``He's a hard worker and has improved the two years that I've coached him,'' McCall said. ``He's coming on, especially toward the end of the year. It's very important this time of year to finish strong.'' Rice has impressed the rest of league with his long delivery and velocity in the low 90s - not overpowering o·ver·pow·er·ing adj. So strong as to be overwhelming: an overpowering need for solitude. o , but deceptive. With that combination, Rice has been selected to the Eastern League All-Star team the past two seasons. ``His arm slot is working well right now, and his arm speed has improved,'' McCall said. ``He's got a good shot at Triple-A next year.'' Rice was a position player until his senior season at Royal. ``I always thought of myself as a hitter,'' Rice said. ``Then I pitched my senior year. The scouts started noticing and wanted to see me pitch.'' That season, the scouts did see Rice pitch, and he didn't disappoint. He was selected All-Marmonte League, All-Ventura County and was selected to pitch in the Daily News Bernie Milligan All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league. The players are often chosen by a popular vote of fans of the sport and the game often occurs at the halfway point of the regular season, although this is not the case for some all-star games . Rice hasn't ruled out further education, but he believes he made the right decision. ``In my entire life, I've never thought about playing minor-league Baseball,'' he said. ``I was planning to go to college. ... I was offered some money and got drafted. I can use some of that (money) to go back (to school), but I couldn't turn this down. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.'' Nathan Brown, (818) 713-3607 nate.brown(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Royal High product Scott Rice has twice been an Eastern League All-Star with the Bowie, Md., Baysox. Bill Vaughn/Bowie Baysox |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion