TUBER'S A ROLLING STONE : WILL HE PITCH OR PLAY GUITAR?

Byline: ERIC SONDHEIMER

Since he was 5, Peter Tuber has been playing baseball. From T-ball to Little League, he did it all. He reached a high point two years ago when he was a star pitcher and hitter for the Northridge Little League team that played in the World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

A year later, Tuber quit baseball, just as he was beginning his freshman year at Granada Hills High School. He was 6-foot-1, with all kinds of promise as a pitcher. He was the grandson of Pete Reiser, National League batting champion for the Dodgers in 1941. But he gave it all up.

``I was not motivated to play,'' he said. ``I didn't look forward to it. There was a lot of pressure. Everybody wants you to play and you get sick of that.''

Tuber chose to devote his new free time to playing his electric guitar. Instead of following the baseball exploits of Frank Thomas, Mike Piazza and Ken Griffey Jr., he'd tune in to The Butt Hole Surfers, Slayer, White Zombie, Pantera - heavy metal rock bands.

Next week, Tuber turns 15, so I asked him, ``Would you rather appear on the cover of Rolling Stone or Sports Illustrated?''

``Neither,'' he said. ``I don't really care for being on a magazine cover.''

Didn't he like stardom? Didn't he enjoy being on national television in 1994 with his baseball teammates and meeting President Clinton and appearing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno?

``I loved Williamsport,'' he said. ``It was a good experience.''

But his goal in life isn't to appear on ``Hard Copy'' or ESPN. He's just a teen-ager taking each day as it comes, trying to have fun and learn more about himself.

``I thought it was the right thing to do,'' he said of giving up baseball. ``I felt comfortable with it. I got to go home and relax and not worry about going to practice. I got my homework done. I'm not trying to be a pro. I know a lot of my friends want to be pros. I'm just doing what I want to do. If I wanted to pursue it, I would. I found a different interest I liked more.''

When a child wants to quit something, it's up to the parent to decide whether to bless or veto the idea. Sometimes, lessons can be learned by forcing someone not to quit. But another lesson is letting a child make his own choice like an adult.

``I'm a baseball fanatic,'' Tuber's father, Rick, said. ``I love the game. I'd love for him to play. But I'm certainly not going to push. Peter has to do what he wants to do. He's never been a fan. He doesn't read the sports section. He doesn't follow statistics. Practice was work for him, and it was three hours a day every day for two years.''

Right now, playing his guitar is what interests Tuber the most. ``I think I'm pretty good,'' he said. ``I've always liked music.''

He certainly has learned lots of new music terms - heavy metal, death metal, black metal, thrash, doom . . .

``I'm trying to get him into Simon and Garfunkel and it's not working,'' Rick said.

Tuber plays his guitar in his room, and it gets loud. No one has complained to the police, but his younger brother, Sean, has told him to lower the volume on occasion.

Now here's the real news about Tuber: He's making a baseball comeback of sorts. It involves only one practice a week to prepare for a week of games in New Jersey next month as part of the Maccabi Youth Games.

``He's throwing so hard and looks so good,'' Rick said.

Whether Tuber regains the desire to spend countless hours practicing the game to become the best remains to be seen.

``I'm going to play hard in the Games, but it's mostly for fun,'' he said.

Asked if he'll try out at Granada Hills next spring, Tuber said, ``I don't know.''

Whether he plays again or not, he won't forget his baseball experiences. Asked what he learned all these years, Tuber said, ``That working hard pays off.''

MEMO: Deputy Sports Editor Eric Sondheimer's local column appears Tuesdays in the Daily News.

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