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Published on 07/07/1999 All articles from this issue

Post 375 proving there's strength in small numbers

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By Pete Borello

Town Crier Staff Writer

Players - especially experienced ones - are in short supply on Palo Alto Post 375.

The American Legion baseball team, which features players from Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View and Palo Alto, has just 14 active members. And only four of these athletes are 18 years old, the maximum age to play in the league.

A majority of the players - seven to be exact - are just 16 years old. Four of them start.

"If this was an all-16 team, we'd be very good," coach Tony Brewer said. "I like our 16-year-olds, they're good players and show a lot of promise, but they're inexperienced."

With such a small roster, Brewer has been forced to play these youngsters more than he envisioned when the season started June 1. Brewer originally had 18 players at his disposal, but injuries have sidelined two of them and two others were cut for disciplinary reasons.

Even though Post 375 is losing the numbers game, it's not losing a lot of baseball games.

"We're fighting through it and we're looking pretty good," Brewer said.

Post 375 entered this week with an 10-3 record in District 13, which consists of six teams throughout Santa Clara County. The coach said Palo Alto's success is a reflection of the team's positive attitude.

"They're not getting down," said Brewer, who played professional baseball in Japan from 1986-90. "We're playing solid baseball, but we're just not that consistent."

Brewer said his goal is to qualify for the Area 2 Tournament, which starts July 20 in Lafayette. To make the tourney, comprised of the top teams from four counties, Post 375 needs to finish second or higher in its district.

"I think we can get in the tournament," Brewer said, "but how far we go depends on our pitching depth."

Pitching is at a premium on Post 375, especially since Los Altos High's Dave Butner fractured his left thumb early in the season. Brewer has added another arm to the staff, though, moving infielder Rob McGregor into the rotation. He's emerged as the third starter behind fellow Palo Alto High pitchers Jordan French and Pat Frost. A pair of 16-year-olds from Mountain View High, Jeremy Allen and Gordon Pendergrass, are also getting some spot starts.

Butner's absence hasn't helped the team's offensive productivity, either. In five games, he was batting .833 with a home run, two doubles and a triple.

"The injuries have made it hard for us to get into a rhythm with our line-up," said Brewer, who also lost Paly infielder Nick Pena to an arm injury. "The top five guys have been solid, but we'd like to hit better further down in the order."

The top of the line-up includes Joe Ginanni, Eric Zweig, French, Tyler Sullivan and Travis Rundell.

All but Paly junior Rundell have graduated from high school, making this the most veteran group on the team. Ginanni is a product of Paly, while Zweig and Sullivan are Gunn grads. Sullivan is now a catcher at UC-Santa Barbara.

Next year's Post 375 team should be loaded with 17-year-olds, which has added to Brewer's desire to compete in next week's Area 2 Tournament.

"It will be good for our young guys to see what it takes to play at this level," he said.