University’s Contrera Isn’t Taking Anything for Granted Anymore

It pains Al Contrera even to think about the car accident that threatened his life on the night of April 18.

It hurts even more to talk about it.

Contrera’s eyes moisten and his voice softens as he recalls how he and two others in a small pickup truck escaped serious injury whentheir vehicle rolled over on Jeffrey Road in Irvine.

“Every time I think about it, I think of all the things that could have happened,” said Contrera, a shortstop who led the University High School baseball team to the Sea View League championship this year.

“I could have died. I could have broken my leg and missed the rest of the season, or missed the college season (next year).”

Contrera suffered only lacerations and abrasions, a bruised wrist and a bruised knee.

The driver of the truck, 19-year-old Janean Bagley, suffered lacerations and a concussion. The other passenger, 17-year-old Kris Stenske, second baseman for the University softball team, suffered a broken collarbone and abrasions.

They were lucky--it could have been worse.

According to Irvine Police Lt. Sam Allevato, the accident occurred when Bagley’s truck, heading north on Jeffrey at about midnight, swerved to avoid a car that had turned onto Jeffrey from the 405 Freeway off-ramp through a red light. The truck struck the road’s center divider, rolled over several times and came to a rest upside down. Allevato said the driver of the car that caused the accident fled the scene.

Bagley was pinned inside the wreckage for 30 minutes before she was cut free by paramedics. The three were taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, treated and released.

“It was life-threatening for all of us,” Contrera said. “I’m trying to shake the whole thing off and put it all behind me. I try not to think about it.”

Contrera, who will play for the South team in tonight’s Orange County All-Star game in Anaheim’s Glover Stadium, didn’t miss a game because of the accident. Although he said his injuries affected his hitting, Contrera still led the Trojans with a .415 average, 3 home runs, 10 doubles and 18 RBIs.

The accident left some physical and mental scars, but it also hashelped him improve his mental approach to baseball.

“Every day, I’ve gotta try harder,” he said. “I play harder now, because you only get one chance at what you do, and you don’t know who’s watching you. Every inning, every out, you gotta play your hardest. You never know what’s gonna happen next.”

Contrera admits he didn’t always have that kind of work ethic. Although he was a Times’ All-County selection in both soccer and baseball, he wonders what he could have accomplished if he had hustled more and clowned less.

Too often, he’d joke around with his teammates when the coach wasn’t watching or during drills that seemed boring.

Contrera has become more dedicated.

“You can’t only be working when the coach is looking at you,” he said. “That’s what I’m learning as I watch college games. Everyone is hustling and wants to win. I think I’ll have a much better attitude in college.”

Contrera, who lived in Yonkers, N.Y., for nine years before his family moved to California, probably will attend Golden West College next year. The 5-foot 6-inch, 185-pounder hopes eventually totransfer to a four-year school, where he can play ball and study zoology, the study of animals.

Contrera was offered soccer scholarships from Southern California College and Claremont, but he turned them down to pursue a baseball career. If that dream isn’t realized, he hopes to own his own pet store some day. Contrera loves animals. He has two pet gopher snakes, a rabbit and a parakeet.

“I’d like to get a python, but I don’t think my mom would be too crazy about that,” he said.

His favorite show always hasbeen “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.” Said Contrera: “I used to watch that show all the time, with the old guy with the white hair.”

That would be Marlin Perkins.

As for baseball, his idol has always been the man who wears No. 44 for the California Angels. Contrera was a regular at Yankee Stadium when Reggie Jackson was playing for New York, and he still follows the 40-year-old slugger here.

There are about 40 pictures of Jackson on Contrera’s bedroom wall, and he named all four of his pets after the Angels’ designated hitter. The bird is R.J., the rabbit is Reggie, and both snakes are named Reginald.

“We may get a German Shepherd soon, but I’m not sure what we’ll name it,” Contrera said. “It’s going to be a family pet. But if I had my choice, I’d call him Reggie.”