BASEBALL ’87 : HE’S HOT : But Esperanza’s Redington Keeps Cool Amid the Attention

The first thing Tom Redington learned this season was that it’s a whole lot easier to hit when you’re not carrying the weight of an entire team and your future on your shoulders.

Redington, the Esperanza High School shortstop, tried it in the Aztecs’ first scrimmage of the season against Sonora on Feb. 28.

It didn’t work.

Redington stepped up for his first unofficial 1987 at-bat bearing the pressure of:

--Being the only returning starter from a 1986 team that went 25-3-1, won the Southern Section 4-A championship and was ranked No. 1 in the nation in USA Today’s final poll.

--Knowing that he would have to duplicate or even improve upon a phenomenal individual season--in which he hit .442 (38 for 86) and set school records for home runs (10), RBIs (42), doubles (9), runs (36) and walks (29)--for the Aztecs to be contenders this year.

--Trying to impress the professional scouts who had called the night before to make sure that he was playing and who were on hand for their first look at Redington this season.

It all added up to a burden that Redington handled the way you would handle a Roger Clemens fastball with a 49-ounce bat.

He whiffed.

Twice, even. The same player who struck out all of three times last year and who is, by far, the best returning high school player in Orange County this season, chased several bad pitches, pulled his head on other swings and struck out his first two times up.

“I was just a mess,” Redington said. “I couldn’t do anything right.”

Dan Arton, Esperanza assistant coach, could. He sat Redington down and told him not to try too hard, to relax. He told him not to worry about carrying everything on his shoulders. He assured him that everything would be great if he just took it easy.

Then, in his next four at-bats during the doubleheader, Redington hit three home runs and lined out hard to left field.

With the embarrassment of two strikeouts in one game out of the way, Redington got down to the business of playing this season.

His hitting now seems to be in order--he had a home run and a double in the Aztecs’ season-opening victory over Northview Saturday--and so does his head.

“There’s a little more pressure on me this year, but I have to keep everything in perspective,” said Redington, who is 6-feet 1-inch and weighs 190 pounds. “I have to concentrate on what I’m doing, and not on other things, like college or the pros. And if things don’t go as great as they did last year, I can’t get too depressed.

“I probably won’t get as many pitches to hit as I did last year, but I can’t get up-tight or overanxious. I don’t want to get frustrated.”

Redington has narrowed his college choices to four schools--USC, UCLA, Arizona and Miami. He knows that even after he makes a decision, the pro scouts will still be after him. They will be watching him virtually every game.

But he saw what happened last year when Eric Cox, a heavily recruited Aztec catcher who went to Stanford, played his senior season under much scrutiny. And he learned from it.

“Last year, everyone came out to see Eric,” Redington said. “Then I’d have a good game and they’d say, ‘Hey, who’s that guy?’ This year, they’ll come out to see me, and that can only help everyone who’s a junior on the team.”

Having a senior like Redington around can only help Esperanza’s predominantly junior team. Redington knows what it takes to win championships.

He hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the Aztecs a 6-5 victory over No. 1-ranked Simi Valley in the semifinals last year and followed that up with a two-run shot into the left-field bleachers in Dodger Stadium that helped Esperanza defeat Fontana, 9-3, in the championship game.

He’s a stabilizing force in the infield and has a very strong and accurate arm. He may not be as quick as some shortstops, but if he gets to a ball, he usually throws the runner out.

Redington also can play third base, and some college coaches and pro scouts think that’s where he’ll eventually play. It has made him that much more marketable too.

He’s being recruited by most major colleges in the country and has been receiving calls every night for more than a month. But that hasn’t bothered Redington a bit--he loves the attention.

“People tell me that after a while I’ll get sick of reporters calling me and colleges bugging me,” Redington said. “How? I don’t understand. People live their whole lives and never get this attention, so why not love it? I’m happy that people call and are interested.”

Redington doesn’t let the attention go to his head, though. He is driven by the knowledge that there are thousands of other great players, and if he slips at all, they’ll be there to take his spot.

“He hasn’t sat on his game a bit,” Esperanza Coach Mike Curran said. “He went to Holland with the USA team and played Connie Mack League ball last summer, and he played with the Astros’ and Angels’ semipro teams over the winter. He has a good approach to the game, and he keeps everything in perspective.”

Redington has a 3.0 grade-point average and has taken all the required classes to attend college. He wants to go to college, but he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of signing a professional contract in June.

“It depends on what round I was drafted in and the kind of year I have,” Redington said. “I want to go to college, but I also want to get drafted, sign and play in the pros. I’m not favoring one or the other right now. I think I’ll be happy either way.”