THE CITY 4-A BASEBALL PLAYOFFS : CANOGA PARK VS. POLY : Poly Prospers Under Cord’s Unassuming Manner

Jerry Cord is about the last guy you’d expect to hear gushing pronouncements, the last guy you’d expect to hear spouting Poly purple prose. But sometimes, even the most unobtrusive coaches let loose with a laudatory phrase or two.

Cord finally reached his pop-off point last week after watching all-league center fielder Joey Speakes double in his fourth and fifth runs batted in during Poly’s 19-6 rout of Narbonne in the first round of the City Section playoffs.

“Can that kid hit or what?” Cord exclaimed with a grin. “He sure is something.”

Dodger Manager Tommy Lasorda probably mumbles that much in his sleep--and with .220 hitters in mind. For the normally reserved Cord, however, it was more than a mouthful. It was a speech.

Low-key doesn’t begin to describe the Poly coach’s demeanor. If you want any indication of how the game is going, read somebody’s scorecard, not Cord.

“I remember when we were all in the truck driving home after his team lost in the finals in 1978,” said Cord’s oldest son, Chris, 20. “I’m crying my eyes out and dad’s lighting up this big old cigar, and he’s got this big smile on his face.

“So I ask him what he’s so happy about, and he says that he’s completely satisfied. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. So he says ‘Losing isn’t so bad. It was a great game, a great season and a great bunch of kids.’

“That was more than enough for him.”

Cord and Poly will be making their second trip to the City 4-A final tonight at Dodger Stadium. Poly (21-4) faces Canoga Park (18-4), a meeting that is generating considerable celebrity for Cord, 46, who is in his 11th season as the varsity coach.

Wednesday night, Cord and Canoga Park Coach Doug MacKenzie appeared on a live cable television show.

“I asked them why they wanted me on there,” Cord said. “They should have the kids out there. I told them to make sure not to ask any real questions because I don’t have any real answers.”

Cord laughed as he talked of the TV appearance, but it was clear that given a choice, he’d just as soon leave the spotlight to somebody else.

He should be getting used to it by now, since he was the original big man on campus. Cord graduated from Poly in 1958 after serving as its first student body president. He returned to teach at the school a few years after graduating from Occidental College, which is also happens to be MacKenzie’s alma mater.

Even on the field, Cord is something of an anomaly. Unlike many coaches, he prefers to coach from the dugout, leaving the third-base box to a team member. Cord also opts for street clothes over the Poly polyesters.

“I’ve never worn the team uniform,” he said. “And letting somebody else call the shots at third gives another kid a chance to be in the ballgame, to contribute. Sure, sometimes it can cost you a run every so often, but the more kids you can get involved, the better.”

Cord doesn’t always appeared to be too involved himself. He normally can be found standing just outside the dugout fence, scorebook in hand, quietly taking in the game.

He leaves the hardball histrionics to the hotheads.

“I’m not a real rah-rah. I’m not jumping up and down and I’m not browbeating anybody,” he said. “I don’t think I’m a real high-key person. Some guys get real emotional and involved--and you can be a yeller and a screamer and still win--but it’s not my style.

“Never have been one to be jumping up and down. When the players get together for a huddle during the game, I might stick my head in there and say something, but I usually stay away from that stuff. A guy could get crushed in there.”

Cord paused for a moment to answer a ringing telephone. That call was followed by another.

“People calling about tickets. Papers calling about the team. All this attention, I don’t know,” he said.

The media overload has Cord searching for answers. On a day when he should be worrying about batting orders and the opposition’s pitching, he’s pitching statistics to reporters.

“A newspaper guy asked me the other day who I thought would win the final, and I said ‘The team that scores the most runs.’ What else was I supposed to tell him?”

While Cord might not be especially quick with a quip, his team has had little trouble answering the opposition this season. Poly--which has never won a City title--could tie a school record for wins in a season with a victory tonight. The 1978 team that went to the final holds the record. Poly plowed through the East Valley League with a record of 16-2 and defeated two teams from the West Valley League--Canoga Park’s league--on its way to the final.

When it comes to discussing his team, Cord is a little more at ease.

“It’s good to see that it came down to the two best teams. At the beginning of the year I told the players that there was a lot of talent here and that if they wanted to mold themselves into a team that wanted to win, they could go a long way.

“I think we’ve shown that we can play against the better teams, especially in the playoffs.”

Poly, which was seeded second to Canoga Park in the playoffs, has eight regulars batting above .300, averages 10 runs per game and has two starting pitchers with nine or more wins.

Win or lose, Cord believes that just making the final is noteworthy in itself.

“Last year we lost to Granada Hills in the semis, and that tore us up. I really think getting past the semifinal round is the hardest part. Now, all the other teams are in the stands.

“If we win, great. If not, nobody can take tonight away from us. After a bit you sit back and realize what you’ve accomplished all year long and you realize that life doesn’t revolve around the results of this one game. For the moment it seems like it will, but regardless, only one other team came this far, and I’m pretty proud of that fact.”

Proud of his players but humble when it comes to his part in the team’s accomplishments.

“Are you guys running a story on MacKenzie, too?” he asked. “Good, then give his story some of my space.”

Whether he likes to think about such matters or not, if Cord continues to be the architect of successful teams, he might be at Poly as long as MacKenzie has been at Canoga Park--37 seasons.

“They’ll probably bury me out there in center field when I die,” Cord said, pointing toward the Poly diamond. “Seems like I’ve been around for a while, too.”