Sharts Opts for Baseball Over Basketball

Hours after Simi Valley High lost a 55-54 shocker to Santa Monica in the Southern Section 4-A quarterfinals in February, Scott Sharts the basketball forward became Scott Sharts the first baseman and started stroking home runs.

Score it Sharts’ last double play the really hard way. It would be his final one-and-one.

The 6-5 Sharts has decided to chuck basketball; he believes his future lies in greener pastures.

“I think baseball is what’s really in my future,” said Sharts, who started for the 26-2 basketball team as a junior last season. “As a basketball player, I never was much of a scorer. My role was to play defense and pound hard for offensive and defensive boards.”

As a baseball player, however, he figured prominently on offense.

A pitcher-first baseman, Sharts was the Marmonte League Most Valuable Player, a Southern Section 4-A first-team selection and a member of the West team in last month’s Olympic Festival.

Sharts set a Simi Valley record for home runs in a season (11) while batting .469 with 33 runs batted in for the 20-7 team. He was also the team’s best pitcher, posting a 9-4 record.

The numbers on the baseball scoreboard indicate the move could be wise. The overlap of winter and spring sports was his primary reason for shunning basketball.

“I just need more time to get ready for baseball,” he said. “Now I have all winter.”

Sharts said he felt no guilt about leaving the basketball team.

“I don’t feel I let anybody down. Shoot, the JV team was undefeated last year. They have plenty of guys coming up that can take over.”

This summer’s schedule helped Sharts gauge his abilities.

“The Olympic Festival was a great experience,” he said. “To play with the best ballplayers was something I’ll never forget. Everybody there could hit the ball.”

Sharts played on the North Valley Mules, a Palomino League team that finished second in the western regional in San Diego last weekend. Coming through the losers’ bracket, North Valley lost the championship game, 13-3.

A win in the final would have sent the team to the Palomino World Series. The series is held in North Carolina--the site of the Olympic Festival--where Sharts was 4 for 8 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs in the last two games to help the West win the bronze medal.

“That crossed my mind,” Sharts said with a laugh.