Baseball / Gary Klein : Laker Made Time for Expos, Not Royals

Blame it on the playoffs.

That is about all the Kansas City Royals’ organization can do to ease its grief after failing to sign Tim Laker before this month’s Major League Baseball free-agent draft.

Laker, a 6-foot, 3-inch, 190-pound catcher who graduated from Simi Valley High in 1987, helped lead Oxnard College into this year’s state junior college tournament. The Condors, however, were eliminated from the tournament shortly before the draft.

The Royals, who selected Laker in the 49th round last year, controlled his rights until May 24, but the parties were unable to come to terms and Laker--who had signed a letter of intent with Arizona State--once again became eligible for the draft.

“I liked what I saw of the Royals’ organization but after the season finally ended, I had only a few days to decide before they lost my rights,” Laker said. “It was rushed and I didn’t have a lot of time to make a decision. I had more time after they lost the rights.”

Just enough time, as it turns out, for the Montreal Expos to make a pitch for the catcher. The Expos made Laker the highest draft choice from the Valley area when they selected him in the sixth round.

“Knowing he had a college scholarship, we went out to dinner a day or two before the draft and I talked to him about what pro baseball had to offer, what the Expos had to offer and why I thought he was ready to go out and start his career,” Expos scout Kevin Malone said. “He indicated that he would be interested in signing, so we went after him.”

Laker signed a contract and leaves today for West Palm Beach, Fla., where he will take part in a mini-camp before reporting to the Expos’ Class-A affiliate in Jamestown, N. Y., in the New York-Penn League.

“The Expos took their shot and got me,” Laker said. “After weighing both sides, the college and pro baseball, I felt that baseball is the most important to me.

“I kept going back and forth and was kind of relieved when I signed because I couldn’t do anything about it anymore.”

An accurate Schott: Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott apparently misses Kurt Stillwell, the former Thousand Oaks High shortstop and No. 1 draft pick who has blossomed in the American League after being traded from the Reds to the Royals last November.

Schott, when asked if the Reds planned to trade outfielders Eric Davis and Kal Daniels, told the Cincinnati Enquirer:

“That’s all we need--for them to go somewhere else and start hitting like (Dave) Parker or my little sweetheart, Kurt Stillwell,” Schott said.

Stillwell hit his seventh home run and had the first four-hit game of his career Saturday in the Royals’ nationally televised 7-0 win over the Angels.

Name game: Jim Vatcher, a 5-9, 160-pound outfielder who played at Cal State Northridge in 1987, is making a name for himself in the Philadelphia Phillies’ organization.

Last season, Vatcher batted .266 and had 3 home runs and 20 runs batted in at Utica in the New York-Penn League after batting .354 with 15 home runs and 49 RBIs in his final season at Northridge.

This season, however, Vatcher is batting .339 and has 4 home runs and 37 RBIs for Spartanburg, the Phillies’ Class-A affiliate in the South Atlantic League. He is the team leader in batting and RBIs, was selected as the organization’s Minor League Player of the Month for April and was the runner-up for the award in May.

Vatcher was the South Atlantic League Player of the Week for May 29-June 4 when he was 13 for 27 with a home run, four doubles and eight RBIs.

“He’s been a surprise offensively,” said Jack Pastore, the Phillies’ director of scouting. “He’s really come on since last year.

“We hope to leave him in Spartanburg all season. That’s not to say we will, but he’s having good success. We feel he could jump to double-A ball from there just as easy as he could from our other single-A affiliate in Clearwater, Fla.”

Masters of change: The Reno Silver Sox, a co-op team in the Class-A California League, feature two catchers-turned-pitchers from The Master’s College.

Frank Mutz, who is the property of the Angels, is being used as a short-relief specialist. Terry Sloan, a free agent, is a starter.

Mutz, of Granada Hills, began the season as a starter and got off to a 3-4 start. Since being moved to the bullpen a few weeks ago, he has gone 3-0 with a save and has not given up an earned run in 21 innings.

“I think this is a move up from last season,” said Mutz, who played at Salem, Ore., in 1987. “I like short relief. I think that’s what I want to do.”

Sloan (2-3) was released by the Cincinnati Reds in spring training but signed with the Silver Sox during a tryout in Riverside.

Listing toward the mound: Paul List of North Hollywood is another minor leaguer in the Angel organization attempting to make the transition from position player to pitcher.

List, 21, was signed as an outfielder last summer while playing for the San Fernando Valley Dodgers semipro team. He was sent to Salem, Ore., in the Class-A Northwest League, but got just 17 at-bats.

This season, the Angels moved their short-season affiliate to Bend, Ore., and List--a 1984 graduate of North Hollywood High--is moving to the mound.

“I think they wanted me to pitch all along,” said List, who left Friday for Bend. “They just saw something they liked and said, ‘We’re doing it for you.’ ”

After spring training, List (6-3, 200 pounds) came home to work on his fastball, changeup and slider.

“I’ve been throwing bullpens and my arm feels real good,” List said. “I’m a little nervous but I guess it comes with the territory. Nobody has worked with me. I’m doing it on my own, so hopefully I’m doing it right.”

Down on the farm: Dana Ridenour, who played at Sylmar High and UCLA, is among the pitching leaders in the Eastern League.

Ridenour is 1-1 with 9 saves and a 2.19 ERA for Albany, a double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees.

State of confusion: It is still one of the premier semipro baseball leagues in the nation, but the Alaska Summer League may be ripe for a new name.

Because of financial troubles and rumored in-fighting among the league’s hierarchy, only five franchises are operating this summer, and only two of them--Fairbanks and Kenai Peninsula--are based in Alaska. The others are located in Hawaii; Pullman, Wash.; and San Francisco.

Jim Benedict, who managed the San Fernando Valley Dodgers to an 11th-place finish at the National Baseball Congress World Series last summer, is the pitching coach at Fairbanks. Rick Allen, a first baseman from Loyola Marymount who played at Calabasas High and Moorpark College, is playing for Fairbanks.

USC pitcher Jeff Cirillo (Providence High) is playing in Hawaii.

USC infielders Damon Buford (Birmingham), Kevin Farlow (Kennedy) and Danny Gil (Poly) are playing for San Francisco, as are Loyola catcher Mark Graffitti (Hoover), Loyola utility player Brian Clancy (Crespi) and Cal State Northridge pitcher Fili Martinez.

Moving on: Earl Frishman, who played on Valley College’s state championship team in 1982 and was an assistant coach at Cal State Dominguez Hills last season, has been named assistant coach at Long Beach State.