Bates Gets First Chance at Third : Esperanza Shortstop Shifts for All-Star Game

He’s never played third base or played on a winning team in high school, but Jason Bates of Esperanza High School will be the starting third baseman for the North team at 7 tonight in the 22nd Orange County All-Star baseball game at Anaheim’s Glover Stadium.

It might be a bit unusual in a game that features the best prep players in one of the nation’s hotbeds for baseball, but then Bates’ high school career has been unusual.

Bates, who is being shifted to a new position tonight because of a shortage of third baseman on the North, played at three high schools in four seasons. He played at Santa Fe High in Santa Fe Springs where he earned a spot on the varsity as a sophomore before transferring to Whittier Christian, a private school in La Habra, for his junior season.

“I thought it was a more attractive school to play baseball and go to school,” Bates said. “But it didn’t work out.”

Bates’ family failed to change residency when he transferred to Whittier Christian, so under Southern Section rules he had to play on the junior-varsity team. Bates batted .740 on the JV team, but said one of the only things he learned was patience.

“We had a football coach who was basically filling in,” Bates said. So it was time for another change.

This time, Bates’ family moved to Placentia where he enrolled at Esperanza for his senior season.

“The idea of playing for Esperanza was real attractive,” he said. “The teams had been to the (Southern Section) championships for three straight years. I came here envisioning greatness.”

Instead, Esperanza struggled to a 10-11-1 record, finishing fifth in the Empire League and missing the playoffs for the first time in Coach Mike Curran’s seven-year career.

“The season was a disappointment, but I have no regrets about coming here,” Bates said. “I definitely improved as a player and made a lot of good friends here. We didn’t have a lot of wins, but I wouldn’t trade the experience of playing baseball at Esperanza.”

Bates was named the team’s most valuable player after hitting .430 and stealing 15 bases. His on-base percentage of .690 was among the best in the county.

“He carried us,” Curran said. “Jason was one of the few bright spots this season. We had a gaping hole at shortstop and he fit in very well with the other players. He’s one of the quickest players I’ve coached.”

Curran compared Bates to a player he coached at St. Paul, Oakland Athletics infielder Mike Gallego. But while Gallego was highly recruited after his senior year in 1978, Bates has failed to attract an offer from a Division I college.

“It’s unfortunate that Jason Bates is the victim of our poor season,” Curran said. “He’s a Division-I player whose recruiting was (hurt) because of a losing year.”

Bates said he if had to do it all over again, he wouldn’t change a thing.

“I enjoyed my high school career,” he said. “But sometimes I wonder if my future would have been different if I had played four years at Esperanza. It was definitely an adjustment coming here.

“The intensity of practice was so different. We were constantly doing something, there was no wasted time. Everything was so well-organized.”

Bates will have a heavy diet of baseball over the summer. He is playing for the Orange County Cardinals, a Connie Mack team, through the summer and also will play some games in the Metropolitan League.

“I could play every day,” Bates said. “In fact, I’ve played or practiced almost every day for two years. I couldn’t think of anything better than getting paid to play baseball. That would be a dream come true.”

All-Star Notes

The North leads the series, 11-10, after overcoming a 7-0, first-inning deficit to gain a 9-7 victory last year. . . . North Coach Bob Canary of Dana Hills shared playing time at shortstop for the North team in the 1969 game with former Kennedy star Alan Bannister, who played 12 seasons in the major leagues. Bannister is the manager for the Montreal Expos’ double-A team in Jacksonville, Fla.

ALL-STAR LINEUPS

NORTH

Troy Babbitt SS. Western John Barber 2B Anaheim Tim Moore CF La Habra Doug McConathy 1B Western Jeremy Sherman LF Katella Ed Garcia RF Brea-Olinda Darby Carmichael C Troy Jason Bates 3B Esperanza Tom Wilson P Troy Dave Torres Coach Anaheim

SOUTH

Chris Sheff CF Laguna Hills Eric Ekdahl 2B Mission Viejo Julio Vargas C Santa Ana Jason Parsons DH La Quinta Ryan Klesko 1B Westminster Gary Christopherson 3B Ocean View Brett Grebe LF Westminster Sean Drinkwater SS El Toro Buster Nietzke RF Capistrano Valley Tony Pena P Mater Dei Bob Canary Coach Dana Hills