At Mound and at Plate, Two Standout Prep Players : Catcher Has a Catchy Name but It’s His Numbers That Put Him in the Spotlight

By his name alone, Royal Lord III lends a touch of class to the baseball diamond at Valley Christian High School in Cerritos. But he does not gallop majestically across the outfield or loom as a regal specter on the pitcher’s mound. He is down in the dirt behind home plate, playing the working-class position of catcher.

When a runner makes the mistake of trying to steal a base, Lord routinely cuts him down with a hard, accurate throw that wins the admiration of students and parents seated in the sun behind the backstop.

“I think he’s a super all-around catcher,” said Valley Christian Coach Scott Sandie. “He has an excellent arm. Most people won’t try to run on him.”

Lord also posseses the other attributes desired in a catcher: intelligence, quickness, a rugged body and an ability to drive in runs.

This season, the 6-foot, 185-pound senior’s bat has been even more impressive than his arm. He is batting well over .400 and is near the top among area players in average, hits, doubles, runs batted in and runs scored.

He had grand slams in successive games. He was 5 for 5 in one game, hitting for the cycle (single, double, triple, home run).

He had only one extra-base hit last year, although his average was .421. This season, half of his hits have been for extra bases.

Lord has led Valley Christian to a 16-3 overall record. The Crusaders are 10-3 and in third place in the Olympic League.

He has also drawn the attention of pro scouts, which is difficult for players at small 2-A schools because competition usually is not top-flight. Still, Lord is not nearly as well known as players from large schools.

“If he had the same numbers and was going to Lakewood High, there would be no question about it--he’d be selected (in the June pro draft),” Sandie said.

Lord was a starting linebacker on the Valley Christian football team, but his dream has always been to play pro baseball.

“Milwaukee has talked to me,” said Lord, who last summer played for the Dodgers scout team, which is run by pro scouts and plays other scout teams.

Before starting a pro career, Lord, who has a 3.0 GPA, wants to play college baseball. Among the schools interested in him are Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Fullerton, Arizona State, USC and San Diego State.

“This (high school) is the last place you have genuine fun,” said Sandie, a former player at Cal State Long Beach. “(In college) it takes an extra commitment. (Lord) has the stick-to-it attitude to make it in college baseball. He loves it and works hard every day.”

Lord, 18, did not start catching until four years ago when he was on a winter league team and asked to play the position when he saw that the regular catcher was not hustling.

“I played all the positions, but you don’t get as much action at any of them as you do at catcher,” Lord said. “That’s why I love it. You have to be a leader on the field.”

Lord’s father, Royal Lord Jr., was a catcher at Hawthorne High School. Now an administrator in the Hawthorne School District, he rarely misses one of his son’s games.

“I coached him since he was 4 and he never wanted to catch,” Lord Jr. said. “I didn’t push him. Unless a kid wants to, you don’t force him to catch.”

The young catcher has two idols. He admires Bob Boone of Kansas City for his overall defense and San Diego’s Benito Santiago for his throwing ability.

Lord finds that handling pitchers is the hardest part of catching.

“They try to over-think rather than throw strikes or throw at my glove,” Lord said. “Their minds wander.”

The last three years, Lord has attended the baseball school of former Angel star Rod Carew.

In a letter of recommendation, Carew wrote of Lord: “I’ve watched him grow from a raw talent into a very powerful and well-coordinated young man.”

Two summers ago, Lord was invited by then-Dodger pitcher Ken Howell to Dodger Stadium.

“I worked out with Mike Scioscia,” he said. “It was incredible. Just being down on the field, talking to someone who knows what it means to be there.”

It was a taste of a dream, almost too delicious to comprehend.