Deep Friendship, Lifetime Bond Link Cypress Summer League Duo : Baseball: Troy Babbitt and Doug McConathy have led parallel lives on and off the field.

Troy Babbitt and Doug McConathy missed batting practice the other day at Cypress College.

Babbitt was at home, ready to go, but McConathy, his ride, was delayed at work. Their tardiness caused them to miss batting practice, and each looked somewhat depressed about the whole situation.

“You always want to hit,” Babbitt said. “You hate to miss any chance to take a few swings.”

McConathy smiled in agreement.

An interview allowed them to miss infield practice, but that didn’t bother them much.

After a few quick tosses, they took the field, McConathy at first base and Babbitt at shortstop for the Cypress Dawgs, a Metropolitan League team coached by Cypress College Coach Scott Pickler.

After the Saddleback Cowboys were out in the top of the first inning, Babbitt, leading off, quickly showed the importance of pre-game hitting with a sharp single to right. One batter later, it was McConathy grounding a two-run single into right field.

McConathy is hitting .450 (36 for 80) and Babbitt is hitting .418 (33 for 79) for the first-place Dawgs. Each has five home runs.

“That’s just them,” Pickler said. “Both really like to swing the bat, and they do it very well. It’s pretty amazing.”

But being strong hitters is just one of several things the two have in common.

Babbitt and McConathy have known each other since they were 5 or 6, neither is exactly sure.

They met at Cerritos Elementary School and played together in Peanut Baseball and then the Stanton Little League.

“We’ve had a few fights,” McConathy said. “But not since we were little. We get along really well. We also always do stuff together and with the rest of the team.”

Each throws right-handed and hits from the left side. They attended Western High School and made the junior varsity as freshmen in 1986. Both were promoted to the varsity when Western reached the Southern Section playoffs.

They played the next three years on varsity at Western, competing together on various summer teams as well.

“We knew whatever school we went to, we were probably going to go to the same place,” Babbitt said. “Every school that talked to one of us talked to both of us. We were a package deal.”

The similarities seem endless. Both are 19. They took most of the same classes together last year at Cypress and took a math class together this summer at Cypress. In part-time jobs they mirror one another too. Each works in a shoe store. “But we do work at different places,” Babbitt quickly points out.

McConathy is the bigger of the pair at 6 feet 2 and 180 pounds. Babbitt is 6-0 and about 170 pounds.

McConathy was Cypress College’s most consistent batter last spring; he led the Chargers with a .400 average. He also led community college batters in Orange County with 70 hits and 50 runs. He had eight home runs, hitting mostly in the No. 2 slot.

“He went the whole season without really falling into a slump,” Pickler said. “He was very consistent for us and that’s impressive for a freshman.”

The one place where McConathy did struggle was at third base, a new position for him. He has since returned to first, where he played in high school. He hopes to remain at first next season as a sophomore for Cypress College.

“(At first base) I can concentrate more on my hitting,” McConathy said. “It’s not as hectic as third. I was always worrying about the throw I would have to make and I just started to think too much about it, then I would blow an easy play.”

Babbitt also played a new position--second base--for Cypress last spring but had much less trouble adjusting. He has been playing shortstop and third base this summer.

Babbitt, who looks as if he should be a slap hitter, spent most of the season in the fourth spot because Cypress didn’t have anyone else. He hit .335 with five home runs and scored 43 runs.

Babbitt earned a bit of a reputation as a power hitter last summer when he set a Connie Mack World Series record with five home runs. He and McConathy, of course, played for the Orange County Cardinals, which advanced to the World Series in Farmington, N.M.

Babbitt hit two home runs in the first game and one each in the next three before the Cardinals were eliminated.

“It really doesn’t matter that much to me where I hit,” Babbitt said. “I’m comfortable anywhere (in the lineup) from one to four . . . I’ve played all over the infield since I was in Little League so it’s fine too.”

Pickler aid he hasn’t had to make too many adjustments in the batting style of either Babbitt or McConathy, except for one--making sure they don’t try to pull the ball all the time.

“We have a deal where if someone hits an opposite-field home run, we’ll get them lunch,” Pickler said. “It helps shows the importance of going with the pitch. One time, they each hit an opposite-field home run in the same game too.”

It figures.