U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL : LOS ANGELES 1991 : Baseball Bloodlines : Ryan Luzinski Is a Pretty Good Player, but So Was His Father

Back in Medford, N.J., Ryan Luzinski says people are used to the resemblance between him and his father, former major league baseball player Greg Luzinski.

Ryan Luzinski is stocky; a middle linebacker in football and a catcher in baseball. He and his dad are the same height and weight--6 feet 1, 215 pounds. They both bat right-handed.

And besides all of that, they look almost exactly alike.

“They called his dad ‘the Bull,’ and we call Ryan, ‘Baby Bull,’ ” said Barry Glinski, coach of the Olympic Festival East team, for which Luzinski is playing.

But in Los Angeles, Luzinski says the resemblance is mentioned quite often.

“To the people in New Jersey, me and my dad have separate identities and two different styles of games,” Luzinski said. “My dad was a big outfielder who was known for hitting a ball 450 feet, 30 to 35 home runs a year. But he wasn’t known for his defense.

“I’m a catcher that can hit the ball, but I’m a gap hitter. And I am known for my defense.”

Scouts agree that Luzinski, an 18-year-old senior at Holy Cross High, is a line-drive hitter who needs to mature and develop his power. They also know that Luzinski gets expert instruction, because his high school and American Legion coach just happens to be his father.

And after Monday’s performance, they might even agree that Luzinski is progressing nicely.

At Dodger Stadium, where a special practice session was held for all four Festival baseball teams, Luzinski was one of only two players who hit the ball out of the park.

He hit it about 390 feet, 10 rows up in the left-field pavilion.

Ryan Luzinski was 5 when and he and his buddy, Aaron Boone, used to ride their Big Wheel bicycles in the clubhouse, through the tunnels and all around the warning track at Philadelphia’s Veteran Stadium while their fathers, Greg and Bob, went to work.

“We had a ball,” Luzinski said.

Thirteen years later, on a sunny day at Dodger Stadium, the roles were reversed. While Aaron, who is playing for the Festival West team and Ryan, on the East team, were busy practicing, their fathers were kicking around the stadium, having a ball.

“When Bob and I were playing at Philly, we lived in the same neighborhood in New Jersey, but it was in the country--I know that sounds funny that there would be country in New Jersey--so there was some distance between our houses,” Luzinski said. “But the boys grew up playing ball together, and we are all good friends. We are staying with the Boones this trip.”

Ryan and Aaron, who haven’t played baseball together since the Boones moved to Orange County in 1982, will play against each other today when the Festival baseball competition begins at USC’s Dedeaux Field.

“I was 12 when we moved away, but Ryan and I have stayed best friends,” said Aaron, who recently graduated from Villa Park High and will attend USC.

“When we were just little guys, we used to run all over that Philly clubhouse, even when all the players were there. Now, we still call each other every couple of weeks. We’ve stayed close.”

When Greg Luzinski was traded to Chicago in 1981, he kept his family in Milford. As soon as school let out, his wife Jean, daughter Kim and Ryan would join him in Chicago until school started again.

“That’s when I really got to spend a lot of time with my dad,” Luzinski said. “I would go to the ballpark with him every day and on trips with him. I was older so I remember it more.

“In Philly, I was so young, that one of the only guys I can remember is Petey Rose, Pete Rose’s son, because he was a kid, too. And I remember when the Phillies won the World Series in 1980 and the celebration afterward in the clubhouse. But for me, and for spending time with my dad, Chicago was the best.”

Luzinski says he believes one of the reasons his dad retired from baseball in 1984 was because he wanted to spend more time with the family.

“I was going into the seventh grade and my sister was entering high school, and I know he wanted to be with us more,” Luzinski said. “He loved the game and he wasn’t ready to give it up. He still may get back into it as a coach when I graduate from high school. If Orlando would have gotten the baseball expansion franchise, Bob Boone would have gone as the manager, and dad would have been the hitting coach.”

Luzinski’s hope is to play in the majors as well. A high school all-star, he hopes to sign a letter of intent in baseball with a college and then see if he is drafted by a major league team. He is interested in attending Miami, Florida or Florida State.

“Ryan is just at that stage when most kids are trying to answer the question, ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ But he already knows the answer,” Greg Luzinski said. “He’s been around the game all his life so I think he has some maturity and a good perspective about all of it. He needs to be grow as an individual and create his own identity. It will be a learning process.”

Greg coaches Ryan in American Legion and high school baseball and football. But Ryan says his father’s off-the-field coaching has also helped him keep it all in perspective.

“I’ve really never gotten caught up in the glamour of baseball and all,” Ryan said. “I understand it, and I understand the expectations that are placed on me maybe, because of my dad’s success. But I don’t feel pressure from them.

“Maybe it’s helped that I have lived in the same town all my life. I’ve only lived in two houses. My dad and I are together all the time. When I’m not playing baseball, we spend the winters hunting and fishing. It’s really fun.”

Aaron Boone agrees. “If you are raised right, you are raised to handle it,” he said.

Festival organizers brought in several local Connie Mack and Community College teams to play against the four Festival teams on Sunday. Combining the rosters, it was like a day for the sons of the baseball famous.

Bert Blyleven’s son, Todd, pitched against Ryan’s team. Doug DeCinces son, Doug Jr., played against Aaron’s team.

Reporters were still asking about it on Monday. But for Ryan and Aaron, it was just another great day at the park.