BASEBALL : Laker Leaps at Chance in Majors

Tim Laker’s ascent from double A to the Montreal Expos last month is an excellent example of the combination of talent and circumstance needed to reach the major leagues.

Laker, a former standout catcher at Simi Valley High, was a sixth-round draft choice of the Expos in 1988 out of Oxnard College.

Last season, he played solid defense but batted a less-than-stellar .231 in 100 games at Class-A West Palm Beach, Fla., in the Florida State League and .286 in 11 games with double-A Harrisburg, Pa., in the Eastern League.

This season, he hit a personal-best 15 homers for Harrisburg. He also had a powerful person within the organization pushing for his promotion.

Expo Manager Felipe Alou had managed Laker at West Palm Beach. He summoned Laker, 22, to the major leagues and has not been reluctant to use him.

“This is a guy Felipe’s wanted to see for a while,” Expo General Manager Dan Duquette told Baseball America. “He’s done a good job for him in the past. To be honest, I thought he might have been our best catcher back in spring training.”

Said Laker: “I knew I was having a solid year and felt like my defense might give me a chance up here (in the major leagues) pretty soon. But all I was concerned with was finishing off the double-A season the best way I could. Everything else would take care of itself.”

In 29 at-bats with the Expos, Laker is batting .241 with two doubles and two runs batted in. He has struck out 10 times.

Catching on: Former Westlake High catcher Mike Lieberthal finished the season in triple-A Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and will participate in the newly formed Arizona Fall League Oct. 6-Dec. 6.

Lieberthal, 20, was the Philadelphia Phillies’ No. 1 draft choice in 1990.

He batted .200 and drove in four runs in 16 triple-A games after his promotion from double-A Reading, Pa., where he was selected to the Eastern League all-star game.

Former Kennedy High standout Garret Anderson, who batted .274 for the Angels’ double-A affiliate at Midland, Tex., also will participate in the six-team Arizona league, which will include the top prospects from each major league organization.

Lieberthal will play for the Chandler Diamondbacks who will have players from the Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros organizations.

Anderson will play for the Scottsdale Scorpions, who will have prospects from the Angels, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles and Minnesota Twins.

Power play: Ryan McGuire of UCLA was a late cut from the U.S. Olympic team, but the power-hitting first baseman rebounded with a strong summer for the Anchorage Glacier Pilots in the Alaska League.

McGuire was selected as the league’s third-best major league prospect in a poll of league managers after he batted .362 with eight home runs and 24 RBIs. McGuire batted .464 with a tournament-high 16 RBIs in the 58th National Baseball Congress World Series at Wichita, Kan.

Major league scouts selected McGuire as the fourth-best major league prospect in the tournament.