Trabuco Hills’ Smith Is Focusing on Control

Every time he steps on the mound, Trabuco Hills pitcher Carey Smith takes control of a baseball game.

For him there’s nothing better than controlling a game with a 90-m.p.h. fastball that keeps hitters on their heels.

But his 10-game winning streak as a junior last season is the result of more than just controlling pitches.

It’s about controlling himself.

At 13, Smith was diagnosed with diabetes, an excess of sugar in the blood.

“It was May 3, 1988,” he said. “I remember the date.”

Learning how to deal with the disease hasn’t been easy for Smith. He had to change his diet, learn to give himself two daily insulin injections and keep a close eye on his health.

Smith began suffering symptoms in the seventh grade. His eyes watered from the excess sugar escaping his bloodstream. He couldn’t read the blackboard at school. He was ill more often than usual. He often fell asleep at school.

“It upset me for a long time,” he said. “I knew I had to do something about it or I would pay for it.”

He changed his diet, scrapping ice cream and sticking with starchy foods and meat. Running stairs, sprints and laps keep him in shape.

“I’m a normal person,” Smith said. “The diabetes doesn’t affect me as much as it used to. I don’t let it.

“I used to let diabetes control me, control what I did. But now, I can control it.”

Smith said Trabuco Hills baseball Coach Randy Brouwer, who also has diabetes, has helped him deal with the disease.

“He has helped me as a role model,” Smith said. “I look at him, and he’s doing well. He grew up with it.”

Smith has overcome his illness and has developed into one of Orange County’s top pitchers. A right-hander, he was a first-team Times’ all-county player last season.

A few smaller colleges have shown interest in Smith, who’s 6 feet 2 and has a strong arm.

His junior year was nothing short of spectacular. He finished 10-1 with a 2.67 earned-run average and 51 strikeouts in 60 1/3 innings.

He led Trabuco Hills to a share of the Pacific Coast League title with Laguna Hills, and was the league’s co-MVP with Laguna Hills shortstop-pitcher Brett Nista.

His 10-game winning streak surprised just about everyone--coaches, parents, fans, teammates. Even himself.

“I didn’t plan on going 10-0,” he said, smiling. “I just went into each inning thinking the score was 0-0.”

It also was Smith’s first season with the varsity. His fastball showed promise during his sophomore year on the junior varsity--but only when it crossed the plate.

“I was wild,” he said. “I had speed, sure, but I was very, very wild. I just couldn’t stay around the plate.”

Before his junior season, Smith started working with Mustang pitching coaches.

“They helped me change my attitude,,” Smith said. “When I got up here (to the varsity), I had a big ego.

“And they helped me learn new pitches. I had always had one of the strongest arms, but they worked with me on my curveball. And I’m learning how to throw a forkball right now.”

Smith’s pitching kept Trabuco Hills in several close games last season. The Mustangs hit only .270 as a team, one of the lowest batting averages in the county.

His winning streak came to an end in the first round of the Southern Section 3-A playoffs. Corona hit his pitching early and often, and he lasted only four innings in a 7-0 loss.

Smith took the loss hard.

“It wasn’t because I was so stoked about being 10-0,” he said, “but it was because I pitched badly.

“I let my nerves get to me. I let the fans, and everything around me control what I was doing. I choked.”

A good senior season would help erase the bad playoff memories. He hasn’t set any outrageous goals, such as going for another 10-game winning streak.

“I can’t look too far ahead,” he said. “I just have to do the best I can for Trabuco Hills right now.”