Three Men Out : Cal Lutheran Standouts Found Baseball Had Passed Them By at 22

The ultimate indignity came during a cattle call on a dusty field in the middle of the San Joaquin Valley.

After two years at Cal Lutheran slapping opponents silly while gaining consecutive Division III World Series berths, Joe Cascione, Eddie Lample and Jeff Berman got slapped in the face.

They drove to Visalia to attend a tryout held by the major league scouting bureau. Although they hadn’t been drafted and their college eligibility was exhausted, their love for baseball was indefatigable. So was their self-confidence.

Surely any pro team would recognize their talent, their enthusiasm, their poise, they told themselves. More than 100 players attended the tryout, but the Kingsmen trio planned to beat the odds, exactly as they had in forging stellar college careers, and be signed as free agents.

Fortified by a good night’s sleep and a nourishing breakfast at a local hotel, they set out for a full day at the ballpark.

Instead, they got quick-pitched.

All three were bounced from the tryout in time for lunch. They received better treatment trying out as wobbly kneed Little Leaguers.

Cascione, a second baseman, was hit three ground balls. Goodby.

Lample, a catcher, made three throws to second base. See ya.

Berman, a right-handed pitcher, threw seven fastballs. Adios.

“It was very frustrating,” Lample said. “We went all that way, basically for nothing.”

Actually, they gained something besides humility. They had been nudged, however rudely, closer to Life Without Baseball.

And that is a frightening place fraught with uncertainty for fellows whose lives have revolved around the diamond--especially when they are only in the second or third inning of life.

“I’m trying to train my brain that baseball is over for me as a player,” said Berman, who was Cal Lutheran’s top right-handed starter.

Although the experience in Visalia soured Berman on tryouts, Cascione and Lample attended one held by the Florida Marlins two weeks ago at Valley College.

“All I want to do in life is play ball,” Cascione said. “I’m hoping someone, somewhere will give me a shot. I try really hard. I’m giving it all I got. To not get a shot is discouraging.”

Cascione points to his Division III second-team All-American honors, .378 batting average, .713 slugging percentage and .975 fielding percentage last season at Cal Lutheran. He recounts his two years at Pierce College and career at St. Genevieve High. He has excelled at every level, and each team was a winner.

Should Cascione’s determination surprise anyone? At 5-foot-8 and 160 pounds, he stood head and shoulders above the rest because of his belief in his ability. That belief does not die easily.

He took not being drafted as a personal insult. Carey Schueler, the daughter of Chicago White Sox General Manager Ron Schueler, was picked in the 47th round.

And there wasn’t a place for Joe Cascione?

“I see guys who got drafted and I put up better numbers,” he said. “I think I deserve a shot at playing pro ball. I was really disappointed.

“I know scouts don’t look at this, but I work twice as hard as anyone. I put a lot of my heart into the game.”

After the Marlin tryout, Cascione was heartbroken. Again, it was one, two, three ground balls you’re out.

Lample, however, was impressive enough on his three throws to second base to gain an invitation to an afternoon scrimmage. That meant only that the letdown was delayed a few hours.

“I caught 20 minutes’ worth, grounded out and struck out,” he said. “I don’t think the scouts were even paying attention.”

Lample was listening, however, when a Marlin scout told the 120 players assembled at the beginning of the tryout that the team was looking to sign “high school kids who have a chance to make the major leagues by age 23.”

“Me and Joe just looked at each other,” Lample said. “(The scout) said that if you are over 20, you might want to get on with your life.”

In how many professions is 22 considered over the hill? That’s the age Cascione, Lample and Berman each wrote on the information cards requested at the tryouts. It’s the equivalent of describing yourself as old and ugly in a personal ad. Don’t expect a call.

“Whether the dream of playing in the pros is broken at age 10, in high school or college, every male growing up in America has to deal with it at some point,” said Rich Hill, Cal Lutheran’s coach of the past six years.

“It’s a lot tougher for those who have made it as far as Joe, Eddie and Jeff have.”

Lample hit .330 last season and was told by scouts that he was one of the best defensive catchers on the West Coast, but after three disappointing tryouts (all three players also attended one in June held by the Chicago Cubs) he grudgingly acknowledges he has struck out.

“If that’s the way it is,” he said. “It’s time to find a job, apply to graduate school in sports psychology and make a career out of that,” he said.

Cascione, who is one year from a degree in physical education, and Berman eventually want to coach. Berman, who will graduate in December, plans to earn a teaching credential and is giving youngsters private pitching lessons.

The skills they learned at Cal Lutheran will pay off yet. That’s the parting wisdom of Hill, who last week accepted the coaching position at the University of San Francisco.

“What makes Joe, Eddie and Jeff successful on the diamond will make them a success in the real world,” he said. “Hard work, dedication, commitment to a goal, performing under pressure, the ability to get along with others. Those three guys have been through all of that.”

The flame is not easily extinguished, however. Just when it seems ready to die, it flickers once again. “I’d give my right arm to give Joe or Eddie a chance to play pro ball,” Berman said.

They just might take him up on the offer.

“Me and Joe are talking about Australia,” Lample said hopefully. “They have a professional league there.”