MINOR LEAGUES / GARY KLEIN : Kendall Has Rival Managers, Including Dad, Searching for an Out

Jason Kendall is accustomed to receiving guidance from his father, particularly when the subject is baseball.

So it was more than a little unusual when Kendall stepped out of the batter’s box in Hickory, N.C. in May and saw his father, Fred, standing on the mound conferring with a pitcher about how to get Jason out.

Jason, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ No. 1 draft choice in 1992 out of Torrance High, is the starting catcher for Augusta (N.C.), the Pirates’ affiliate in the class-A South Atlantic League. Fred, a former major league catcher, is the manager of the Chicago White Sox affiliate at Hickory.

Jason went four for four in that first game against his father’s team, and has continued to have success against Hickory in this his first full professional season.

“I’m batting about .450 against Hickory,” Jason said. “It’s always fun to beat up on Dad.

“He tried to have a guy steal on me once but I threw the guy out. He hasn’t tried that since.”

Jason, 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, is having success against the South Atlantic’s 12 other teams as well. He is batting .275 and used his defensive prowess and knowledge of the game to earn a place in the South Atlantic League all-star game. This fall, he will participate in the Florida Instructional League.

“This has been a good year that has helped me learn a lot,” Jason said. “This league has a lot of former college players and guys who have been playing professionally for three or four years.

“One of the things I’ve learned is that I’ll never hit .549 again. But I’m holding my own.”

Kendall said playing against his father has been easy compared to the battle against the elements in the South Atlantic League, which includes teams in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, West Virginia and Maryland.

“It’s hot down here,” Jason said. “I was catching the other day and sweating like crazy. I asked a guy how hot it was and he said, ‘Well the heat index is 125 degrees.’

“It’s not so much the heat as the humidity. But I wouldn’t want it any other way. You have to love this game to play it and I love every bit of it--going to the field, being with the guys, taking batting practice and playing the games.”

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Joe Caruso rode a high out of spring training when the Boston Red Sox organization jumped him to triple-A Pawtucket (R.I) after a successful 1992 at class-A Lynchburg in the Carolina League and Hermosillo in the Mexican Winter League.

Caruso, however, has struggled with his consistency at Pawtucket.

The former Loyola Marymount right-hander is 5-6 with a 4.82 earned-run average in 97 innings. Caruso has made 31 appearances, 12 as a starter.

“It’s been up and down. . . . The level of concentration is a lot higher here,” Caruso said. “If you’re off a little bit in A-ball, you can still get out of situations and give up only one or two runs.

“If you fall behind up here, you’re in big trouble. You can turn around and all of a sudden, there are four or five runs on the scoreboard.”

Although he has lately been used a starter, Caruso said his future is most likely as a reliever. Last season at Lynchburg, he was 6-4 with a 1.98 ERA and 15 saves in 118 innings--all out of the bullpen.

“I feel pretty comfortable coming out of the pen,” Caruso said. “But it’s not going to hurt to show them I can start. It’s helped me develop more pitches. As a reliever, I’m basically throwing a fastball and curveball. As a starter I throw those two pitches and a change-up and slider.”

Caruso said he will use this year as preparation for another season in triple-A.

“You want to go out and be successful all the time, but this will help me,” Caruso said. “I’ll take whatever I can from it and have a good year next year. After that, I could get a chance to go to Boston.”