Only Fear He Strikes Is in Hearts of Batters

In Rick Parmenter’s 17 years on earth, there are only a few things he can recall that scared the daylights out of him. Of course, there were those imaginary creepy-crawly things that hide behind bedroom doors and frighten all children as they grow up. But the event that sticks out in his mind was when he was a sophomore at Troy High, and he was called in to relieve for the Warriors.

“I had just been moved up to varsity,” Parmenter recalled. “And when I got up to the mound, I started to really feel this pressure. Then I started to get scared. It was such a horrible feeling.”

Parmenter said he suffered through three-fourths of the season with fear and anxiety before he decided to seek counseling from his father.

“My dad has always been there,” Parmenter said. “He’s the one that has been my coach and teacher since I first started to play this game when I was 7 years old. He told me to not worry, and do what I do best and hang in there.”

The counseling seemed to pay off, with Parmenter coming back in his junior year to finish with an 8-1 record, striking out 76 and being named to the All-Freeway League’s first team.

And now, in his senior year, Parmenter is cool, calm and collected. He has a mean fastball. He has control. He has perked the ears of some colleges, including USC, Arizona and Stanford. And he has no fear.

“I feel very confident about this season,” Parmenter said. “I had a good winter and my fastball is even better. I feel strong and I’m ready for the season.”

Troy Coach Dane Ilertsen agreed: Parmenter will have a good season. “Rick is pitching very good,” Ilertsen said. “But along with his good pitching, he also has a leadership quality and the respect of his teammates.”

Another factor that could help Troy to a winning season is that Parmenter will be caught by long-time friend Brian Logan.

“We played Little League together. We played Little League majors and seniors and we were on the same two championship teams,” Parmenter said. “Brian knows my comfort zones and what I’m going to pitch.”

Since he started to play Little League, Parmenter has known that baseball was his love. However, he has also dabbled in soccer and basketball.

“I just finished with basketball,” he said. “I did all right, and I like basketball, but it’s baseball that I really strive for.”

Rick’s father, Hal, said his son will go far. He’s the one who saw in Rick a gifted athlete when he started to play soccer at 5. “You could see Rick was very coordinated. I thought maybe I’d introduce him to baseball.”

Hal was a pitcher, playing for Northern Illinois and some semi-pro ball.

And though Hal was always there, playing catch with Rick and teaching him the art of pitching, it never turned into one of those intense parent coaching scenes.

“Yeah, I’ve seen those dads. But my wife and I felt that sports is just a part of life,” Hal Parmenter said. “It should never be the dominant factor where it dictates every move.”

Said Rick: “My dad was and is, very patient with me, which is why I think I’ve never hesitated to ask his advice. I am the pitcher I am because of my dad.”

And obviously, this formula has paid off. With a yin-yang approach to life, where Rick’s mother, Chris, a teacher, stresses academics and his father sports, Rick finds time to enjoy his baseball and school, where he carries a 4.07 grade-point average.

So the question becomes obvious--is the younger Parmenter a better pitcher than his father?

“Rick throws a lot harder than I did,” Hal said, “and his control is very good.”

1993 IN REVIEW

Standings

League Overall School W L W L Troy 13 2 19 6 Buena Park 10 5 18 6 Sunny Hills 10 5 18 9 La Habra 6 9 10 12 Fullerton 7 8 12 13 Sonora 3 12 9 16

Highlights

Though Troy lost in the first round of the Southern Section playoffs to Redondo Beach, 9-7, in a heart-breaking, extra-inning game, the Indians still shined, showcasing the talents of Bryan Burchit, a first-team all-leaguer who now attends Rancho Santiago, junior pitching ace Rick Parmenter and Rich Richey, who both were first-team all-league picks. After a rebuilding year in 1992, in which they finished fourth in league, the Indians quickly amassed some talent and surprised some with their strong ’93 showing. . . . Buena Park and Sunny Hills tied for second place in league. Undoubtedly, Buena Park’s Alfredo Garcia was the top player on his team, in the league, and for many, in the county, too, being named Freeway League MVP, all-county, All-Southern Section, and MVP of the Orange County All-Star game. He led the county in earned-run average at 0.58. . . . Sunny Hills, which finished second to Fullerton in 1992, remained strong, beating Western in a wild-card playoff game. Sunny Hills lost, however, to Temecula in a first-round game. . . . Finishing fourth was La Habra, which placed catcher Ken Huff on the first-team all-league roster and third baseman Nathan Shadle on the second team. . . . Fullerton, which finished first in league in 1992, was expected to have a good year, but stumbled and finished fifth. Keith Ginger was the team’s standout and was selected first-team all-league. . . . Despite placing sixth, Sonora’s record doesn’t reflect on the team’s talent with the Raiders losing eight of its games by one run. As Sonora Coach Pat Tellers sees it, “Luck was not on our side in ’93.”