PREP BASEBALL 1994 / SMALL SCHOOLS : Reiland Experiment Is a Success

Jeff Reiland sheepishly raised his right hand and stepped forward on the Orange Lutheran High baseball field after hearing the question repeated in a tone of displeasure.

During the Lancers’ initial practice last February, first-year Coach Jeff Pressman twice asked his charges who among them had experience catching. Reiland was the lone Lancer to respond--and he wishes he hadn’t.

His experience behind the plate was limited to a couple of seasons in Little League, when baseball was equally important as cartoons and candy. Moreover, he wasn’t especially good then .

But with no other options, Pressman converted the junior third baseman. It wasn’t pretty.

More baseballs reached backstops than Reiland’s mitt during the first few games. And as for baserunners . . . well, Reiland watched several opponents go from first to second without the ball ever leaving his often-trembling right hand.

Things got so bad that Pressman considered scrapping the experiment after only a few test flights.

“He was just terrible at first . . . terrible,” Pressman said. “But he never gave up and he put in the time to learn what he needed and fix his mistakes.

“His development and dedication really helped to stabilize our team. He was a big reason we had the season we did.”

Orange Lutheran finished second in the Olympic League, largely because of its rookie behind the mask, who earned second-team all-league honors. The Lancer senior who formerly despised catching now revels in his role.

“I’m glad I stuck with it,” Reiland said, “but at times it was really hard.”

The first few weeks of last season were the toughest of Reiland’s life. His play at catcher affected his hitting, which in turn, affected every aspect of his psyche.

Baseball was suddenly as much fun as midterms.

“During one of our first games, I was picked off from third twice and thrown out at the plate,” Reiland said. “A bunch of guys stole on me and I was making all kinds of mistakes.

“I was really getting down inside.”

Reiland considered giving up. But he was all the Lancers had and he didn’t want to quit on his teammates--or himself.

So he worked with Orange Lutheran’s coaching staff long after his teammates left practice for home, learning the position and reinventing himself.

“I had to change my attitude,” Reiland said. “I decided to really get into catching, but I still had to learn a lot about the position.

“I basically had to have the position taught to me because I hadn’t played it since Little League, so I was learning every game.”

Reiland learned quickly. By the time league play began, he started becoming comfortable. The main indicator was his success throwing out runners.

He nailed around 30% during the season--and about 40% in league games. Reiland also showed major improvement in other technical aspects of catching, such as blocking the plate and stopping balls thrown in the dirt.

“I think my attitude was something that helped us,” Reiland said. “Nobody really wanted to catch, so when I did it and worked hard, I think everyone appreciated it.

“If everyone has a good attitude, it helps the team play at a higher level.”

Reiland also did the job when standing at the plate. Batting cleanup, he hit .316 with one home run and 17 runs batted in.

He has bigger plans this season.

“I’ve set a lot of goals,” Reiland said. “I learned a lot last year and now I want to improve on it.”