Angel Drops In at First : Satriano to Help His Son Coach in CABA World Series

The Westlake Senators needed a hand. So they called on a guy who was as handy as any player who ever wore a California Angels uniform.

As the Senators, a traveling team of 14-year-old players from the Valley, Ventura County and West L.A., approached a key tournament, they persuaded Nick Satriano to come aboard as coach. Satriano, 24, is the baseball coach at Malibu High, which opened its doors two years ago.

In doing so, the Senators tapped into a baseball gold mine. After winning the tournament to qualify for the Continental Amateur Baseball Assn. World Series, Manager Lory Goldstein enlisted the services of Nick’s father, Tom, who played for 10 years in the American League.

The Senators (29-6, 9-2 in CABA competition) begin play today in the CABA series at Avery Field in Dublin, Ohio.

The series is for teams affiliated with the American Amateur Baseball Congress, which fields age-group teams in divisions named after Stan Musial, Connie Mack and Sandy Koufax.

The 24-team series is a round-robin tournament that concludes Aug. 13. Westlake, which won the state title last month in Monterey Park, will face Hawaii today.

Tom Satriano, 53, will coach first base for the Senators. In his 10-year big-league career--which began with a bang when he homered for his first hit in 1961--Satriano played for the Angels and Boston Red Sox.

He was the definitive utility player and was nicknamed “Mr. Everything,” while playing for the Angels.

During one doubleheader in the sweltering heat of New York, he played first, second and third base in the first game, then caught and played third in the second.

In 1964, his fourth season with the Angels, Satriano played all four infield positions, plus 25 games at catcher. He compiled a lifetime average of .225.

Satriano hit only 21 career homers. Heck, he had to hit the first one twice.

While playing in Baltimore during his rookie season, he homered in the third inning off Dick Hall.

“When I was rounding third, I felt a drop of rain hit my shoulder,” Satriano said. “By the time I got to the dugout, it was a deluge.”

The game was rained out and so was the homer. A week later in Cleveland, he homered in the ninth inning off Mudcat Grant.

“For a guy who hit 21 homers in his whole career, that’s a pretty funny way to start,” Satriano said.

Satriano lives in West Los Angeles and runs an accounting firm in that community. He has coached his son’s youth league teams many times before and doesn’t plan to do much for the Senators other than enjoy the ride and watch his son run the show.

“I’m just going to sit back, watch what happens and maybe give some occasional advice,” he said.

Satriano helped out at a handful of practices as the Senators readied for their series run. Of course, his son had to tell the players about his father’s career--which ended long before the players were born.

Nonetheless, they generally welcomed his sage advice.

“It’s always a challenge,” Satriano said. “Everybody has their way of doing things. Eventually, they usually come around.”

Satriano can come around as often as he would like, as far as Lory Goldstein is concerned.

“He’s been wonderful with the kids,” said the Senators’ manager, who lives in Westlake Village. “It’s a great baseball family. They fit right in with us.”

Family, indeed.

Gina Satriano, Tom’s daughter, is a pitcher with the Silver Bullets, the recently formed all-female hardball team. Nick played at UC Santa Barbara.

The elder Satriano likes the Senators’ chances.

“I tell you what, this team has some talent,” he said. “They’ve got some good arms, good team speed and a couple of pretty good catchers.”

He qualifies as a good catch himself.