Another Lesson for Daryabigi

For Ray Daryabigi, unbeaten as a pitcher, unbridled as a center fielder and unblinking as a batter, the pain once again is all but unbearable.

“When it happened, I was like, ‘Why me?’ But good things happen from bad things. It’s a good learning experience for me, I guess. You just keep things in perspective.”

Those were Daryabigi’s words the day after he had misplayed, then mis-thrown a ball in the ninth inning of the City Section 4-A Division final at Dodger Stadium, enabling the winning run to score in El Camino Real’s 7-6 victory over Chatsworth last June.

Nine months later the words again are appropriate, although they don’t pertain to Daryabigi’s play. Now it is his grades that have him searching for answers.

Daryabigi, a senior, will be ineligible for the first 10 weeks of the season because he failed to attain a 2.0 grade-point average during the first semester. Gone from the lineup is a player who batted .385 last season and .380 in American Legion, going a collective 83 for 217. The left-hander also was 6-0 with a 2.15 earned-run average for Chatsworth.

“I was disappointed but I guess things happen for a reason,” said Daryabigi, who has taken a telemarketing job after school. “I understand what I did. It hurts, but I’m working hard getting my grades up and I’m working out every weekend.”

Credit Daryabigi with placing the blame for his poor grades nowhere but on his own shoulders.

“My teachers treated me with fairness,” he said. “I just thought I was doing better in a couple classes than I really was.”

The problem surprised Coach Tom Meusborn, who describes Daryabigi as a serious student and a solid citizen.

“I didn’t see it coming, and it is a sensitive issue with him,” Meusborn said. “But the team is 100% behind Ray and we believe he will rejoin us in 10 weeks.”

Maybe something good can result, just as Daryabigi hopes.

By improving his average to 2.0 by the next grading period, he will be eligible for the last six games of the regular season, including what promises to be a pivotal series against El Camino Real. Chatsworth has lost to El Camino Real in the City 4-A final two years in a row.

Daryabigi would be reunited at the top of the batting order with his twin brother, Rod, the Chancellors’ leadoff hitter and second baseman. Last season, Rod batted .418 and the brothers combined to score 76 runs.

For now, the team is more concerned about the numbers Ray Daryabigi will post in the classroom.

“There is no doubt he will be back,” said Jon Tucker, Chatsworth’s first baseman. “He is studying all the time.”

Nevertheless, this is one lesson learned the hard way.

“I want to tell all young people, ‘Be on top of your grades, don’t let them slip,’ ” Daryabigi said. “Learn from this.”

*

Legends of the spring begin during March nonleague baseball games. And if there is a larger-than-life fellow to begin spinning Bunyon-esque tales around this year, it is Tucker, a 6-foot-5 left-handed power hitter.

How many scouts crammed around the field to watch Chatsworth play Montclair Prep a couple of days ago? “At least 30,” said one scout who was there.

“Thirty to 40,” said Tucker, who stopped counting long enough to drill a line-drive home run to center field.

Those numbers might be accurate. In addition to watching Tucker, scouts were able to evaluate Montclair Prep outfielder Darrell Dent, another top prospect. Baseball America magazine ranks Dent No. 20 and Tucker No. 31 on its list of national high school prospects.

Tucker is a senior transfer from Alemany who experienced academic problems last year and transferred to Chatsworth in the fall. He has come to actually enjoy the classroom, perhaps because it is the only place he is left alone by scouts.

“They are at my practices every day,” said Tucker, who earned a 2.7 GPA his first semester at Chatsworth. “And not just one. Two or three. I’m getting kind of used to it.”

So far, questions scouts ask him run to the superficial.

“They all ask me who my favorite baseball player is,” Tucker said, laughing. “I say, Fred McGriff. That’s my boy.”

Scouts also ask how he feels. Tucker, 18, has the answer they want to hear.

“I just feel great,” he said. “Honestly, I feel strong, I’m in the best shape possible. I feel myself maturing a lot on the field and as a person.”

The attention is new to Meusborn, who took over at Chatsworth in 1990, after widely scouted players such as Rich Aude and Derek Wallace had graduated.

“He doesn’t seem to press, I haven’t seen a change in him when the scouts are there,” said Meusborn, who has yet to address the team regarding the avalanche of attention their new teammate is generating.

“If it became a distraction and guys were doing things uncharacteristic of them, we’d sit down and discuss it,” he said. “But we stay pretty focused on what we are doing. These guys keep on task.”

Tucker gave an oral commitment to The Master’s College two weeks ago, a decision that raised questions. Had Tucker, who was being chased by several Division I schools, sold himself short?

He said it is questionable whether he will have the academic requirements for a Division I school, and he also wanted to whittle down the recruiting attention by making an early commitment. Tucker has not taken the SAT.

“If he continues to improve, he’ll be drafted high enough that he won’t ever set foot in Master’s College,” a scout said.