A Different Drummer : Marina’s Wilson Has Own Sense of Style, but No One Argues With Success

Craig Wilson, Marina’s senior catcher, is a different sort. Nothing bad, mind you, he just causes some head scratching from time to time.

Just ask Viking pitcher Justin Lynch, who has to deal with Wilson’s trips to the mound.

“We were playing La Quinta and they had a couple runners on,” Lynch said. “Craig comes out and tells me a joke.”

Yup, Wilson’s different.

Ask Coach Paul Renfrow, who will chuckle about his catcher one moment, then turn dead-eye serious.

“He’s like a little boy,” Renfrow said. “Other guys have a full calendar. They got this going and that going. Not Craig. He just wants to come out and play baseball.”

Yup, different.

Ask Athletic Director Larry Doyle. Wilson insists he attend Marina’s games.

“There was a four-game stretch where I didn’t see him make an out,” Doyle said. “So every game day he tells me, ‘Mr. Doyle, you’re going to be at the game today, right?’ ”

Different.

What’s most different about Wilson is apparent when he plays. There are few players who have so many skills and do so much with them.

Wilson has caused a few double-takes and some back tracking with scouts and opposing coaches this season. They all knew he was good, but in the last year, Wilson has moved into the exceptional category.

“He opened some eyes in the summer,” Renfrow said. “He was hitting some long home runs with a wood bat.”

And he has continued to impress.

“A lot of times you see a kid who is good as a sophomore and junior, then doesn’t perform quite as well as a senior,” Renfrow said. “They think they know it all and don’t need to listen. Craig has gone in reverse. He would kind of listen as a sophomore, but knew he was good. Now he acts like, ‘OK, I’m good, what can I do to get better?’ ”

Wilson, who has signed with UCLA, hit .410 with four home runs and 36 runs batted in as a junior. Nice numbers, ones that would make most guys content. Not Wilson.

He enters this week second in Orange County with a .578 average. He also has five home runs, 23 RBIs and 17 stolen bases.

But these are just things Wilson does. Don’t ask him to explain how.

“Good coaching,” he said at one point.

“I’ve matured,” he said a moment later.

“I have no clue,” he finally said, grinning.

Still, no matter the reason--hard work, good coaching or karma--Wilson never fails to catch an eye.

“He’s the whole package,” La Quinta Coach Dave Demarest said. “I saw enough in one night to understand why he will be a first-round draft pick.”

Wilson was one for two with an RBI and a stolen base against La Quinta. Demarest ought to see Wilson when he’s really on.

Los Alamitos did. Wilson hit two home runs against the Griffins--the second landing in the back yard of a house near the field--and had six RBIs. Then he was intentionally walked and did something really impressive, at least in Doyle’s eyes.

“The next guy hit a ball over the center fielder’s head,” Doyle said. “I look back and Craig was already on third base. He almost caught the runner in front of him.”

That was impressive--but for dumbstruck, just talk to second baseman David Titov.

“Last year, Craig hit the longest home run I ever saw,” Titov said. “It was at this big park in Redlands and went over this fence so far away you wouldn’t have believed it was the outfield fence.”

Said Renfrow: “It was about 500 feet. When he hit it, everyone in the dugout just hushed. No one said a word. Even the umpire was stunned.”

It’s not that Renfrow didn’t see this coming. He had Wilson pegged right away.

In fact, Renfrow considered Wilson the best pitcher in the freshman class, maybe even among the sophomores, four years ago. That’s more than idle talk. Wilson has pitched in relief a bit this season--he has one victory and one save.

“He comes in and just buries it,” Renfrow said.

But Wilson didn’t want to be a pitcher. He wanted that painful, sweaty squatting behind the plate. He had been a catcher since he was 11 and saw no reason to change.

Never mind that scouts are talking about him playing the outfield or infield. They see his speed as too precious a commodity to waste crouching behind the plate.

His baserunning skills are such that Renfrow has had him try to steal home twice. He was out both times. Both were bad calls, according to Wilson.

Not that he minded. He knew he was safe. In the same way he knows he’s a catcher.

“Sure, I’ll eventually lose speed, but that won’t be for a long, long time,” Wilson said. “So I don’t see catching to be a problem.”

Said Renfrow: “Imagine being able to draft a kid who can hit, run, catch, play outfield, pitch. He will certainly be an asset.”