Little Leaguers Get Some Pointers From the Pros

Wearing a Dodgers’ uniform that was two sizes too large and clutching a glove as big as his head, 7-year-old Herman Cox was a Little Leaguer with a purpose Saturday.

“I want to learn how to hit the ball over the fence,” Cox said, standing on the freshly mowed baseball field at Sunny slope Park.

Cox was in the right place to learn how to hit home runs.

A few yards away stood Ken Landreaux, who hit his share of homers for the major league Dodgers in the 1980s.

Landreaux and a dozen semipro players were in Pacoima on Saturday to show 200 Little Leaguers how to bat, pitch, catch and run bases as part of Spring Training ’99.

Sponsored by the Volunteer Center, Pacoima Youth Athletic Foundation and Ball Park Franks, the free training camp gave children from economically distressed neighborhoods of the northeast San Fernando Valley a chance to pick up pointers from professional athletes and see examples of local kids who made it to the big leagues.

“When I was a Little Leaguer, I remember going to camp to see Tommy Davis and Steve Garvey and those guys,” Landreaux recalled. “It was kind of an inspiration that major leaguers would come out and take time to explain the path they took to pro baseball.”

On Saturday, Landreaux and triple-A players from the Royals, Rangers, Cubs and Indians put the pint-sized Sammy Sosa wannabes through the paces, teaching them the fundamentals of the game.

Members of the Cal State Northridge baseball team also stopped by to warm up in front of the Little Leaguers for a college game scheduled nearby.

Later in the day, the minor leaguers and Little Leaguers played a game together.

The children seemed excited to be getting attention from older athletes.

“I’m learning how to pitch and bat,” said Eric Stenhouse, 10, of Pacoima, as he looked up with admiration at the towering triple-A athletes nearby.

“The kids stare at you with awe,” said Ruben Corral of El Monte, who pitches for the Toronto Blue Jays’ farm club in Syracuse, N.Y. “They want to be like you. It’s a great opportunity for them to meet some pro ball players.”