Switched Hitter

Football threw Durell Price a curveball. Now he’s decided to find out if he can hit one.

Price, 22, a former Sylmar High running back and team captain at UCLA, was cut by the San Diego Chargers last summer. He is making one last run at becoming a professional athlete.

Price enrolled at Oxnard College and will play baseball this spring for the Condors.

Price knows the reality. He is more project than prospect. He brings strength and speed to the game, but he hasn’t played baseball since his freshman year at Sylmar.

He is learning the basics in hopes his one remaining season of college eligibility will lead to a shot in professional baseball.

“He’s serious about this,” Oxnard Coach Jon Larsen said. “He’s a man working hard to make it. You can’t ask for more.”

Oxnard coaches say Price will initially be used as a designated hitter because of his below-average throwing arm and fielding skills. He runs well but will have to learn to be a competent hitter.

“He’s a project,” said Oxnard assistant Jerry Willard, a former catcher who spent parts of six seasons in the major leagues. “He’s a great athlete who’s getting back into shape. If he can prove he can hit, that’s the question. He’s going to be able to run, but you can’t steal first base.”

The 5-foot-11, 245-pound Price initially called Moorpark College, which had a set roster. So Price called Larsen, who was willing to take a chance.

“The guy is huge,” Larsen said. “[The team] is just awed by him. His forearms are enormous. He has very quick hands. When he makes contact, he just crushes the ball.”

The question is whether Price can make consistent contact.

He has shown flashes. In his first winter game, he collected two hits, including a line-drive triple. Oxnard coaches say they love to watch Price run the bases. The thought of meeting Price in a collision at home plate will likely terrify most catchers.

“If I’m catching against him and he’s coming down the line at me, you better believe I’m gonna put an ole [tag] on that guy,” said Oxnard assistant Buster Staniland, a former minor league catcher.

“If it had been him who hit [catcher Ray] Fosse in the [1970] All-Star game instead of [Pete] Rose, Fosse’s wife would still be collecting the life insurance. They’d have to peel [Fosse] off the screen with a putty knife.”

Oxnard’s players were star-struck. Price’s old backfield mate at UCLA, running back DeShaun Foster, came to watch him play at L.A. City.

“We had guys who didn’t know if they should high-five Durell or ask for his autograph,” Larsen said.

Price, who started nine games at fullback in his final season at UCLA, insists that going from major college and professional football to junior college baseball doesn’t faze him.

“Guys were asking me if I miss any of that stuff about UCLA,” Price said. “The truth is, I can do without it. I can do without all the crowds. It’s crazy as hell. Being here is peaceful. I’m here to play ball. I don’t need all the extra stuff that goes along with it.”

Price, a father of two children, resides in Camarillo. In February, he will marry Johnna Mike, a former Camarillo High and UCLA softball player. Mike encouraged Price to try baseball after it became evident he would not make the Chargers’ roster.

“She and I started to go to the batting cages,” Price said. “Things weren’t going well with the Chargers. I wanted to give baseball a chance.”

Now Price is learning how to pick up the rotating seams of a pitch instead of reading the blocks of an offensive line.

“I’m enjoying it, but baseball is a damn hard game,” he said. “Hitting the ball is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in sports. Every situation is different and that’s different from football. You better think to survive in this game.”

Price hopes to join the exclusive club of successful football-baseball players.

“I don’t want to look back and regret that I didn’t try this,” Price said. “This is worth a shot.”