Parsons Not Exactly One of Guys at Birmingham

Andy Parsons wasn’t making a statement about civil rights, gender rights or human rights when she became the only girl among 130 players to try out for the varsity baseball team at Birmingham High in November.

“I’ve been asked by softball coaches my whole life to play,” she said. “But I really love baseball. As far as the guys are concerned, I’m just another player. I know people in the stands are surprised I’m even here at all.”

Parsons made the team as a second baseman, and no one considers it a big deal because she was a part-time starter the last two years on the junior varsity.

“She was never treated any differently and never wanted to be,” Coach Rick Weber said.

It’s difficult to identify her among Birmingham’s varsity players until she turns her back and you see the long ponytail dangling from under her hat.

During a winter game several weeks ago, Parsons singled against Newbury Park. She’ll be a backup this season and has the support of her teammates.

“The other teams seem pretty surprised, but we’ve played with her for a while and know she can hold her own,” pitcher Neil Morrow said.

Parsons, who has a 3.77 GPA, would probably be a top softball player for Birmingham. The softball coaches have tried repeatedly to recruit her. But every spring, she chooses baseball, saying she prefers to be “the little fish in a big pond.”

“As an individual player, it’s an accomplishment [to make the team], not just as a female,” she said.

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If all goes well, former Chatsworth pitcher Derek Wallace will be back in the major leagues this season after successfully completing his second comeback from injury.

In 1997, he was a relief pitcher for the New York Mets when he underwent surgery to remove an aneurysm in his right shoulder. He returned to pitch for the Kansas City Royals in 1999, then missed last season after surgery on the same shoulder for a torn labrum and frayed rotator cuff.

Wallace is working out in Jensen Beach, Fla., hoping to be ready by spring training. He’s a free agent and wants to show he can still pitch in the major leagues.

“I’m getting pretty anxious and antsy to get back and play, but I have to keep telling myself it has to be 100% because it doesn’t make sense to throw unless I can show a team everything I have,” he said.

Wallace, 29, has overcome adversity because of the wisdom passed along by his coaches through the years, from his father, Dave, to his high school coach, Bob Lofrano, to Andy Lopez at Pepperdine.

“Andy Lopez always told me, ‘It’s how people come out of adversity that builds their character,’ ” he said. “One time Coach Lopez took our team to a children’s hospital. He taught us a lesson about pressure. He told us, ‘Whatever you’re doing, playing baseball or working in the real world, you don’t experience pressure like these kids who can’t even go outside and see the sunlight.’ It puts things in perspective.”

Among Wallace’s motivations to return to the majors is to have his 6-month-old son, Dawson, watch him pitch.

“I want him to see me playing,” he said. “I always got a kick out of players bringing their kids into the clubhouse.”

Wallace was a first-round draft choice by the Chicago Cubs out of Pepperdine in 1992. Injuries have disrupted his career, but he isn’t ready to call it quits.

“I’m definitely tired of sitting at home,” he said. “Being hurt is the worst. I definitely feel I’ll get back one day. I’ve been through a couple of rehabs. They get frustrating, but you have to keep plugging away.”

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High school baseball practice begins Feb. 12, and every coach should have the dilemma facing Manny Alvarado of Kennedy and Tom Meusborn of Chatsworth.

They have so many quality pitchers that determining a starting rotation will be difficult. The two schools could play a best-of-seven series and have four different starters.

Complicating matters are young pitchers challenging veterans.

At Chatsworth, All-City pitcher Joe Guntz returns with No. 2 Sean Richards, but sophomore Justin Cassel was the team’s best pitcher in summer ball and freshman Jason Dominguez has been the most consistent in winter ball, leaving Meusborn unsure who to start.

“No two guys have separated themselves from the others,” he said. “It’s a nice problem to have.”

At Kennedy, All-City pitcher Adam Geery, a junior, is probably No. 1, but he’s getting competition from junior left-hander Eric Moore and seniors Tim St. Pierre and Danny Mata. All-City catcher Phil Avlas is being groomed as a closer.

Fortunately for other City Section teams, the playoffs are single elimination.

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Eddie Baeza, a junior right-hander for Poly, could be the hardest thrower at the Sun Valley school in 10 years.

He won 10 games as a sophomore, lifted weights in the off-season and has increased his velocity to the point he’s throwing in the high 80s.

“Oh my God, he’s throwing hard,” Coach Chuck Schwal said.

With Baeza and left-hander Joe Hampel, plus six other returning starters from a 21-9 team, Poly has its sights set on winning the City Championship. Schwal doesn’t fear any team, including Kennedy and Chatsworth.

“I don’t think teams will want to play us,” he said.

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Ryan Braun, an All-City infielder at Granada Hills and one of the region’s best hitters, will likely start the season as a designated hitter while recovering from a strained elbow. . . .

Pitcher Jeff Weaver of the Detroit Tigers will have his Simi Valley baseball uniform retired at halftime of the Pioneers’ basketball game against Royal on Feb. 9. . . .

Thousand Oaks (17-4) has won eight consecutive boys’ basketball games and could be a factor in the Southern Section Division I-AA playoffs. One reason is the dramatic improvement by 6-5 junior Ben Olson, a left-hander known more for his quarterback skills.

“You’d be saying this kid is going to be one of the best basketball players around, but we know football is where he’s going to be,” Coach Richard Endres said. “This kid is a leader. He’s a winner.”

Olson has become a basketball standout, something few envisioned a few months ago. It demonstrates the special athletic skills he possesses. . . .

Crespi Celts everywhere will take pride watching the Super Bowl. Shaun Williams, a 1994 Crespi grad, is starting free safety for the New York Giants. Randy Cross, a 1972 Crespi graduate, will help broadcast the game.

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Eric Sondheimer’s column appears Sunday and Wednesday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422 or eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.