On the site of what was once training grounds for World War II aviators, a new group of Pilots are flying under the radar into the summer baseball season.
With local attention settling mostly on the cross-town Santa Maria Packers, the team is hoping to compete with the big boys in the California Collegiate League with a hastily cobbled together roster of returning Hancock players and recently graduated high school seniors.
To help improve local baseball talent and add more games to the Packers’ schedule, Packers’ coach Scott Nickason and Allan Hancock College head baseball coach Chris Stevens worked together to get the Pilots off the ground.
“We wanted to exemplify local athletes, and we’re getting that with the Pilots,” Stevens said. “It’s a good opportunity in a strong league.”
Stevens, forbidden by state athletic rules to coach his active players over the summer, will take a behind-the-scenes role in the actual operation of the team. Cesar Reyes, who recently resigned as assistant coach at Hancock, will manage the club.
Reyes said his main goal coming into the first season is getting his players to polish their skills.
“They start seeing that they’re just like everybody else. It gives them an idea of where they want to be,” Reyes said. “The only difference really is that [these] guys throw a little harder. Once they get adjusted to that, they’ll be OK. It’s the same game.”
There’s no such thing as an off-season for the 18 Pilots coming fresh off Hancock’s successful 2009 team that finished 15-10 in the Western State Conference and made the regional playoffs.
One of those returning to Hancock next season as a sophomore is Chris Mallory, one of the team’s better hitters, according to his coach.
Mallory said playing for the Pilots will keep his teammates and him fresh.
“It’s more about keeping into baseball itself and maintaining everything,” Mallory said. “If you’re not playing, then you’re just sitting around. Then you’ve got to get back into it.”
Mallory said he’d be happy with however the first season turns out, as long as he and the rest of the players are able to improve.
“In summer ball, of course you want to win, but a lot of people are coming in trying to work on things for the next regular season and trying to get better,” Mallory said. “It makes it successful for you when you need to return back to the program you’re at, whether it’s at Hancock or wherever else.”
The Pilots’ roster includes five recent graduates of nearby high schools; catcher Ethan Rae and pitcher Sam Halop from Righetti High School, outfielder Andrew Clark from Santa Maria High School, and pitcher Cody Berryman and outfielder Brandon Alonzo from Lompoc High.
Rae, who hopes to attend Hancock next season, is playing in his first college summer league and said he can’t wait to play games through July.
“It’s definitely another level of play, but I’ve always wanted to play there. It’s been a good transition,” Rae said. “Everyone here wants to play and wants to be here. It’s different from high school. It’s time to get good right now.”
As would be expected with an inexperienced club, the Pilots struggled early out of the gate. The team lost its first five games with a combined score of 46-12 before pulling through with a 6-2 home win over the San Luis Obispo Blues on June 9.
“It was good to get that first win under our belts,” said Skyler Ellis, another returning Hancock player and the Pilots’ everyday first baseman. “We just need to keep swinging it—that’s the biggest thing,”
Calling John Osborne Field at Hancock their home, the Pilots will play 35 games in six weeks.
Coach Reyes, who played for two seasons in the Atlanta Braves organization, said the busy schedule prepares younger players for the next level of competition.
“They’re getting a taste of pro ball because that’s what pro ball is,” Reyes said. “You play every day.”
The major adjustment the players have had to make, they said, is getting used to swinging a wooden bat.
“All of us have been swinging aluminum for the last four months, and then you come out swinging a wood bat, and the sweet spot is a lot smaller,” Ellis said.
All in all, Ellis said he’s enjoying playing all the time and likes his teammates and the environment of summer ball.
“It’s more of a pro style,” he said. ‘You just show up at the ballpark and go through the motions. As long as you get your stuff done, no one’s really on you. It’s just on you to get it done.”
The Pilots are 0-3 against the Packers so far this season. The teams will face off against each other two more times at Elks Field this summer, once on June 20 and again on June 28.
While giving teams like the Packers a run for their money would give the Pilots an ego boost, the players realize there’s more to summer baseball than wins and losses.
“We’ve got to play competitive,” Ellis said. “But it’s also about working on yourself and making yourself better while sticking with the team atmosphere.”
Less than two weeks into the season, Reyes said he’s already seen improvements in his club. He’s more concerned with getting his players quality at-bats than finishing at the top of the league standings.
“The better pitching you see and the more you see of it, the better you’re going to get. That’s just the way it goes,” Reyes said. “The ultimate goal is to get better this year—and hopefully we’ll win, too.”
Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas isn’t used to typing on a wooden keyboard. Contact him at jthomas@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 18-25, 2009.