Spring training for SALSA

LANSDOWNE, Md. - The youngsters from Lancaster had no idea who Dave Johnson was.

But he commanded their attention as he stood on the pitcher's mound demonstrating step by step what it takes to throw a strike.

The former Baltimore Orioles pitcher modeled the sequence: where to stand, how to hold the ball, the leg kick, the release of the ball and the follow through.

The young baseball players tried to imitate Johnson's instruction, but as each took his turn, the result was a conglomeration of random movements that happened to send the ball moving toward the catcher or fast and hard off to the side.

Lesson number one: It is better to throw a strike than to be able to throw a ball really hard but not accurately.

The pitching clinic was part of a special program put together for the Spanish American Lancaster Sports Association by the Lansdowne, Md., nonprofit Leadership Through Athletics. Twenty-three SALSA baseball players took part in the program March 19 at the new athletic center just outside of Baltimore.

"If I throw strikes, I give my team a chance to win," said Johnson, an Orioles pitcher from 1989-91.

Johnson demonstrated a pitch. It went high. "If I throw a ball high, what do I need to do? Make an adjustment. If I do the same thing every time, I can make an adjustment, but if I'm all over the place, I don't know how to make an adjustment," he explained.

As each boy stepped up to take his turn, Johnson stood behind him, guiding him into the correct position.

"I messed up," said one boy as he stepped off the pitcher's mound after a bad throw. "Yeah, you did," said Johnson. "Thanks for owning up to it."

Meanwhile, just a few feet away, Ricky Lester from AssaultBaseball, a semi-professional league in Baltimore, instructed a clinic in batting, while J.P. Mickanis, a volunteer, taught the boys how to bunt.

Upstairs, boys were being taught how to run bases and field balls.

Lester was a power plant of enthusiasm as he pitched to the batters and gave each boy one-on-one attention in the proper way to swing and stand.

The tinny clank of balls against metal bats punctuated the encouragement: "Good job. That's my boy."

"You've got a lot of talent."

"All right now, hit me a bomb."

A forceful slug sent the bright yellow ball flying into the blue netting surrounding the batting area, causing observers in the ball's path to flinch.

It was the kind of hit all the boys wanted to unleash. That caused a problem in the bunting area, where the youngsters were forced to rein in their impulse to slam the ball.

Some could barely muster the control. But the ones who were able to focus their energy, gave the ball just the right tap.

AssaultBaseball provided the instructors to lead most of the clinics. An unidentified Lancaster woman donated the $800 for the bus the team traveled on, and Lancaster artist Chris Chamberlain designed logos gratis for the event.

Christian Metzger, a Columbia native and development director for Leadership Through Athletics, created Charities Helping Charities, a program designed to help less fortunate groups, and invited SALSA.

The Leadership gym is tightly squeezed into an economically depressed area, with railroad tracks hard up against the rear of the building, a convenience store next door and a residential neighborhood just across the road.

The nonprofit gym was the brainchild of two brothers, Michael and Patrick Grace, who wanted to create a safe place for children to learn to play sports and at the same time develop character and leadership abilities. The $2 million facility opened in December of last year.

After the clinics, the boys gathered in an upstairs gym to hear a short talk by Johnson.

"The idea is to get the basics and go out and have fun,"Johnson said.

"Sports teach you how to win and how to lose. I promise you are going to make mistakes. Failure is part of baseball."

Johnson used the example of a batter in the big leagues with a .300 average, who would be considered a superstar. But what that means is the player gets a hit three out of 10 times.

So 70 percent of the time, the player has failed. If that player were to behave poorly each time he failed, such as throwing the bat or his batting helmet, he would be behaving that way 70 percent of the time, Johnson said.

Baseball is about learning life's lessons, Johnson said. You learn what it is like to make a good play and what it is like to pat a buddy on the back because he made a mistake.

"You listen and you watch. That's how you learn," said Johnson.

The players Johnson saw move on in the big leagues were the ones who were listening. They made sure they walked away with one more tip or idea from every game or practice.

Born in Baltimore, Johnson, 46, started his major-league career with the Pittsburgh Pirates when he was 28.

Johnson was 11 in 1970 when the Orioles won the World Series. At that time, the Orioles' second baseman was named Dave Johnson.

So the 11-year-old Johnson bought an autographed baseball glove with the elder Johnson's signature on it.

It was a kick for the 11-year-old to have a glove with his own name on it. Little did he know he would one day play for the same team.

Several parents went to Baltimore with the team. Mary Cioffi of West New Street went on the bus, along with her fiancé Wade Valentin, who coaches the 11- and 12-year-olds in SALSA.

Her son, Matthew Olavarria, 11, is a standout player, even though this is only his first year with SALSA.

He can do it all, said Sindo Lopez, the president of SALSA.

Marco Parra, 13, of Stevens Avenue, who just joined SALSA, turned out to be a natural.

He looked like he had been batting for years but said he never played baseball before, aside from a little bit in the neighborhood.

SALSA formed in 1999 and is part of the Penn Manor Midget League. It has about 40 players from ages 9 to 14 and plays on Davey Arnold Field behind Washington Elementary School at Chesapeake and South Ann streets, but will also use the newly renovated Roberto Clemente field on South Duke Street when it is completed.

The program is desperate for coaches, said Lopez, the driving force behind SALSA. Dennis Walker, another board member, traveled with the team to the clinic in Lansdowne.

The board has dwindled to four members, but the program recently got a shot of hope when it joined the Lancaster YMCA to form a youth baseball program for 7- to 9-year-olds.

Nelson Suarez, who traveled with his son Adrian, 10, said the trip was a wonderful opportunity for the boys to learn and to reinforce their baseball skills.

Suarez said Adrian didn't sleep well the night before because he was looking forward to the baseball clinic.

"Some of them haven't ever been out of Lancaster. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for a lot of these kids."

Lancaster Online
Spring training for SALSA
Kids from a local youth-sports program traveled to Maryland to get baseball lessons from teachers including a former major leager.
Sunday News (Lancaster, PA)
Publication Date: March 27, 2005
Tag: 10233527
Section: SPORTS
Page: C-6
Maria Coole

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