USD Magazine, Summer 2003

INOR IRACLES

Professional baseball players make the game - and life - look easy. But getting to the major leagues is a physical and mental struggle that can wreak havoc on a young man's dreams. Five former Toreros are in the midst of that struggle, battling to be among the few who make their childhood fantasies come true.

For the Toreros, some hard decisions had to be made immediately. Third baseman David Bagley and pitcher Ricky Barrett were taken back-to-back in rhe seventh round, Bagley by the Los Angeles Dodgers and Barrett by the Minnesota Twins. Infielder Mike McCoy was tabbed in the 34th round by the Sr. Louis Cardinals.

learned char while the step from college to a professional career in the minor leagues is formidable, it is only a small step toward achieving the major-league dream. USD has sent players to the professional ranks in the past, but never five from rhe same ream. The achievement is more remark– able given the nature of the wee, a confed– eration of small schools that commands rela– tively Ii tde attention from pro scouts. "We're in the shadow of the major confer– ences, no question," says USD coach Rich Hill. "Winning the WCC helped bring attention to the caliber of athlete we have here, bur it's tough for any player who comes from a smaller school without a long history of winning." Just how tough it is became clear during the five players' freshman year in professional baseball. Each of USD's Fab Five has a dif– ferent story to tell. One grabbed a starring spot against great odds, another coped with a difficult adjustment to the next level of the sport. Two faced debilitating injuries and months of arduous rehabilitation. And for Assael, his first professional season became his last. The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of The 50 rounds of the 2002 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft were held over two days in June. Exactly 1,482 players heard their names called by one of the 30 big league franchises , who hold exclusive rights to sign their drafted players. High school seniors and college players who are not selected became free agents, eligible to sign with any club.

by Timothy McKernan " I f there is a guy who played organized base– ball at any level and tells you he never wanted to play in the major leagues, I'll bet you he's lying," says Sam Assael '02. "Even guys who only play pick-up games at the park chink about it; guys who have never played chink about it. If you've put on a Little League uniform, you've dreamed of purring on a major league one." Each year, tens of thousands of high school and college players rake that dream onto the baseball diamond. For the vast majority, it is left there. Most are never even looked at by a professional scout. But last year five Toreros - Assael, fellow senior Joe Lima and juniors David Bagley, Ricky Barrett and Mike McCoy - signed profes– sional baseball contracts. In 2002, the quintet led the USD ream to the West Coast Conference championship, a feat never before achieved by a Torero squad. Bur that pinnacle stood in the shadow of much taller peaks. Shortly after their tri– umphant victory, the five players found themselves assigned to minor league reams, toiling in small towns light years away from the glamour of the big leagues. They soon

David Bagley's road to the big leagues included stops in Columbus, Ga. - and a surgeon's office. The draft forced the three juniors to decide whether to forgo their scholarships and their senior years at USD. All three say they never seriously considered passing up the chance to play professional baseball, but all three also negotiated contract stipulations saying their clubs will pay for the remainder of their schooling. "I gave up my scholarship, but I covered my bases," Bagley says. "I can go back and complete my degree any time, and I plan to do it, but I'm getting an opportunity that is just too good to pass up." McCoy, whose name was called so lace in the process, says he had almost given up

Five members of USD's 2002 WCC championship team left Alcala Park for fields of dreams.

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SUMMER 2003