March 23, 2005
Malibu, Calif. - Major influence
Pepperdine players can turn to fathers for advice
By Heather Gripp, LA Daily News Staff Writer
Although Ryne Sandberg, Jim Tracy and Bret Saberhagen are pillars in the baseball community, at Pepperdine, they're better known as "Dad." Each has a son playing for the Waves this season, leaving the players with a unique bond and Pepperdine with some of the best bloodlines in college baseball.
"We don't make a big deal about it -- they're treated just like anyone else," Pepperdine coach Steve Rodriguez said. "But it is rare to have this many players from major-league families in a program."
Even though Sandberg is a newly elected Hall of Famer, Tracy the Dodgers' current manager and Saberhagen a two-time AL Cy Young Award winner, they blend themselves into the crowd. They know this is time for Justin Sandberg, Chad Tracy and Drew Saberhagen to forge their own identities.
"We have similar stories, similar backgrounds and a love for the sport," said Justin Sandberg, a redshirt sophomore infielder/outfielder.
Sandberg was the first of the three to arrive at the school. Like the others, he says the beach just across the Pacific Coast Highway is almost as great as the baseball program, which is coming off a record 15th West Coast Conference title and is hosting a four-team tournament this weekend that also features Cal State Northridge, Oregon State and Winthorp.
Tracy, a sophomore, is in his second season as Pepperdine's starting catcher. Saberhagen joined the Waves this season as a left-handed pitcher/first baseman.
"Justin was one of the guys when I first got here as a freshman who took me under his wing," Tracy said. "And I kind of did that with Drew. The three of us are really good friends. There is a special bond between us, but our entire team is very close."
The team's closeness and lack of attention to fame is evident in the way Ryne Sandberg hangs out with the team. The Waves estimate the former National League MVP spends more time playing pingpong with them in Justin's basement than talking baseball.
"Pepperdine is a place where the celebrity status doesn't really matter much," said Rodriguez, who makes it clear during the recruiting process that he doesn't give preferential treatment to anyone.
"We have so many of the kids here of other celebrities and actually some celebrities themselves, so it doesn't really matter here. It helps them understand they're not going to be put into a spot where they're constantly looked at."
Tracy, the only starter among the three, attracted plenty of attention last season when he earned freshman All-America honors by hitting .320 with a conference-best 12 home runs.
Aside from a few teachers who occasionally ask him about the Dodgers, the sophomore says few connect him to the manager. Some teammates said last season they didn't know Tracy's family ties until a few months into practice.
"In high school it was more of a big deal and a lot of people knew it then," Tracy said. "But in college, pretty much the team and a select few of my friends are probably the only ones who know. It's not like I walk around school and people recognize me. It's not really a big deal at school, and that's the way I like it. I want to be low key and I don't want to be viewed as any different. I just want to be viewed as Chad, and that's it."
According to the fathers, the sons can be just as good at making the dads feel ordinary, often shunning their instructions.
"A lot of times, his teammates and friends would listen a little more as far as advice or technique," said Ryne Sandberg, who often welcomes neighborhood kids to join him in Whiffle Ball games in the family's yard in Arizona and helped with Justin's high school baseball team.
"I have to remember, OK, I'm the same person who tells him to clean his room and take out the trash. So when it's 'Keep your shoulder in on a curveball,' it's all the same to him."
Bret Saberhagen, who served as Drew's pitching coach the past two years at Calabasas High, can relate.
"It was tough for a while," he said. "You could tell him one thing or another and it was like I was disciplining him. ... Sometimes I could tell Drew or my other son something and they take it like, 'What does Dad know? What is he trying to do?' You have another coach tell them exactly the same thing and it's, 'Oh, OK.' "
However, the sons are quick to note that they do consider their fathers a valuable source of information. Chad Tracy, in particular, loves to pick his dad's mind, with the two talking at length after each game.
Rodriguez says the sons' appreciation for the "small things about the game that are very hard to coach," sets them apart from typical players at their level.
Of course, another huge difference is the experience from growing up in a major-league environment, visiting stadiums throughout the country, attending All-Star Games, serving as bat boys and being befriended by players who still inquire about them.
There certainly were drawbacks, though. The pressure of following famous fathers -- especially when Saberhagen and Sandberg played their fathers' positions -- and long periods apart from each other left the sons saying there were times they thought they were missing out.
Justin Sandberg spent so much time away from his father that he cites his mother as being the one who taught him baseball fundamentals as a kid.
"I think it's tougher when your dad's on the road and stuff," Drew Saberhagen said. "But when you're a kid and you're traveling with him and doing all that stuff, you get to experience so many things other kids normally would not. Just growing up in the clubhouse and meeting all the guys. So it has it's pluses and negatives, but I'd definitely say the positives outweigh the negatives."
The fathers attend games as often as their schedules allow. Jim Tracy will be at the Dodgers spring-training base in Vero Beach, Fla., for another three weeks. Ryne Sandberg is a spring-training instructor with the Cubs and also tries to attend his other children's sporting events. Bret Saberhagen is entering his first season as Calabasas High's head baseball coach.
Rodriguez says the three never have complained about coaching decisions or their son's playing time.
"What's amazing is the players who come from families that have been in professional baseball, they understand the game and they understand that we're doing everything we can to put the best team out there," Rodriguez said. "We're going to do everything we can to teach the kids the right way to play the game.
"I would say 99 percent of the time the only thing their parents say to me is, 'Hey, let me know if you need anything.' They're great people to deal with and whenever we need something, we call 'em up and they come help with it. ... I just think having these guys on the team is a tremendous asset because they are great people and understand the game of baseball. I wish I could have 20 of them, I really do."
Heather Gripp, (818)713-3607 heather.gripp@dailynews.com
