Pickler Picks the Players That Wanna Play

By Annie Rivera

Scott Pickler's foresight of the Cypress College baseball program began in 1985 and has been worth a world of knowledge to players both past and present.

"We graduate 90% of our kids and move most of our kids on. We run a disciplined program in the classroom and on the field," Pickler said. "It just keeps getting better every year."

Players like Gerald Laird who went to the minor leagues before making his major league debut in 2003 with the Texas Rangers. Also Pitcher Trevor Hoffman began his career at Cypress College then moved on to University of Arizona before coming to the San Diego Padres in 1993.

Teresa Wang, Sports Information Director at Cypress College, said other noted players drafted and signed by MLB teams, or went on to universities before signing with big league teams are:

Taylor Green, signed with Milwaukee in 2005. David Huff graduated in 2005 before transferring to UCLA and was later drafted and signed with Cleveland. Josh Tamba, drafted and signed by Baltimore in 2006. Alex Jordan, in 2006 was drafted by Cleveland but did not sign. Kevin Smith played for Cypress before transferring to Oklahoma and later was drafted and signed by the Yankees in 2006. Ben Ornelas, in 2006 was drafted but did not sign with Chicago.

Pickler and his coaching staff recruit players from high schools. They look for players who have talent and are good people on and off the field. "The good kids that can play don't want to leave this program. They see what has happened in the past and they want to stay," said Pickler. "We have a pretty good history." High school ball players come to Cypress College with high hopes of furthering their talent by signing "pro contracts" or getting individual scholarships. "We had 16 out of 17 kids get scholarships last year," Pickler said. Named National Coach of the Year for California Junior Colleges four times, Pickler said he hopes to instill in players "how to play the game the right way and know how to act on and off the field the right way."

Pickler is highly recognized by his colleagues and athletes in "running a good baseball program," said Clyde Wright, father of New York Yankees pitcher, Jaret Wright. Pickler measures his success and that of the school's program by how many players are successful at the next level. "This is to see if we're doing our jobs," said Pickler.

When asked what piece of advice he could share with young baseball enthusiasts and players who dream of playing in the Major or Minor Leagues, Pickler said, "The big thing is take care of today and not to worry about tomorrow. Do well in the classroom and on the field. In this game every level is an adjustment. Making your adjustments: from travel ball to high school; high school to college ball; college to pro ball. Make adjustments at every level."

Original post: 09/05/06

Media: Cypress Chronicle and CyChron.com