BASEBALL Mooney's Malaska hoping for bright future in Boston

After four seasons in the Tampa Bay system, he was claimed by the Red Sox.
SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mark Malaska had a busy day on Dec. 8.
After being waived by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the left-hander was claimed by the Boston Red Sox.
Pitching out of Tampa Bay's bullpen where he was called up to from Durham, N.C., their AAA team in the International League July 16, Malaska had a 2-1 record with a 2.81 earned run average.
He allowed 13 hits and five earned runs in 16 innings, walking 12 and striking out 17 with wins over the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians. He also blanked the New York Yankees for three innings in another performance.
The win over the Indians, at Jacobs Field, was especially satisfying for Malaska.
"I definitely got a kick out of that win," he said.
It was a decent resume for Malaska, who never thought of being a major league pitcher until his redshirt junior season at the University of Akron.
A 1996 Mooney grad
A life-long resident of the city's south side, Malaska graduated from Cardinal Mooney High in 1996, where he earned six letters in basketball and baseball.
A left-handed hitter and thrower, Malaska was a standout outfielder with a good arm and a very quick bat. He hit .462 his senior season at Mooney and had three good years in the Class B League as a member of the Sports Cage team. He was the top hitter in the 1996 Connie Mack state tournament with a .536 average.
After being redshirted his freshman year at Akron, he hit .296, .306 and .326 with 13 home runs and 100 RBIs for his career. Playing summer ball at Danbury, Conn., in the New England Collegiate League, Malaska hit .316 and .314, breaking 10 of the league's offensive records.
It was assumed that if Malaska had a future in professional baseball it would be as a position player.
Impressed scouts
But in the fall of 1999, in what is called "Scout Day" at Akron, Malaska was asked throw some batting practice and when some of the his pitches reached 90 miles per hour on the radar guns, major league scouts began to take notice.
Tampa Bay took him in the eighth round of the amateur draft, and Malaska began his pro career in 2000 with Class A Charleston, S.C., in their bullpen, and finished the season with Hudson Valley of the New York-Penn League. He pitched seven strong innings against the Mahoning Valley Scrappers at Cafaro Field.
He spent the following seasons at Charleston again, Bakersfield in the California League and finally to Class AA with Orlando of the Southern League. That is where he was at the start of the 2003 season, as a setup man in the bullpen, before earning call-up to AAA.
His career minor league record, mostly as a starter, was 27-33 with a 3.40 ERA. He led the Devil Rays' organization in strikeouts.
Support from his family
Malaska credited much of his success to his family.
A day that stands out in his life is July 21, 1997. Playing in a Youngstown AA League game at Oakland Field in front of his father Dennis and his brother David, Malaska had four hits, including three homers, and eight RBIs.
It was a happy day for all the Malaskas until that evening, when a tragic automobile accident took David's life. As devastating as this was to Mark it also was life defining for him.
"Along with the loss, along with my mourning and grief something else happened on that Sunday," he said. "I began to see a larger picture in life and I have never been under any pressure doing things since then."
He just accepts what happens and it is this attitude that probably has him in the majors. Dennis, a teacher at Chaney High, is a big factor in Mark's athletic career and his life.
"My dad was always very active with me and he always encouraged me, but he was hands off, never pressuring me to play," said Mark. "He would just say play and now I hope I can do that for a time where I am at."
Malaska doesn't say it in so many words, but wherever he plays it will be for David, and Dennis and his mother Darlene -- three people who always believed in him.