Scrappers’ manager must wait

Tim Laker’s return to where he started his pro career has been stalled by a rainout.

By JOE SCALZO

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — The last time Tim Laker was in Jamestown, N.Y., he was a 19-year-old catching prospect for the Montreal Expos organization, playing his second year of Single-A baseball.

Eighteen years later, early on Tuesday evening, Laker found himself back where he started his baseball career. Only now he was a 37-year-old ex-player, sitting on a bench outside a Red Roof Inn, waiting for a cab to bring him to a nearby casino for a night of poker.

His first game as manager of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers had just been rained out. Playing cards was the next-best thing.

“It’s kind of ironic to be back here,” Laker said. “And it’s kind of neat since this is where I started my professional career and now it’s the place where I’ll manage my first game.”

Those first two years in Jamestown are a bit of a blur for Laker. He went on to play 15 more years of pro baseball, including 11 in the majors, and he doesn’t remember much about his first stop.

He hadn’t even seen his old stadium yet — the game was called hours before the 7 p.m. start — and although the city hasn’t changed much, it still felt unfamiliar.

“I don’t even know if a lot of the buildings are still up,” Laker said. “It was so long ago.”

Rained out

Tuesday’s game was rescheduled for tonight, with two seven-inning games to start at 6:05.

Most of the Scrappers are fresh out of college — there are six players returning from last year’s team — and they’re eager to play their first pro game.

Laker, meanwhile, is eager to manage his first pro game.

“I was really hoping it wasn’t rained out,” Laker said. “I wanted to get that first game in but I’m sure the players were more disappointed than I was.”

Laker was drafted out of high school in 1987 in the 44th round by the Kansas City Royals, but decided to go to junior college for a year in his home state of California. After that season, he was drafted in the sixth round by the Expos and turned pro.

“My mom said that all I wanted to do was eat, sleep and play baseball,” Laker said. “It was the perfect job for me.”

Adjustment period

Because he was so young, it took him a little longer to adjust to professional life, but he figured it out soon enough.

“I didn’t really know what to expect,” he said. “It was my first time away from home and I was around mostly college guys. I didn’t realize how many Latin guys there were, either.”

Laker never learned Spanish (he does claim to know “Spanglish,” he said), but he picked up enough to communicate with the players, provided they speak slowly. It’s a skill he’ll need as a manager.

“I wish I had tried a little harder to learn it,” he said of Spanish.

Although Laker played five of the last six years in Cleveland, he’s still learning the Mahoning Valley (like what the term means, for instance) and he’s sorting through the things people tell him about the area (yes, he’s heard the Mafia rumors).

He’s also still learning the names of his players. He hasn’t even seen some of the Scrappers play catch, but he knows enough to put the Indians’ top draft pick, Beau Mills, in the No. 3 hole and to put the local kid, shortstop Jeff Hehr of Cardinal Mooney, in the lineup.

Like the players, he’ll have a learning curve. But it’s a safe bet he’ll figure it out. You don’t stay in the majors as a defensive catcher as long as he did without learning a few tricks.

“This is a great job,” Laker said. “I’ve got no real-world skills, so I’m going to stay in baseball as long as I can.

“I just love the game.”

scalzo@vindy.com