Antush is still in the game with the Scrappers

July 21, 2016 at 12:10a.m.

Antush plays two key roles for the Scrappers

When the Mahoning Valley Scrappers play at home, he is one of the first to arrive at the ball park and he is among the last to leave.

He can be found hurling pitches on the field and charting pitches in the press box.

And while fans might not recognize his face or name, Craig Antush is as much a fixture at Eastwood Field in Niles as Scrappy.

Since 2007, Antush has served as the Scrappers’ official scorer. Each home game, he logs every pitch and every at-bat. His information is submitted in real-time for the official Minor League Baseball website, and later to the managers of both teams. As the official scorer, decisions such as awarding a hit or an error, a wild pitch or a passed ball, is solely at Antush’s discretion.

Antush is also the Scrappers’ batting practice pitcher. Each day, Antush serves up roughly 150 throws during batting practice, a duty he has also been carrying out since 2007.

“It’s in my blood, I guess you can say that for me baseball is an addiction,” Antush said. “If I ever did try to get away from the game, I’d be a mess.”

A native of Reading, Pa., Antush has been heavily involved in baseball ever since he acquired his first bat and ball — in wiffleball form.

“I’d bounce that ball off the concrete, hit it, chase it down and repeat the process over and over again,” Antush recalls. “When I’d get bored, I would start hitting stones.”

Antush’s game eventually progressed to where he found himself playing at a junior college in Florida. There, a scout found Antush, and he finished his collegiate career at Alabama.

With the Crimson Tide, Antush compiled a career record of 9-3 and recorded seven saves. During his senior season in 1983, Alabama reached the College World Series title game.

“What an experience,” Antush said. “Even now, I look back and realize just how few players get to know what it’s like to play in the College World Series. I never take the experience for granted.”

Thanks to coaching and instruction, Antush has since never been far from the game he loves. He was the head coach at Marshall University from 1996-98 after serving as pitching coach for the Thundering Herd for five seasons from 1991-95. He later spent nearly two decades as a pitching coach at Youngstown State University.

Antush’s involvement with the Scrappers has allowed him to develop close relationships with many past and current players and coaches (he has been a part of four managerial changes). He noted that the most enjoyable part of his work is to witness the progression of players as the season wears on.

“For the guys who are going to progress through the ranks, you really notice a change about halfway through the season,” Antush said. “Making the adjustment from either college or the Arizona League to this level is a challenge. For these guys, this is a job and it’s not all glorious.

“To see a player settle in and find his groove, that’s a neat thing to witness. Then to sit back and watch the Indians and see guys like [Jason] Kipnis, [Tyler] Naquin and [Lonnie] Chisenhall on the field — it’s really neat to think that I was throwing to them a few years back, and now they are on the biggest stage.”

While this year’s Scrappers are struggling to put together wins, Antush is quick to point out that the roster does not lack talent. He noted that “this team is collectively as young as any I’ve seen here.” He also says that individual talent at this level does not always equate to team success.

“At this level, it’s all about development, and building on individual success,” Antush said. “But, yeah, we have talent. We have some tremendous pitching prospects. You look at a guy like [infielder] Emmanuel Tapia. He’s one of the few players I’ve ever been around where when he gets ahold of one during batting practice, players and coaches from both teams stop what they’re doing and watch.”

Oddly enough, while Antush must intently witness every pitch as a scorekeeper, the job doesn’t allow him to “watch” the game. He says he is so focused on his role, he doesn’t get to view the action from a fan’s perspective.

“I love watching the entire field, I like to watch the defense position itself, things like that,” Antush said. “I don’t really get the opportunity to do that because I’m so focused in on the pitch, and the direct result of that pitch.”

Ruling a sharply hit ground ball which gets past an infielder may seem trivial to some, but to the participants, a hit as opposed to an error is serious business. Like the players themselves, Antush knows he is subject to error. After every game he checks with both clubhouses to see if either side feels they were shortchanged by one of Antush’s rulings.

“Sometimes I am making a decision on something that happened 300 or so feet from where I’m sitting,” Antush said. “If the guys on the field know they had a better view, I’m fine with that. By and large, the players and managers on all sides have always been understanding and great to work with.”

Though he no longer coaches, Antush continues to teach baseball through a camp he conducts every summer at Eastwood Field. And while baseball may be his life, it’s not his livelihood. Antush, 56, is a technology teacher with the Hermitage, Pa., School District. He previously taught at Hickory High School, and now teachers at Ionta Elementary School.

It’s unlikely that the baseball world has seen the last of Antush from a coaching perspective.

“I’m actually eligible to retire in November,” Antush pointed out. “My options and my flexibility in terms of baseball will only increase. I’d love to coach again. I just love being around the game. It will always be a huge part of my life.”