Byline: VINCENT BONSIGNORE
Sammy Donabedian hears the taunts.
Sometimes they arrive subtly, such as the ones delivered by skeptical college baseball coaches who never bothered to extend scholarship offers his way. Other times they're obvious, such as the trash talk he hears from opposing fans as he walks to the plate for his first at-bat of a game.
The message is always the same: Donabedian, a catcher at El Camino Real High of Woodland Hills, is too small to play big-time baseball.
Never mind that the 5-foot-7 Donabedian has been one of the most dominant players in one of the best baseball areas in the nation the past three years, or that the steadying influence he provided this year helped El Camino Real to win the City Section championship.
No matter how tall Donabedian stands on the field, and no matter how many doubles he drills off outfield walls or base runners he guns down trying to steal second base, he still can't get some people to see past his diminutive stature.
It's been that way ever since Donabedian first stepped on a baseball diamond, and he doesn't expect anything different when he takes the field next season at the UC Irvine, one of the few programs to look beyond Donabedian's size to see an exceptional player worthy of a scholarship.
``If anything, it's only going to be more pronounced when I get to college,'' said Donabedian, who plays his final high school game today in the Daily News Bernie Milligan All-Star Game at Cal State Northridge. ``But that's fine. You hear it, you deal with it and you move on. I just put it in my back pocket and leave it there, because at the end of the day all I can do is go out there and play and prove them wrong.''
His future coach already is a believer. UCI coach Dave Serrano rates Donabedian's catch-and-throw skills above any catcher he saw in high school this year, and projects Donabedian as a productive hitter at the next level.
Beyond that, Serrano also senses a special quality in his future catcher, one that will ultimately render Donabedian's size a moot point when it comes to professional scouts.
``Size doesn't have anything to do with how big a heart a kid has, or what his leadership abilities are, or how productive he is on the field,'' Serrano said. ``And all of those things stand out when it comes to Sammy. The bottom line is, Sammy is a very good baseball player, and we're extremely excited to have him on board.''
Most high school careers are defined by special moments. A great at-bat that won a critical ballgame or a spectacular catch that preserved an important win.
``But Sammy's different,'' El Camino Real coach Matt LaCour said. ``With Sammy, it's the sum of all parts, sort of like an accumulation of everything. He was so important to us in so many different facets the last three years, there really isn't one specific thing you can point to. It's so much more than that.''
Through it all Donabedian, who hit .500 with 15 doubles, five home runs and 29 RBI this season, continually fought the notion that such a small player couldn't excel at the toughest position on the field.
``We've definitely had a lot of conversations about that,'' LaCour said. ``And it's going to be the same thing every level he plays at. The reality is a big guy will get every chance to prove he can't play, whereas a small player has to prove he can play.''
It's like fighting an on-going battle against an invisible foe.
Donabedian knows his lack of size cost him scholarship offers from schools he once dreamed of attending, and he realizes it's the reason his name wasn't called during the amateur baseball draft last week despite his impressive resume.
``I have plenty of friends in professional baseball,'' Serrano said, ``and a number of them told me if Sammy was a just couple of inches taller he definitely would have been drafted.''
Donabedian - whose father Sam played baseball at USC in the mid-1970's - chooses to fight on, convinced baseball will ultimately reward his determination by finally attaching more importance to tangible factors, such as talent and production, rather than penalizing him for intangibles, such as height and weight.
``And that comes down to me, and what I do on the field,'' Donabedian said. ``And I have enough confidence in myself that I like my chances. If I go out there and get the job done (in college), I'll get my opportunity to prove I can play professional baseball. I'm just appreciative of the chance coach Serrano and his staff are giving me. My goal is to take advantage of it and make the most of it.''
CAPTION(S):
4 photos, 4 boxes
Photo:
(1) El Camino Real catcher Sammy Donabedian will play for UC Irvine next season.
Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer
(2) TODD ZEILE
(3) GARRET ANDERSON
(4) JON GARLAND
Box:
(1) EAST ROSTER
(2) WEST ROSTER
(3) COACHES
(4) ALUMNI
