Charles Rich
Talk about a strange reversal.
Offense normally came easier than defense for Crescenta Valley
High baseball player Kyle Barratt. A critique from the senior
shortstop would conclude that the 2003 season was anything but that.
"That had to be the slowest start for me," said Barratt, who
produced a glossy .373 batting average in 2002.
"This was a year in which I should have dominated offensively. I
had a soft year offensively, but I did better defensively."
Rock solid at 6 feet 4 and 200 pounds, Barratt, who helped CV cop
a share of the 2003 Pacific League title with Arcadia, hit the nail
on the head.
Barratt's hitting suffered throughout the first half of the
season, though he recovered to bat a respectable .313. Under
assistant coach Dave Mendoza, Barratt's defense improved
dramatically. He committed just four errors, compared to the 12 made
during his first starting season in 2001.
Barratt's final 2003 statistics earned him an invitation to
compete in the 27th annual San Fernando Valley Bernie Milligan
All-Star Game, which will begin at 1:30 p.m. today at Van Nuys
Birmingham High. The game will consist of top high school seniors
from the San Fernando, Conejo, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys.
CV second baseman Aaron McGuinness (team-best .407 batting
average) and ace pitcher Aaron Feterl (6-1, 1.14 earned-run average)
and La Canada pitcher Max Hibbs (6-3, 2.41 ERA) are also expected to
compete with Barratt on the East squad.
"It seemed like I didn't get any hits during the first part of the
league," said Barratt, who produced a .513 slugging percentage and
drove in 19 runs.
"It helped when Coach [Phil] Torres moved me down to the fifth
spot in the lineup from third."
*
Barratt, who will attend UC Riverside in the fall, raised some
eyebrows when spectators saw him shed his offense-only image during
the 2001 and 2002 seasons.
He enhanced his defensive skills under the watchful eye of
Mendoza. Mendoza, a longtime lieutenant under Torres, spent
afternoons at Stengel Field hitting ground balls to Barratt. Most of
the fundamentals covered foot work, posture and alertness in
game-type situations, like double-play balls.
"Dave helped him in so many ways," said Torres, who guided CV to a
CIF Southern Section Division I championship in 1998.
"The repetitions made Kyle better and more confident. He's
certainly not the same shortstop that he was three or four years
ago."
Torres identified CV's chief problem following the 2001 season:
porous defense.
