Charles Rich
Geographically, it's a long way from Stengel Field.
The talent level might also be in another stratosphere.
So, Chad Nacapoy will swing a bat and strap on the catcher's gear
for the first time on foreign soil.
The Crescenta Valley High junior baseball player will represent
the United States in the prestigious International Baseball
Federation "AA" World Youth Baseball Championships in Monterrey,
Mexico.
The U.S. youth squad will meet Japan in a first-round game at 4
p.m. PDT on Saturday at Cedeco Stadium.
Nacapoy, who drove in a team-high 22 runs to guide Crescenta
Valley to the Pacific League championship last season, was the first
area athlete to be chosen for the team since the squad formed in
1997.
Nacapoy, who threw out 10 of 21 runners attempting to steal and
had a fielding percentage of .944 while compiling a batting average
of .310 at Crescenta Valley, will be one of five Californians who
will play for U.S. Coach Phil Bodine.
With tryouts and scrimmages finally completed, Nacapoy said he's
prepared to face some of the best competition that will take place at
the 16-and-under division.
"Everything is taken very seriously around here," said Nacapoy,
who made the squad on July 2. "The coaches are very serious. [The
competition] is a bit different from high school.
"The coaches are always talking about the competition that comes
from the other countries. It's helped me prepare for playing against
international teams for the first time."
The 16-year-old, who might split the catching responsibilities
with Franco Valdes of Miami and Sequoyah Stonecipher of San Diego,
went two for seven with 16 putouts and one assist during four
scrimmage games against Texas-based travel teams in Houston.
The scrimmages were geared to prepare the athletes against the
best the world has to offer.
"It's been hot and very humid in Texas," said Nacapoy, who was one
of 36 athletes selected for a week-long tryout for the national team
at Phoenix Municipal Stadium in Arizona. "I never thought about
playing on another soil and never thought about being on a Junior
Olympic team.
"Competing in the championships should be fun because you get to
see some of the top players from around the world. There's a lot of
competition out there, and it's not just from California."
* CHARLES RICH covers sports. He can be reached at (818) 637-3228
or by e-mail at o7charles.rich@latimes.com.
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