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Apaches’ Star
Slugger Signs With Yankees
With an out-of-this-world
batting average and ‘lightning quick’ swing, Compton’s
Christopher Smith is headed for the big leagues
By
Allison Jean Eaton
Bulletin Staff Writer
COMPTON – Just
over a week after graduating from Centennial High School, local baseball
star Christopher Smith boarded a plane last Thursday headed for Florida
to train and play rookie ball for the New York Yankees.
Smith, who said he’s been playing baseball since his early T-ball
days at Gonzales and Enterprise parks, was June 5 drafted by the major
league organization in the fifth-round pick of this year’s First-Year
Player Draft. He signed with the Yankees June 13 at his grandmother’s
home.
“It was very exciting,” said the 18-year-old Yankees farmhand,
who up until signing was also contemplating going with USC, to which
he had verbally committed. What makes it even more exciting, he said,
is that he’s a big Yankees fan.
Smith’s stats are impressive. His batting average alone – .708
with 12 home runs in 20 games – is standout, being much higher
than that of most major league professional players, according to Smith’s
coach. Additionally this past season, Smith had 43 RBIs and posted
slugging and on-base averages of 1.361 and .744, respectively. In 72
at-bats, he struck out a mere three times.
According to Maxpreps.com, Smith’s batting average was second
in the state and in the nation. His slugging and on-base averages ranked
first in the state and second in the nation.
But baseball wasn’t always a focus for Smith, who also played
quarterback and point guard for the Apaches’ football and basketball
teams.
“To be honest, I didn’t take baseball serious until about
two or three years ago,” said the outfielder known for his powerhouse
swings.
Coach Gerald Pickens, who has mentored and trained Smith since he was
a young child participating in Pickens’ Compton Baseball Academy
Teams (C-BATs), agrees.
“I figured out back when he was 9 or 10 that if he played baseball
every year, that he’d get better every year, that he had a future
with baseball,” said Pickens. “But it wasn’t easy
getting him on the baseball field. I had to go through the neighborhood
(looking
for him). He’d be hiding behind corners, riding his mini bike.
He would dodge me. He didn’t take it seriously until about three
years ago.”
But no matter what, Smith always stood out to Pickens as the best player
on the team, and it all has to do with what Pickens labeled Smith’s “lightning
quick” batting swing.
Throughout the spring, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound left-hander drew lots
of attention from major league scouts, according to Pickens.
The highlight of Smith’s year, said the 18-year-old, was the
Apaches’ comeback 19 – 17 win over North Torrance in early
April, a victory he was instrumental in securing as six or seven scouts
watched in the stands.
“During the first inning, they jumped on us,” said Smith
of the visiting team’s 10-0 lead. “Coming up the next inning,
the bottom of the third, I was the second batter, and I made a home
run.”
With bases loaded, the third-inning grand slam brought the Apaches
back into the game. According to Pickens, the ball Smith slugged out
of the baseball field was later found across the L.A. River tributary
at McNair Elementary.
As for being able to represent Compton in such a positive light and
serve as a role model to the scores of local youth who play baseball,
Smith is filled with pride.
“I feel thankful that I can be an icon to all the kids,” said
Smith. “It makes me proud of myself and proud of my accomplishments.”
Besides playing high school tournaments, Smith also played in various
tournaments at the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy. A total
of 21 other players associated with the academy were also drafted during
the First-Year Player Draft.
“These outstanding young players have the opportunity to realize
a dream as a result of their hard work and the support of their families,
their
scholastic coaches and the instructors at Major League Baseball’s
Urban Youth Academy,” said Darrell Miller, senior director of
the academy, in a statement. “The results of the draft during
the last several years have affirmed that we are exceeding our own
expectations in the area of player development. What is more important,
however, is that the academy will have a profound life impact on all
the young people who come through its doors, including these young
men who have the opportunity to go on to play with Major League organizations.”
Throughout the year, the MLB Urban Youth Academy plays host to a series
of camps, instructional leagues, clinics, tournaments and special events
that enable the young players to showcase their talent for major league
scouts. This year’s events hosted at the academy included the
Urban Invitational Baseball Tournament, which showcases baseball talent
from historically black colleges and universities; the Breakthrough
Series, a national showcase of some of the country’s top minority
players; and the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) World Series
presented by KPMG, the championship round of the RBI program, an initiative
dedicated to enhancing youth participation and interest in baseball
and softball.
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