AMERICAN LEGION NOTEBOOK : Ignored Early On, Reseda North Now Enjoying Fruits of Victory

Early in the American Legion baseball season, it appeared to Vic Lapiner that if Woodland Hills, the power of the West Division, wasn’t the topic of discussion, then Chatsworth was.

Lapiner, the coach of Reseda North, didn’t understand how his team--even if it was only 4-4--could be ignored. After all, Reseda North was champion of District 20 last year.

“There was an article in the Daily News after Chatsworth won a doubleheader saying, ‘Here comes Chatsworth,’ ” Lapiner said. “I felt as defending champions of the West and of the 20th District, we should’ve gotten a little more respect from the press.”

Of course, it was no different last year when the team was “unheralded” until it won the District title.

So vindication was evident in Lapiner’s voice Thursday, the day after Reseda North clinched a playoff spot and second place in the West Division spot with a 19-9 win over Chatsworth. The victory improved Reseda North’s record to 12-6, while third-place Chatsworth dropped to 10-9.

Reseda North will open the District 20 playoffs against Mid Division winner Newhall-Saugus Thursday at 9:30 a.m. at Birmingham High.

On Wednesday, Reseda North was led by Brian Clancy, who singled, tripled and had five runs batted in before suffering a bruised elbow in the third inning.

John Glantz may be best-kept secret in Legion baseball according to Lapiner, even though the catcher had the “worst day he’s had all year” against Chatsworth. All Glantz did was go 2 for 6 with a double and two RBIs. Entering Thursday’s makeup game with Tarzana, Glantz was batting .571 and leading the league in RBIs with 41.

Lapiner, who played three years in the Cleveland Indians’ organization, gives much of the credit for his team’s success to his assistant coach, Shelly Andrens, who played six years in the Cincinnati Reds’ organization.

“I don’t mean to sound braggadocio,” Lapiner said. “We do things a little different. We teach them things they’re not going to learn in high school. We teach baseball at a higher level. It takes awhile for these guys to learn our system.”

Part of the system includes proper care of the body. That involves eating lots of fruits. Lapiner and Andrens visit the Reds in spring training every year and pick up health tips from Pete Rose.

“We have dinner with Pete and listen to a lot of his theories,” Lapiner said. “Nobody’s better at that than he is. When we see other teams loading up on McDonald’s, I’m thrilled. You can’t play on that. But we’ll eat pizza after the ballgame, because the game’s over then.”

The regimen is tough, but Lapiner said his team can take it. “You Gotta Love It,” is the team’s motto.

“It means you gotta love baseball, you gotta love playing,” Lapiner said. “If you want to play for me, you can’t go to the beach on the days we practice and you can’t go to the beach on the days we play. It saps your strength.”

Lapiner now hopes the team has enough strength to repeat last year’s playoff performance.

Former college rivals will join forces at the 21st Annual All-Star game at Cal State Northridge on Sunday at 1 p.m. Newhall-Saugus Coach Tom Pedersen, who played at UCLA, and Andrens, who played at USC, will both assist Lapiner for the West team.

Five North Hollywood players--Tim Driscoll, Doug Williams, Peter Washington, Merritt Robinson and Tim Marquez--are featured on the East team.

The West team draws more players from Woodland Hills than any other team. Pablo Suarez, Derek Stark, Drew Kempf, Scott Campbell and Rob Bumgarner will represent Woodland Hills.

Woodland Hills (16-3), the West Division winner, will play either Burbank or North Hollywood, two East Division teams, on Thursday at 1 p.m. in the second game of the District 20 playoffs.

In a game Wednesday between division rivals, Burbank (12-7-1) knocked Mission Hills out of the playoff picture with a doubleheader sweep.

If North Hollywood (11-7-1) sweeps Mission Hills on Saturday, Burbank will finish second and play Woodland Hills on Thursday. North Hollywood would then play Reseda-Cleveland on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

Anything less than a sweep Saturday means North Hollywood would play Woodland Hills. Burbank would win the division and play Reseda-Cleveland.