Harper on a Roll, Knock on Wood

On the day before the big game, Ty Harper said he would approach it like any other game and not a soul on the Corona del Mar High baseball team doubted him.

They have seen him all season, eating the same pregame meals, listening to the same music on game day, sitting in the same seat on the bus and placing his equipment bag in the same spot under the Sea King bench.

There is no reason to believe the senior third baseman will do anything different when Corona del Mar faces El Segundo in the Southern Section Division IV final at 10 a.m. today at Edison Field.

He learned a long time ago to stick with something when it works. Problems arise, however, when you have a team-leading .521 batting average with 12 home runs and 35 runs batted in. The things that work start to pile up.

“His list of superstitions is longer than a book,” teammate Mark Hatfield said.

Socks and underwear are at the top of the list. Harper never wears game socks to practice and wears the same socks and underwear to every game during a good streak.

“I wash them in between games, of course,” his mother, Merrilee, clarified.

Before every game he devours a hot roast beef sandwich from the same Italian eatery in Corona del Mar. On the team bus, he sits in the third or fourth seat from the back on the right side.

Those sitting near him must also sit in the same spots or Harper will refuse to ride, even becoming irate with teammates if they don’t comply.

“They’re always telling me that I’m psycho,” Harper said. “But it’s a confidence thing.”

Since the beginning of the season, Tupac Shakur’s “All Eyez on Me” disc 2 is the only CD Harper has listened to on the day before and the day of a game.

During the game, the odd behavior continues.

It’s easy to spot Harper in the dugout: he always sits second from the right end. While batting, there is only one helmet Harper will wear--the one he used for his first home run this season.

Shortstop Nate Lemmerman also wears the helmet and Harper has called timeout several times this season to retrieve it because Lemmerman was wearing it on base when Harper came to bat.

When he comes to bat, watch closely. Before stepping in to the batter’s box, he will say a little prayer, undo the Velcro strap on each batting glove and refix it. He will then look at his bat, twist it so the label is just right and then step in.

“I’ve got so many [superstitions] I can’t even tell you all of them,” Harper said. “They’ve just kind of piled up over the years. It’s probably all in my head, but if I don’t do one I play bad.”

No matter how strange the behavior, it is tough to argue with the results.

The leadoff hitter for the Sea Kings, Harper has ended four games in his final at-bat this season, including two with game-winning home runs.

“He lives for clutching up,” said Hatfield, who has played baseball with Harper since Little League. “He likes to be in that situation. A lot of guys get nervous or whatever at those times but he wants to be the guy to get the job done.”

Harper has also been a factor on the mound. He is 6-1 with two saves this season and has two of the Sea Kings’ four wins in the postseason.

But bring up the subject of game-winning hits and he can barely stand still while he talks.

“It’s one of the best things to be able to do,” he said, rocking from foot to foot as he taps the bottom of his cleats with a bat. “If you don’t come through it’s the lowest of lows, but when you do it’s the highest of highs.”

Harper’s approach to hitting is advanced and mature. He watches pitcher’s tendencies on the mound, looks for the different spins on the ball and remembers the locations the pitcher threw to in each of his at-bats.

Even when he’s behind in the count, Harper is still ahead. A mind-boggling statistic shows that he has struck out only 12 times in three full seasons.

“He’s one of the best pure high school hitters I’ve ever seen,” Coach John Emme said. “A real high percentage of his hits come with two strikes. He’s never afraid of a pitcher.”