University of South Carolina Libraries
"V an Bever 4 in minors ] By Sally Wilson Gamecock Staff Writer The odds. Somehow they hardly seem fro rf ilo on/vi irtV* *-l- - * uuguv vmuugii iui even uic mustconfident baseball prospect to try to break. But hundreds of young baseball players, including former USC second baseman Mark Van Bever, spend summer after summer in towns like Reading, Pa., or Greenwood, S.C., trying to move through the minor ranks to reach big-league baseball. Statistics show one of every 30 players will make it. ine mougni 01 naving only an elusive chance at pro ball doesn't bother Van Bever that much. At least not as much as it bothers his minor-league teammates, many of whose futures depend solely on the whims of tobacco-chewing managers and scouts. When Van Bever reports next March for spring training in either Kinston, N.C., or San Antonio, Tex., he will have a cushion in the shape of a blue-ribboned diploma to ease his fall if hASPhall 'c fnrfuitinnc hroolre m ava v v? < v i v va u I7A VU I\iJ escape him. Van Bever, who stayed in Columbia last week on his way home from Class A ball in Kinston, has two more quarters of school before receiving his MBA from Florida Institute of Technology. But the business world can wait for now. Van Bever wants to see what he can do with a baseball bat | first instead of a calculator. "I've got to give baseball a shot. I've always wanted to play," Van Bever says. "I " on't be satisfied until it comes to he point where I know I won't make it, whether they | release me or I quit on my own." A college Academic AllAmerican player, Van Bever helped lead USC to the 1977 College World Series in Omaha. A week before leaving for Omaha, the Baltimore Orioles drafted Van I I 1 11111 " i n? iff if i iihUii lUUIUUUUUUU I MONDAY & WEI FiO* nfl n riv <;(<=>riI USC ID-stud. Good alldayMonda 1000 KNOX f Wa CAYCE |w A knows life is turbulent Bever, a speedy .335 hitter at Carolina, in the seventh round. The Orioles sent Van Bever, who has the national career record of 122 steals, to their Class A team in Hi- ti 1 1 " lTjuuuii. ms ursi gu-rouna wnn minor-league play wasn't very encouraging. "I stunk," he said about his twomonth debut in Miami. "They tried to change the way I was hitting. They wanted me to take a lot of pitches. I quit hitting altogether. I played good defense, but my hitting was next to zero." Van Bever was back at spring training this past March in Miami, though, and things temporarily hpfffln fn lrvnlf hpttor AWof beginning his MBA program at USC and tutoring at the Roost last fall, Van Bever was ready for the season's start. "I was hitting over .300, and had no errors," he said. "The last day they said we don't need you. Here's a check to go home ; see you later." A few phone calls to coaches and three days later , Van Bever found that Miami was not going to be the end of his baseball career. April 19 he began playing Class A ball with the Dodgers at Clinton, Iowa. Van Bever played well enough at Clinton to make the All-Star game at second base. But the draft brought three second baseman, all who needed to be given a chance at that Dosition. "They stuck me in left field. I talked to the farm director and told him I felt like I was wasting my time there./' Van Bever said. A co-op Class A team in Kinston took Van Bever at second base, where he played every remaining game after his first night. He led the team with a .310 average, which was also one of the top five in the Carolina League. "My game improved there," he said. "I felt like I was working for something. In Iowa I was just filling a spot." iff fsH mM IH|B 5NESDAY SPECIAL < dinner with valid 3nt and (acuity. ysand Wednesdays. [ ABBOTT DR. 791-4220 r^nl UJftf Van Bever hopes to make it tc Double A ball with the Dodgers in San Antonio next March, but he realizes how intense minor league competition is. "So many good players never gel a chance," he says. "If they don'l produce right away, they're thrown away. A lot of it is who gets what breaks." "A lot of guys hope people gel hurt, so they can get a shot. Some have wives and kids to su^ port. It's just like any other job, unless you get to the big show. Then they trpat vnn wall " Ven Bever might or might nol make it someday to the big leagues. If not, he has another challenge to move on to ? the banking business. "I've thought about it a lot. I'd like to get into management banking. I've talked to a lot of people, and have gotten information to prepare myself for when the time comes. Baseball is so unpredictable." Tf- J 1 1 ne uoes Know me oaas. I USC's Media | presents the % Studio Phol the Carolin Portrait! ? Intei | Located in t for informatJ ^ 0$ a student media prod aaMttWKtafcsMBMX :V** ; I 20% Discount USC Studen ftOSE-TALBE j 2521 Forest Drive i 799-701 1 r Urgently needed people wi Medical Research. If you no\ the past 2 weeks mono, you i i week for 3 hours of your tin information. Mon. thru Fri. Serologicals I Suite 105 2719 Columbia, S I Portrait Studio bography at reason; a Community. 5 Resumes ? maiionai stud lie Russell House. Call Ion and scheduling of a uction jajjMtw^wwvwWHill tUMMi?i IW?mil mmiui "7 was hitting over 300 and had no errors. The last day they said we i don't need you . Here's a check to go home, see you later. Mark Van Sever All Art Supplies ts & Faculty I RT MINT CO. Parkland Plaza Cayce 796-6260 th Mononucleosis to aid in v have or have had within nay qualify for $80.00 per le. Call 254-6537 for more laboratory Middleburg J.C. 29204 1 of Quality I atole rates to 3 Passports I .ent IDs I 777-3888 I ppointments. jf J