Catching up to stolen moments
TORONTO -- They were two future big leaguers playing on the same team for a Catholic boys' high school so small it didn't have its own baseball field, playing instead at Jackie Robinson Field in the shadow of the Rose Bowl.
One of them, the one whose name was not Mark Loretta, got caught stealing burritos out of the vending machine in the cafeteria, although Gregg Zaun had a different spin on his transgression yesterday.
''I've always been a 'MacGyver' fan," said Zaun, the Toronto backup catcher who in 1989 was a senior catching for the St. Francis High School team in La Canada, Calif., on which fellow senior Loretta pitched and played shortstop.
''The idea of stealing wasn't really appealing to me, but being able to rig a machine so it would open up when I wanted it to for those burritos to come out, that was a challenge. And I was able to make the machine do what I wanted it to."
Until, he admitted, he got a little complacent.
''I thought I heard somebody coming," he said. ''I looked away while I was pulling one of the burritos out. It broke off and got stuck in the machine."
A couple of periods later, Zaun was in the office of the dean of discipline, who didn't have the same appreciation for Zaun's ingenuity.
''He told me flat out, 'If you weren't on your way to something bigger and better, it'd be hard knocks on you right now,' " Zaun said. ''He knew it was a momentary lapse in judgment. He knew I'd been a good student, a good citizen. But he said, 'So help me, God, if I find out I made a bad choice, I'll come back and haunt you.' "
The three months' worth of Saturdays Zaun spent sweeping floors, cleaning toilets, and pulling weeds cured him, he said, of straying further, though it didn't curb the personality of one of the game's zanier characters. Zaun's uncle is another character (and catcher), Rick Dempsey, famous for his belly-flopping forays onto infield tarps during rain delays.
''Crazy? That might be a good place to start," Loretta said with a smile when asked to describe Zaun, who in 12 seasons in the big leagues has played for seven teams, including a spin in Houston in 2002 when he and Loretta were briefly reunited.
''Gregg was always a high-energy guy. He'd do stuff out of the ordinary, off the wall, but he always loved baseball. He was always like an old-time baseball player, even in high school."
John Blake, the Sox' new PR man, was with the Rangers when Zaun pulled off one of his more memorable stunts.
''We were playing in the Hall of Fame Game the year that Nolan [Ryan] was inducted," Blake said. ''That was the game Juan Gonzalez refused to play, supposedly because his pants were too baggy. The fans in right field started chanting, 'Call your shot, call your shot.' Zaunie went through all the theatrics, pointed out to right field with his bat, and hit the next pitch into the seats."
At the time, Zaun had a dozen big league home runs.
Zaun was the first to go pro, drafted in the 17th round by the Orioles, who six years later promoted him to the big leagues, then promptly traded him to the Marlins. Loretta went to Northwestern University, then was drafted by the Brewers, arriving in the big leagues the same year Zaun did, 1995.
''Pretty big odds, that two guys from the same small school would make it, and still be around," Loretta said. ''And the funny thing was, we weren't even a great team in high school. We had some success, but it's not like we were state champions."
Zaun said Loretta probably would have made it to the big leagues even if he hadn't gone to college, but said he was ''three times the player" when he finished at
''Mark was flying a little bit under the radar in high school," Zaun said. ''That's always been his style. I couldn't be more proud of Mark and what he's accomplished in his career. He's one of those guys even now who's flying under the radar. He's one of the best players in the game, one of the most patient, professional hitters I've ever seen.
''He's also a tremendous citizen, a big leader in the clubhouse and the union. We obviously took advantage of that Northwestern education."
Zaun? He looked like he might never be more than a career backup -- a role he strenuously fought, sometimes, he acknowledges, to his detriment -- until he wound up with the Blue Jays. Last season, he set career highs in games, runs, hits, home runs, and RBIs. His reward? To find himself stuck behind Bengie Molina, signed as a free agent in the offseason by the Jays. Zaun was on the bench last night while Molina caught A.J. Burnett in the duel of ex-Marlins, Burnett vs. Josh Beckett. He entered in the 10th as a pinch hitter, and grounded out to second.
''I'm proud of my accomplishments," Zaun said. ''From where I started to what I accomplished last year after hanging around this long. Finally getting the opportunity to play every day and doing a very good job, I'm happy with that. Helping the pitching staff make some tremendous strides the last couple of years, I have no problem taking pride and some of the credit for that. I always thought I had more in me."
So did Loretta, though he confessed he was unaware of the burrito caper until yesterday.
''With Gregg," he said, ''we always had a lot of fun."
