Douglass Considers Quitting Over Rift

LANCASTER — About the only thing worse would have been more push-ups.

Sean Douglass spent an agonizing evening talking to teammates, scouts and the college coach who signed him to a letter of intent, but he starts today unsure whether he has pitched his last game for Antelope Valley High.

Douglass, a 6-foot-5 senior right-hander rated the 23rd-best high school prospect in the nation by Baseball America magazine, did not practice with the Antelopes on Tuesday. He said he was sore after doing--by his count--332 push-ups ordered by Coach Ed t’Sas.

Pitching coaches and scouts generally agree that push-ups during the season are detrimental to a pitcher, decreasing flexibility.

After pitching five innings against Quartz Hill on Friday, Douglass attributed arm soreness to the 100 push-ups T’Sas had ordered him to do a day earlier.

T’Sas does not believe push-ups cause a pitcher arm problems. He said he requires push-ups from all his players and that they are not punitive.

“If you read magazines, some people think [push-ups] are good, some think they are bad,” said t’Sas, who is in his seventh season. “I felt like we weren’t in good condition. That’s why we did the push-ups.”

Douglass, who has signed with Pepperdine, said he wants to finish the high school season. He hopes the situation can be resolved today in a meeting with t’Sas.

“It isn’t like I quit the team or was kicked off,” Douglass said. “I want to try to settle it. We just need to listen to each other.”

T’Sas took time during practice Tuesday to discuss Douglass with the team. The Antelopes (14-8, 7-1 and in first place in the Golden League) made it clear they want their ace right-hander back.

“I’ve never had a problem with Sean,” t’Sas said. “There is no problem with his attitude.

“If he has a problem [with the push-ups], let’s talk about it.”

Douglass is 4-2 with a 2.42 earned-run average. He plays right field when not pitching and is batting close to .300.

Because he is projected to go in the second or third round of the major league draft in June, Douglass is in a difficult position.

Quitting the team would make him look bad, yet staying and possibly injuring his arm could be more damaging in the long run.

Right now, though, beginning a professional or college career is not foremost on his mind.

“I want to finish out my senior year,” Douglass said. “I want to play. I like the guys on the team and we want to go into the playoffs together.”