Douglass Makes His Absence Permanent

LANCASTER —  Push-ups came to shove with Sean Douglass leaving the Antelope Valley High baseball team Thursday over disagreements with Coach Ed t’Sas.

Douglass, a 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher, is one of the nation’s top prospects. He attributed a string of subpar performances recently to t’Sas ordering him to do sets of push-ups on the day before games.

Douglass missed practice Tuesday and Wednesday, and in his only contact with t’Sas during those days, he said the coach hung up the phone on him.

T’Sas and Douglass met with Antelope Valley assistant principal Michael Vierra on Thursday morning and the meeting ended with Douglass telling his coach he no longer was a member of the team.

“It’s hard talking to the man,” Douglass said. “I wanted to stay with the team, but I don’t feel he was understanding.”

T’Sas wanted Douglass to return but under certain conditions: The pitcher would sit out today’s doubleheader against Littlerock as punishment for missing practice, would make up the conditioning he missed and would apologize to the team.

T’Sas, who is in his seventh season, did agree to allow Douglass to substitute another form of conditioning for push-ups.

“The push-ups he did were not done consecutively, they were spread out over a two-hour practice,” t’Sas said. “The whole team did them. It was not anything directed at Sean.”

Douglass, who some scouts say might be a late first-round draft choice next month, will return to the training regimen he employed during the off-season, a combination of long-toss and running.

He will play in a men’s league on weekends at Brookside Park in Pasadena so scouts can continue evaluating him.

One area scout who has shown particular interest in Douglass still holds the pitcher in high regard.

“Some clubs had begun to question Sean’s competitiveness, but in hindsight, I don’t know if anybody could have done a good job under the conditions he was in,” the scout said. “Clubs who were neutral on Sean can use this as an excuse to say he’s not their guy.

“But for teams in Sean’s corner, this might even enhance his value. I have a hard time seeing him getting to the second round.”

The major league draft is the last thing on the minds of Douglass’ former teammates. A sweep today will give Antelope Valley (14-8, 7-1 in league play) the Golden League championship.

“We’re not really upset about [Douglass leaving],” outfielder Russell Griffith said. “We’re trying to win a championship. That’s our goal.”

T’Sas said Thursday’s practice was upbeat.

“There are a couple of Antelopes very excited about the opportunity to increase their playing time,” he said. “Sean is the first guy to quit in my seven years here. The door was open for him to come back.

“We weren’t here to hurt Sean or ruin his chances at a pro career. We didn’t know push-ups were so detrimental. But my first concern is the Antelope Valley High team.”

The decision was wrenching for Douglass, 18, who asked his parents not to become involved in the discussions with t’Sas. In a month or two he might find himself in a minor league city a long way from Lancaster, and he felt he might as well stand up for himself now.

While taking a lengthy personality test administered by a major league team Thursday evening, he said he felt like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders.

“I have nothing against my team and I wish them well,” he said. “I believe I’m making the only decision I could make under the circumstances. I’ve just got to move on.”