Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, Billy Eagle: Defense missile

Barry Faulkner

Native American lineage has nothing to do with Billy Eagle’s

colorful last name. If that were the case, perhaps he’d be known as Billy

Death to Doubles, or Billy Robs With Leather, even Billy Pitcher’s Best

Friend.

By any name, Corona del Mar High baseball coach John Emme has never

seen center-field defense this sweet.

“We root for the ball to be hit to center field, even in practice,”

said Emme, who in his third season of watching Eagle roam the varsity

outfield for the Sea Kings, continues to marvel at his defensive skills.

“When you watch the game and you see the ball hit, by the time you

turn to look at the fielder, Billy is already two or three strides into

his jump,” Emme said. “In my coaching career, I’ve only seen one other

guy who could do that.”

When it comes to what Eagle does when he arrives at the ball, however,

Emme believes his junior standout is without peer.

“He had a Connie Mack game this summer that would have been a career

for most guys,” Emme said. “He made five catches in that game that

someone else would be bragging about for the rest of their lives. He made

three catches when he was airborne and completely parallel to the ground.

And, he made two others going back on balls, catching them over his

shoulder like Willie Mays, before running into the fence.”

Eagle’s legend grew last week against Redondo Union, when he retreated

to the fence, charged in to catch a fly ball about 20 feet from the

barrier, then, aided by his strategic momentum toward the infield, threw

to third in plenty of time to nail a runner trying to tag from second

base.

“It’s still surreal to me,” said Emme, who credits the Daily Pilot

Athlete of the Week’s awe-inducing performance to a combination of talent

and hard work.

“He’s got a gift, no doubt,” Emme said. “He’s got the speed and the

arm. But don’t discount the work he does in practice. During every single

batting practice we have, whenever he’s not hitting, he’s in center

field, practicing reading the ball of the bat and getting jumps. He

usually makes three or four diving catches every practice.”

Eagle said his attention to pitch selection and location can help him

increase his jump on the ball.

“It’s usually pretty easy to tell where the hitter is going to hit the

ball, by knowing what our pitcher is throwing,” Eagle said. “Once in a

while, you get into a groove where you feel like you know where the ball

is going to go before they hit it. It’s kind of like a mental advantage.”

While his defensive prowess is enough to garner praise, Eagle is no

slouch when it comes to offense.

He hit .444 (36 for 81) with one home run and 17 RBIs last spring en

route to being named Newport-Mesa District Co-Player of the Year. He was

also second-team All-CIF Southern Section Division IV.

Though he had limited at-bats early, while recovering from a hip

pointer, he has been a catalyst for the CdM offense this season. In

Friday’s 13-9 Pacific Coast League win at Laguna Beach, he hit a pair of

home runs and had five RBIs. He also had an RBI double in a March 14

nonleague triumph over Redondo. He came into this week batting .533 (8

for 15).

Eagle, who hits primarily in the No. 3 spot but has also led off this

season, said his offseason work in the weight room has helped him drive

the ball better this year.

His goals this season are to hit .550 and make no errors. He was

charged with one error as a sophomore, when he lost a fly ball in the sun

near the fence and it hit him in the chest.

Eagle’s willingness to run headlong into fences adds to his defensive

prowess, if not the mental well-being of his coach.

“Worse things can happen,” Eagle said of the frequent consequences of

his brazen disregard for personal safety in pursuit of a catch. “I almost

knocked myself out Thursday in practice, when I jumped to try to catch a

home run and banged my head on a fence post.”

Eagle, already being recruited heavily by colleges including UCLA, has

become a role mode to up-and-coming Sea Kings.

“When I have a freshman, Danny Whittaker, tell me ‘I want to be able

to play like Billy,’ That tells me something about his impact on our

program,” Emme said.

Ironically, it’s impact which helped Eagle make the transition from

shortstop to center field in Pony League.

“I got tired of taking ground balls on the chin,” he said.