Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: THURSDAY, May 19, 1994 TAG: 9405190120 SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY SOURCE: By RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Long
Christiansburg's hard-slugging, heat-throwing star is nearing the end of a season that has caught the attention of a few college coaches and pro scouts, but not as many as his high school coach had expected.
Self will probably go to college to play baseball. Where, he doesn't know. He thinks he can play Division I ball, but would gladly go to a smaller school if it just gives him the chance to play.
Last weekend, Self was selected to play in this summer's Virginia High School Coaches' Association baseball all-star game. He was picked as an outfielder, a position he would like to play in college.
Perhaps Self is too multidimensional. The problem could be that, because Self has talent as a pitcher and a hitter, coaches don't know where to play him. In his essay "Self-Reliance," Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "To be great is to be misunderstood." To get a better understanding of Denny Self's high school baseball greatness and the reasons why the Demons are so Self-reliant, we offer these playing traits:
Self-esteem: Seldom do players come along who can dominate a game the variety of ways Self can. He can shut down a team from the mound or he can keep his team in the game at the plate. Sometimes, he does both in the same game.
Self is ranked among the top eight players in six Timesland pitching and batting categories. He is third in batting average at .538 (28-for-52) and his six home runs and 21 stolen bases are the second-highest totals in Timesland. He is tied for fifth in RBI with 21. As a pitcher, Self's 3-4 record is not representative of his skills or the way he has pitched this season. The senior left-hander has composed a 1.82 earned run average and struck out 62 batters in 421/3 innings relying mainly on a fastball that races by hitters at a speed regularly in the low 80s.
"When you look at everything he can do, the home runs, the average, the strikeouts," Christiansburg coach Chris Lucas pointed out, "and when you consider we've been playing the Tazewells, Salems, Northsides and Carroll Counties - the good, good teams - who else out there can you tell me is playing that well?"
Self-powered: Baseballs have been vacating the premises at an alarming rate in recent weeks following collisions with Self's bat. One of the missiles exited the deepest portion of Carroll County's ballfield and landed in a road well behind the centerfield fence, the kind of shot grandchildren will hear about one day. "There've only been maybe three balls hit out of that part of the field in 25 years here," said Carroll County coach Bill Worrell. "His hit in the highway." He followed that game with a two-homer outing in a win over Salem, capping a power surge of four home runs in three games.
Hitting for power is a newly added dimension to Self's game. For a couple of years, Self, who hits left-handed, batted leadoff and concentrated on hitting line drives and getting walks - anything to get on base. Last year, he was dropped down to third in the lineup to take better advantage of his quick left-handed swing and run-producing ability. These days, his average is higher and his hits travel farther than ever before.
"I've never really considered myself to be a power hitter," Self said. "I've always tried to get base hits. The home runs just came." He grew into hitting home runs just like a kid grows into a pair of jeans that were once two sizes too big.
Self, too, was a smallish chap who sprouted upward almost nine inches during his 13th year. He grew so fast, he could barely get into new sets of clothes before bursting the seams. "I just took all my clothes and gave them to my cousins," he said. The longball - like his size - has come naturally.
Self-respect: When the game is on the line, there's no one Christiansburg would rather have at the plate than Self. Facing him in that situation is about as enjoyable for a pitcher as swallowing a mouthful of chew in mid-windup.
Pitchers don't want to serve up good pitches for Self to hit. So they don't. "He hardly ever sees a fastball," Lucas said.
Opponents admit their fear. "We pitched around him when we played them over there and put the winning run on base," said Radford coach Wayne Pridgen. "That's a cardinal rule of baseball - you're never supposed to put the winning run on base, but I didn't want that kid to beat me."
Self-control: Only in the past two seasons has Self's left arm been put to use on the mound. He has matured quickly and now has the confidence to throw some knee-buckling breaking stuff to augment his fastball.
He worked on the art of pitching with his older brother Johnnie, who was a fine catcher for the Blue Demons a few years ago and who helped refine Self's pitch selection and location. The lessons have paid off, demonstrated by the ERA and a strikeouts-to-walks ratio that is better than 2-to-1.
"Johnnie caught some good pitchers, like [former Christiansburg stars] Randy Lawrence and Darren Graham," Self said. "He's helped me out a lot."
It's the fastball, the most raw-talent pitch of all, that has garnered the attention of scouts. The Cincinnati Reds have taken looks at him as a pitcher. A couple of other radar guns may be aimed at him before his season is done. "I don't know why more people haven't looked at him," Lucas said. "There aren't too many guys who throw in the low 80s from the left side."
Self-defense: An overlooked aspect of Self's game is his play in centerfield. His powerful arm is an asset and he has the speed to cover a lot of ground. His has regained the quickness he lost during his junior year when he suffered a freaky, gruesome knee injury during warm-ups before a basketball game. He spent 21/2 months at home in a leg cast after tearing the tendons in his right knee. He came back and had a good year and basketball and is having a better year in baseball. "I think he has a lot of potential as an outfielder," Worrell said. "I think he'll go farther as an outfielder."
There's the problem. Outfielder or pitcher? How do you best use a guy like Denny Self? In an age dominated by selfish players, coaches pray for more Self-ish players.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***