ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, June 15, 1996 TAG: 9606180012
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
SALEM AVALANCHE SHORTSTOP Kyle Houser has beefed up his body and his offense this year, earning a spot on the Carolina League All-Star team.
If the body truly is a temple, Kyle Houser is in the midst of renovations. He is turning a one-room clapboard sanctuary into a cathedral.
As a ballplayer for the Salem Avalanche, Houser learned the Lord helps those who bulk themselves up. The devoutly religious 21-year-old shortstop now has the physical strength to match his inner strength.
He also has the credentials to be a Carolina League All-Star. Houser will be the starting shortstop when the Class A league's best meet the California League All-Stars on Tuesday night in Ranch Cucamonga, Calif.
``I've just tried to trust the Lord and where he's leading me,'' said Houser, a Dallas native who grew up in a Baptist household. ``That helps when there are hardships.''
Houser's early career teemed with hardships. A .199 hitter through his first three years of pro ball at Colorado Rockies farm outposts in Chandler, Ariz., Bend, Ore., and Asheville, N.C., Houser realized he had to do some bulking up - statistically and physically.
After batting a career-high .211 at Asheville last season, Houser hit the weights and added more than 20 pounds of muscle to his frame and about 50 points to his batting average.
Houser, the only Salem player selected to the squad in balloting of league managers, executives and media members until pitcher Doug Million was added Friday, was ``a little bit surprised'' at the honor.
Surprised, perhaps, because his .242 batting average is the lowest among the players named to the Carolina League squad. Still, it's a considerably higher average than he's posted in the past - and his defense and throwing arm are the main reasons he's earned a spot in the lineup.
``I thought we had a couple of other guys who had a good shot [to make the All-Star team], so I was kind of surprised to be the only one,'' said Houser, who believed he was picked because ``I'm getting to play everyday, getting on base, we were in first place [at the time of the voting] and my overall play was better.''
When the Rockies plucked him out of Duncanville High School (the same school that produced Rockies pitcher David Nied) in the eighth round of the 1993 draft, Houser was skinny enough to wear a batting doughnut as a belt. A 6-footer, he weighed about 150 pounds through his first couple of years as a pro.
``I was pretty lean,'' he said. ``I was basically told I was going to struggle hitting minor-league pitching for three or four years. At [age] 21 or 22, I was going to be where I need to be.''
His time may be coming. Through weightlifting, he beefed up to 180 pounds heading into spring training. Most of the weight was added to his upper body, with his arms and chest bulging with new muscle. In the clubhouse, he's quite a specimen, with his boyish face atop a sinewy frame.
``He lifts weights all the time,'' said Bill McGuire, Salem's manager. ``He's one of the most dedicated players I have on the team.''
McGuire thinks his shortstop still is getting used to the extra weight. Houser has committed 10 errors and may lack some of the range he previously possessed.
``It's taken me the whole first half to get my speed and quickness I had,'' Houser said. ``I'm getting more flexibility. Maybe there are some balls I got to in the hole last year that are getting through the infield now.''
The range will come back. Besides, as Houser says, ``the bulk was for batting.''
He's also a dedicated player in clubhouse chapel services. In addition to attending Sunday meetings, Houser and others are forming a team bible-study group that will meet Wednesdays before batting practice.
The chapel meetings are nondenominational and, although all players are invited, no one is compelled to attend.
``My job is to show them the opportunity [to worship] is there, and that they can do what they want to with it,'' Houser said.
Houser knows about making the most of an opportunity.
``It's all a matter of time and patience,'' he said. ``You never know how long it's going to take. You just keep working.''
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN Staff Kyle Houser was ``a little bitby CNBsurprised'' to make the Carolina League All-Star team. color.