THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 5, 1994 TAG: 9408040248
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 21 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, BEACON SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
IN HIS FIRST YEAR of college baseball, Jason Mann found himself preoccupied with the guys sporting guns behind the backstop.
No, they weren't troublemakers. They were professional scouts there to gauge the speed of his pitches.
That's a routine occurrence, but Mann let the scouts distract him from his job of getting hitters out.
Mann was drafted by the Florida Marlins after helping lead First Colonial to the Group AAA state championship a year ago. The Marlins organization felt it better for Mann to throw for a couple of years at the junior college level - keeping open the professional option.
``They didn't want me to try the pros just yet,'' he said. ``But all I could think about all the time was what does this scout think, what does that scout think. I was always worried about what the guy behind the backstop was thinking.
``I think it really hurt me. It took me a while to realize what was happening. Hopefully, I won't be thinking about it next year.''
Mann finished with a 4-2 record and 2.51 ERA at Louisburg College, just north of Raleigh, N.C., and attracted the attention of several Division I schools - furthering his options after next spring.
``I'm majoring in sports medicine,'' Mann said. ``I want to do something involving sports. I have to wait and see how things go next season before I make any decisions.''
For now Mann is concentrating his efforts on the Little Creek American Palomino team that is competing this weekend in the Eastern Zone portion of the national Palomino playoffs in Butler, Pa.
Unfortunately, Mann hasn't been able to work much on his pitching through Little Creek's regular season and playoff journey.
A nagging shoulder injury has limited his duty mostly to first base - a position he shared with fellow Patriots pitcher Nathan Thomas during First Colonial's run to the state high school title.
``Pitching is what I want to be doing,'' said Mann, who said he was clocked several times last spring in the lower 90s. ``I think it might be tendinitis. I'm upset that I haven't been throwing, but it's starting to feel better and, hopefully, I'll be ready for this part of the tournament.''
Tall and lanky, Mann has been a good first base target for his infielders and also has been contributing at the plate.
``He's hitting around .500,'' said Little Creek manager Steve Siderias. ``We pitched him a couple of times, but I don't think his shoulder was really ready.''
Up to this point of the Palomino playoffs, Mann hasn't given much thought to the possible glory that is just around the corner. Should Little Creek win this weekend, the team will advance to the eight-team Palomino World Series Aug. 11-14 in Greensboro, N.C.
So far, the winning hasn't rivaled the thrill of the state high school championship.
``Hey, winning is fun. It's always fun to win,'' Mann said. ``Right now, we're winning and we're going pretty far.
``If we win this weekend and go to the World Series, I think it will start to really have that same kind of excitement the state championship had. I relive that night sometimes. It was the greatest night of my life.
``I don't know how winning the world series would feel like and I don't know if it would be as important to me.
``But I sure wouldn't mind finding out.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff file photo
Jason Mann was drafted by the Florida Marlins after helping lead
First Colonial to the Group AAA state championship a year ago.
Photo
Jason Mann
4-2 at Louisburg College
by CNB