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North Salem High baseball coach Chris Lee has put away the gear and uniforms for this latest baseball season. The Vikings came up short in their bid for a Central Valley Conference playoff berth for 2008.
Other local schools have had some players move on to the next level. Sprague's Joey Wong (Oregon State) and South Salem's Joey August (Stanford) leap to mind. But North Salem's list is arguably the most impressive. The marquee Viking alumnus is Jed Lowrie, who made a splash upon his arrival in Boston earlier this spring. The Red Sox sent him back to Triple A ball when veteran Joey Cora came back from injury, but there is little doubt Jed will be back. But Lee also has a long list of top-notch performers to brag about: pitcher Bret Evert, who recently retired from pro ball to become a scout; Rocky Gale, current catcher at the University of Portland, and Erik Ammon, who catches for the defending two-time national champion Oregon State Beavers. "They all have an innate talent, that is for sure," says Lee. "But what separates high-level players (like them) from others, besides talent level, is mental make-up." That make-up, according to Lee, includes toughness, resiliency, passion for the game, enthusiasm, and competitiveness. It is safe to say those players have been inspired by Lee himself, who spends countless hours fundraising, coaching summer legion teams, and updating stats on his PDA, now that his own playing days are over. Lee grew up in the Roseburg area, and played first base, then catcher at South Umpqua High School. Lee's team was a perennial playoff performer, winning the state 3A title his sophomore year. Lee himself was an all-state catcher as a senior. He moved on to nearby Umpqua Community College, and played in the Junior College World Series. After serving as an assistant coach at UCC for a season, Lee finished his career at Western Oregon, hitting over .300 during an injury/illness plagued junior season in 1985. Marriage and fatherhood brought a halt to baseball for his senior year, but he remained a self proclaimed "baseball junkie." Lee earned his teaching degree, came to North in 1995, and took over as head coach in 2000. And the rest is history. Despite all the talk about the great players he has seen come through his program, Coach Lee dwells not on the all-stars, but the effect his program has had on all players. "Don't get me wrong, I like having talented players, but my goal is to make players better than they are, " Lee says decisively. "(I tell them) don't practice to be a player at North Salem--practice like you want to be a player at the next level." And while teams like McNary, Sprague and South Salem have a more storied playoff history in recent years, numerous Vikings are playing not only at major universities, but also at community colleges, looking for a chance to move up another level to professional ball. It appears that Lee's work ethic is not just learned, it is a genetic trait. His daughter, Whitney earned all-conference honors playing for Western Oregon's successful playoff softball team. Lee is now working on another project-developing the dugout and stadium for his team at Barrick Field. If desire plays any role in making it happen, North Salem will have a first-rate facility in short order. Other Spring Sports Notes North Salem's softball team had reason to celebrate this season after advancing to the state playoffs for the first time in seven years. New coach Robby Robinson fine tuned the stable of talent on the field and turned in a third place finish out of the Central Valley Conference. Ace pitcher Katie Lingmai gets much of the press, but there is little doubt the team bought into Robinson's emphasis on working together. South Salem track athlete Rebecca Rhodes had another great CVC district track meet, earning titles in the triple and long jumps and 110 hurdles to move her individual championship totals to 13 for her career. The defending state champion in the long and triple jumps, she will be the odds-on favorite in several events at the 6A state track meet in Eugene. Rhodes and West Salem's Kyley Sexton shared female track athlete of the year honors. On the boys track side, West Salem's Chase Sexton-Kyley's twin brother-and Lamont Moran of North Salem won the male track athlete awards. Moran outdueled West's Jordan Bishop to win the high jump, and boasts a school record of 6 feet 10 inches in the event. He also finished second in the triple jump where his personal record is among the top five in Oregon this season. Sexton, who is headed to Boise State on a track scholarship, is among the state's top performers in the discus, winning both the individual titles in the discus and shot put. Former West Salem High baseballer Kyle Farrell has made quite a splash at the small college level. The big right-hander posted a 10-2 record in 15 appearances for the Western Nevada College Wildcasts this season, posting an ERA of 1.71. Western Nevada finished with a 38-20 record, just one game out of first place in their conference despite returning just six players from last season's Junior College World Series squad. Farrell has been projected to be one of the top 200 players to be selected in June's major league draft. The Atlanta Braves have shown strong interest in Farrell, according to his father Phil.
Mark Gilman can be contacted at mark@fullaccesssports.com
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But don't feel too sorry for Coach Lee. Yes, he is a fierce competitor and certainly wanted to see his team advance to the 6A playoffs. But Chris Lee has plenty to keep track of for weeks and months to come as many of his former players continue to play--as top notch college and professional players.