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.Texas A&M
The Battalion Sports
February 19, 1982 Page 15
Pessary
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Aggies’ Szekely eager about ’82 season, prospects for future
jtcher Joe Szekely of the Texas A&M
eball team pulls into second base during
Aggies’ series with the Longhorns last
■ect the valufcason, while Longhorn shortstop Spike
ut analysts,
or of a gore ^
tblication, s 1
suspend trat
s virtually'
ng a majors }';
Owen watches for a throw. Szekely returns
as one of the top players on Coach Tom
Chandler’s 1982 roster.
Texas, A&M must win
;r, Saturday to keep pace
1th,
he Texas A&M men’s bas-
feball team, tied for third place
unless for ®ith Houston in the Southwest
ad. ■inference, plays Houston
plenty of t« ur day at 2 p.m. (NBC-TVS)
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tad resembles rhe A gg ies are coming off a
thout its . ^■75 loss to the first-place
mart throofi |r ^ ansas Razorbacks, who are
team depar t a S arne ahead of the second-
eep your a® 06 baylor Bears. The Bears
ry cold weail| lave s l° w ly crept from near the
ify in
The Aggies nave a record of
|8 for the season and a confer-
ttce record of 8-5, while the
ughorns have slipped to 16-7
nil 6-7 in the SWC. The
■ugars’ records are 17-6 and
8-5.
oottom of the standings to their
compile their 16-8, 9-5 records.
The Aggies and Cougars are
one game behind Arkansas,
while the TCU Horned Progs
are only half a game behind at
8-6.
Jan. 30 in Austin, Texas A&M
defeated the Longhorns 71-69
in overtime. Last year’s game be
tween the two teams in the col
iseum ended in a 67-63 Texas
overtime victory.
While the Aggies are led by
forward Claude Riley, averag
ing 15 points and 10.2 rebounds
a game, the Longhorns are led
by center LaSalle Thompson’s
18.6 points and 11.5 rebounds a
game.
Probable starters for the
Aggies are Riley, center Rudy
Woods and guards Reggie
Roberts, Tyren Naulls and Mil-
ton Woodley. Starting for Texas
will be Thompson, forwards
Virdell Howland and James
Booker, and guards Denard
Holmes and Jack Worthington.
by Frank L. Christlieb
Sports Editor
Joe Szekely has a dream that
he hopes will come true.
“One of my first presents
when I was a kid was a bat and
ball,” said Szekely, the starting
catcher for the Texas A&M
baseball team. “I’ve always
wanted to play professional
baseball — that was kind of a
dream.”
Like several other juniors on
the Aggie squad, the physical
education major becomes eligi
ble for the major league baseball
draft after the 1982 season. And
confidence may be a factor de
termining whether Szekely be
gins a professional career after
this season.
“If I have a good year ... I’d
like to sign,” Szekely said. “I’ve
talked to some scouts and I’m
pretty sure I’m going to be
drafted, but the better year I
have, the better chance I’ll have
of being drafted.”
Szekely, who has lived in
Paris, Texas, his entire life, had
hopes of being drafted out of
high school, where he played
football and baseball. However,
the draft surpassed him and he
chose Texas A&M over several
junior colleges, Baylor, Texas
Tech and Northeast Louisiana.
“It was tough coming out of a
small town because you don’t get
nearly as much recruiting as at
the big schools,” Szekely said.
“Paris High School is getting a
lot more recognition now that
they’ve established a winning
program.
“I just wanted to wait and see.
I thought there was a good
chance that I might get drafted
out of high school. But coming
here really helped me because
I’ve played against better com
petition, and it’s going to help
me in case there’s a chance I’m
drafted after this season.”
But Szekely has only the 1982
season on his mind now. Many
predictions have tabbed Texas
A&M as the team to beat in the
Southwest Conference, and
Szekely said he thinks that tho$e
forecasts are correct.
“Last year, we knew we had a
good team, but at first we just
weren’t getting the breaks,”
Szekely said. “Finally, at the end,
we realized we could do it and
we did it.”
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January
1981
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General Telephone
In reference to last year’s sea
son-ending string of 17 victories
in 20 games, Szekely said he and
his teammates plan to begin
1982 with the same perform
ance that brought them from
near the bottom of the SWC to
only half a game out of the final
conference tourney spot.
“This year, we know we can
do it, and everybody has a posi
tive attitude,” Szekely said. “The
streak helped everybody
tremendously, because we final
ly got the breaks, and it brought
everybody closer. It really
helped because when you win,
everybody’s happy, and when
you lose, everybody tends to get
their heads down.
“I’m really expecting to win
the conference. You say that ev
ery year, but I’ve seen what it
takes to win, and I think we’ve
got what it takes. Coach Chand
ler knows and has said many
times that we have an excellent
ballclub. We’ve been working
harder this year than in the
past.”
Szekely’s baseball career in
cludes stints with American Le
gion, Little League and collegi-
ate-sponsored teams. After his
senior year, the 6-1, 190-pound
catcher played for a Dallas team
comprised solely of college base
ball players. The only high
school player on the team,
Szekely said the experience
gained while playing for that
team contributed a great deal to
his career.
“It was a good experience for
me, because I got to see a lot of
college pitching, and that
helped me a lot,” Szekely said.
Last summer, Szekely played
for a team in Fairbanks, Alaska,
and finished the three-month
season with a .322 average, 30
RBI and 49 hits in 38 games.
“That’s where I really
thought I helped my confi
dence, because the ball played
up there is excellent quality
baseball,” Szekely said. “I led the
team in hitting and that was
against good pitching. It was
also a chance for the profession
al scouts to see me.”
Since Szekely has had a
chance to talk to several scouts,
he said he knows what they’ll be
looking for when they pick pros
pects they hope to draft.
“They talk to you and they
want to find out if you want to
play ball, because they’re not
going to waste a draft choice on
you if you don’t,” Szekely said.
“They can’t say anything defi
nite to you, but you kind of get a
feeling of a hint (that they’re in
terested).”
Szekely said two people have
played key roles in keeping alive
his desire to play baseball. Szeke
ly’s father, Joe Szekely Sr., play
ed for the Cincinnati Reds for
two years during the 1950s,
while Cincinnati catcher-
turned-first baseman Johnny
Bench provides inspiration
from a poster on the wall of
Szekely’s Cain Hall dorm room.
“My dad has been my biggest
critic and fan,” Szekely said.
“He’s helped me more than any
body. I was always ahead of the
other youngsters, because he
taught me more than most
others could.”
“Johnny Bench has always
been my idol, and I guess I’ve
always been partial to the Reds
because of those two people.”
Szekely hit .279, had 42 RBI,
six home runs and 82 total bases
during the 1981 season. He seta
team record with seven triples,
and his RBI and total base fi
gures were second behind first
baseman Rodney Hodde, who
graduated last year.
While Hodde finished with a
.715 slugging percentage,
Szekely’s .558 percentage was
second on the team. Szekely hit
.309 against right-handed pitch
ers, but hit only .125 against left
handers.
“Last year, I had a good year,
but I think I could have had a
better one,” Szekely said. “I wish
I had a higher average and had
hit more home runs.”
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