Big Shot

PHOENIX — It's a whole a new game for Max Stassi, or is it?

When an 18-year-old rookie is signed by a major league baseball team, the usual policy is to send the player to the minor league camp in spring training.

The rookie normally starts out practicing on a minor league field with the low minor leaguers, is sent to a rookie or single A team for the season, then works his way up over the years.

However, when that player is Yuba City's Max Stassi, the words 'normal' and 'usual' simply do not apply.

Stassi, who was drafted in the fourth round of the major league baseball draft in June by the Oakland A's, has been opening many important eyes in the Oakland organization this spring training at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. He has been at the major league camp since Feb. 16, working out daily with the big guys.

Bob Geren, the A's manager and catching coach, has nothing but praise for Stassi.

"I like what I've seen from Max a lot in this short amount of time," Geren said. "He's beyond his years both physically and mentally. He's caught our top pitchers here and has handled them well. He started in instructional camp with us in September and I've seen constant improvement from him ever since. He'll definitely get some at-bats here this spring."

Athletics co-owner Lew Wolff added, "Stassi is something special. My GM, Billy Beane, has been gushing over him for awhile and let me know what a very important piece of our puzzle Max can be. We are a very youthful team right now and I think Max fits in perfectly with our plans."

In a Tuesday home exhibition game with the Texas Rangers, Stassi did get an at-bat in the seventh inning and sent the ball 410 feet over the center field fence for a home run. But, as irony would have it, he then suffered a right leg contusion in the ninth inning, putting him out of action for up to a week.

"The baseball gods act in strange ways sometimes," Stassi quipped after the game.

Early in the morning of a recent, beautifully crisp desert day, Max sat in the A's dugout and answered a series of questions about his career. Showing a great deal of maturity for an 18-year-old, he answered each question with that ever-present Stassi smile.

Q. Last summer, you were faced with the decision of either going to UCLA on a full-ride scholarship or signing with the Oakland Athletics. Was that a tough decision to make?

A. Not really. Going to UCLA would have been a blast but I realized that being a pro ball player was what I always wanted to do my whole life, so I went for it. It's really turned out to be a blessing for me.

Q. In June, you graduated from high school, and a little later in the summer you decided to play ball locally for the Yuba-Sutter Gold Sox. What thoughts led to that decision?

A. I had grown up watching the Gold Sox play and had been invited earlier in the spring to play with them. But I wanted to get all the activities related to the draft over with before I played. Playing with the Gold Sox, I was able to rehab my arm after some bad tendinitis last year and it finally went away. I had a great time playing in front of the home crowd for the last time in my life.

Q. How do you like the A's system so far — are you impressed?

A. Absolutely. They are all great people up and down the organization. They are known for giving young people lots of opportunities, so that's good for me.

Q. All major league teams seem to have their 'way' of doing things — a specific philosophy of how the game should be played. Is it too early to tell what that philosophy is with the A's?

A. Yes, it is too early. I'm just concentrating on being a professional baseball player right now. I'm sure I'll see that philosophy a little bit later down the road.

Q. How did you spend your winter in preparation for spring training?

A. After instructional league with the A's here in September and October, I worked out four or five days a week down in Sacramento. It was weird not going to school for the first time in my life.

Q. When did you arrive for spring training and what is your daily routine like now?

A. I came down in mid-February and worked out a few days at the minor league complex (Papago Park — about two miles from the major league complex).

I wake up at 6:30 am, get to the park around 7. Then we stretch, eat breakfast, work on team and individual defense, then take batting practice. At noon, we have lunch, do some more work, then the game starts at 1 p.m. After the game, we workout some more, then go home to the hotel about 5 p.m. and do the same thing the next day.

Q. Its pretty unusual for an 18-year-old rookie to stay up with the big club during spring training. Have the A's told you what your role is here during the month of March?

A. Not really. That's pretty much front-office stuff. I'm just doing what they tell me to do, playing hard all the time, so I don't really worry about it.

Q. Looking back at your life in baseball so far, do you remember lots of things about your coaches and all the advice you've been given?

A. I've had a lot of great coaches throughout the years, especially in high school and have received a ton of good information. In the long run, its up to me to 'chew the meat and spit out the bones,' so to speak, as my teammate Rajai Davis says. Now, I determine which information is helpful to my particular type of game and use it.

Q. Do you frequently ask the big-leaguers questions as to techniques or life in baseball and how do they respond to your questions?

A. Yes, I'm constantly asking questions and my teammates are all great, very helpful. I'm not too nervous asking them because they are all pretty young themselves. Its not like going up to A-Rod and asking him about hitting.

Q. Have you worked directly yet with A's manager Bob Geren?

A. Yes, I have. Being an ex-catcher, he gives me tips and helps me with that aspect of the game. He also really identifies with my being so young and helps me a lot in that area. I remember going down to the River Cats games in Sacramento and seeing him as their manager.

Q. What is the biggest difference that you have seen when you compare your high school baseball or your Gold Sox experience to what you see up here in the pros?

A. Its basically the same game, but here, you have the best players in the world. Its an incredibly fast game. The quality of play is amazing.

Q. What is the best advice you've ever been given regarding your career?

A. Always stay in your routine. Help the team and have fun doing it.

Q. What is Max Stassi thinking about during this spring training? Do you think at all about what will happen when April 1 comes?

A. A little bit. I'm just out here getting my job done and having fun. My job is to be well be prepared for any opportunity that comes along and concentrating on that is what I'm usually doing.