The pint-size ballplayer dug in his heels and filled the batter’s box with nerves.
Standing on the mound across from 10-year-old AJ Inman was Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick, who hid a playful scowl and a huge grin behind his glove.
Inman let the first pitch pass but on the second, a fastball, the ballplayer held the bat tight and swung, roping a base hit off the eight-year major league veteran. Kendrick smiled and nodded in approval as Inman took first base.
“I was so nervous. It was really scary facing a major-leaguer,” said Inman of Huntington Beach. “But now I can say I actually got a hit off a pro player.”
Inman was one of 75 local Little Leaguers who attended Kendrick’s first MLB Pro Players Skills Camp on Monday at TeWinkle Park in Costa Mesa. Proceeds from the two-day youth baseball clinic will benefit a charity of Kendrick’s choice, although a specific charity has not yet been chosen, according to organizers.
On two baseball fields, kids received personal instructions from Kendrick and other former or up-and-coming major leaguers such as former Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Mike Burns, Colorado Rockies pitching prospect Christian Bergman of UC Irvine and Kyle Higashioka of Huntington Beach, a catcher in the New York Yankees organization.
“I’m really impressed there is a lot of talent here,” Kendrick said. “It’s always fun working with kids. You get more out of it when you’re around them and see the expressions on their face and see the improvement. These guys are the future of the game and they’ll be doing what I’m doing so why not influence them early?”
Bergman, who was drafted out of UCI in 2010, said it’s important to give back to the young kids.
“It wasn’t that long ago that we were in their position,” said Bergman, 25. “This is a good reminder of where we came from.”
This is the area’s first youth baseball academy in about 10 years, said Bob Knapp, Costa Mesa’s recreation manager.
Knapp said there were annual baseball camps at Costa Mesa high school held by former Estancia High School graduates and retired major leaguers Rich Amaral and Jeff Gardner. But those baseball camps were moved to Huntington Beach in the early 2000s.
“To have a baseball academy back here means a lot,” Knapp said. “As a city, we have a focus on youth sports. Along with our CEO Tom Hatch, it’s a major priority to find opportunities for kids to have fun and improve their skills at the same time.”
Wearing an Atlanta Braves hat, Dylan Holt, a 13-year-old from Huntington Beach, said he learned a lot from the camp.
As a catcher, he used to wind his right arm back behind his head when he threw to second base.
“Kyle (Higashioka) told me I needed to shorten my arm motion,” Holt said. “By doing that, I would be able to throw faster and more accurately. That helped me a lot.”
Ryo, 14, and 12-year-old Kyle Kojima, a shortstop and second baseman duo from Irvine, loved the fielding skills they learned from Washington Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa.
“He taught us how to handle a ground ball and make our double plays better,” Kyle said.
Though the camp was mostly for kids ages 8 to 14, local Little League coaches also tried to pick up workouts they can bring back to their players.
Todd Cowley, president of the Costa Mesa American Little League, had two kids participating in the camp. Cowley said he’s learned a lot just by watching the pros demonstrating major league drills with the kids.
“My players and even my kids won’t listen to me,” Cowley said. “But they’ll listen to these guys. These are the real major leaguers who do it for a living. They are the rock stars that are on trading cards.”
Cowley said the camp serves as motivation for these young players.
“I hope Howie will continue to do this here,” he said. “This is a big baseball area. This is great for the community. There was a great turnout and hopefully, they’ll do it again next year.”
Contact the writer: 714-796-7977 or jpimentel@ocregister.com