Chasing the Elusive MLB Dream

Nick Spears is one of those kids who was born to play baseball. The amazing bat speed and incredible hand-eye coordination. The soft hands that allow him to deftly catch a ball on the lip of the grass and fire it across the diamond at 95 mph.

I first met Nick when he was a two-year-old in diapers. His father set up a pitching machine that fired tennis balls in the living room of a small El Cajon, California apartment. I couldn't believe my eyes as I dodged line drives as they bounced off the walls. As a former amateur scout for three major league teams, I was impressed.

Nick's father, Carl Spears, delivered milk in New York City for 25 years. He moved out to the West Coast in the mid 1980s and married Grace Cordero, a registered nurse from the Philippines. They had two children, Nicholas and Anthony. Both kids excelled in baseball, but Nick was the torch bearer. Will he join the San Diego Padres' Jason Bartlett as the only Filipino-American to play in the major leagues? It will be an uphill battle, but with his father's determination and his mother's patience, it will be difficult but not impossible.

Like Bartlett, Spears is a shortstop by trade. When Nick turned 9, he played on a travel-ball team I had assembled to compete in a national AAU tournament near Little Rock, Ark. Our San Diego-based team was called the Bay Park Piranhas, linked to a community that overlooked Mission Bay park. We captured third place out of 38 teams, losing only to a team from Tampa Bay, Fla that won the event.

I remember that folks always approached me with a pair of questions. They wondered where in the heck was Bay Park, and where I found this kid named Nick Spears. Obviously, he had tremendous tournament.

As time progressed, Nick played for numerous teams in national events, a travel ball "hired gun" of sorts. But always home-schooled, Spears never played a full season of high school ball until his senior year at Poway High, a virtual "factory" of pro talent located in northern San Diego county. The 2006 season was expected to be a rebuilding year for the Titans, but Nick's dominant leadership enabled the school to capture another title. That one year of excellence was enough to impress area scouts, and Nick was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 49th round.

A draft-and-follow status enabled Spears to play a year of community college, and he was ultimately offered $5,000 by the Brewers to sign in 2007. It was decided instead, however, to accept a full scholarship offered by Southern Nazarene University.

"I was grateful for the opportunity the Brewers gave me," Nick said, "but I wanted to get a college education and also prove that I could play at a higher level."

Spears did exactly that, taking charge in the Sooner Athletic Conference, top rated among NAIA schools. In his junior transfer year, Spears earned league honors, batting .417 with 13 home runs and 71 RBI. Known as a contact hitter with power, he had only 10 strikeouts in 180 at bats. 

Nick would improve on all those numbers in his senior season, batting .442 with 21 home runs with 72 RBI. In 171 chances at shortstop, he committed only nine errors. Those accomplishments were good enough to win NAIA All-America honors, not bad for a minority player battling the odds to get recognized.

Despite his obviously successful college career, Spears was never again drafted. Now at age 22, he's at the crossroads in a potential professional career. Itching for an opportunity to play, he won a roster spot with the St. George Roadrunners of the Golden Baseball League, playing only 11 games before the team financially folded.

I've told Nick that if nobody wants to give him a shot, there's always Mexico, Japan, South Korea or Europe. I have a couple of friends who did well in Italy. It's a good bet, though, that Spears will land on his feet somewhere in this country, probably recognized by an aggressive organization that isn't afraid to sign a kid that fell through the cracks. 

Like I said, Spears is synonymous with baseball. The sport is in his blood. Someone is bound to take notice.