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Tournaments  | Story  | 7/7/2009

Steve Bedrosian enjoys action at WWBA

Jim Ecker     
MARIETTA, Ga. -- Steve Bedrosian worked up a good lather Tuesday afternoon as he pitched batting practice to the Homeplate Chili Dogs before their first game in the World Wood Bat Association 17U National Championshp at the East Cobb Complex.

It's been 22 years since Bedrosian, 51, won the National League Cy Young Award with the Philadelphia Phillies. His son, Cameron, plays for the Chili Dogs and Steve is one of the team's assistant coaches, in great shape and happy to oblige, a devoted weightlifter and family man.

Cameron, a senior-to-be at East Coweta High School in Georgia, is a talented right-handed pitcher and third baseman who has been selected for the 2009 Aflac All-American HIgh School Classic in San Diego this August. Steve said the opportunities for young baseball players are a lot different these days, compared to when he was growing up in Massachusetts as a big Red Sox fan.

"It's not like it is now, where you play spring, you play summer, you play fall. And that can be good and that can be bad," he said. "It can be good, because guys can get more reps and can get better. But it can be bad, because then you get too many reps."

On balance, he thinks it's good. Otherwise, he wouldn't let Cameron make the circuit with the Chili Dogs.

"It's a great atmosphere for the kids and parents," Bedrosian said. "It's a great complex here (at East Cobb). A lot of kids get to be seen, and that's what it's all about. It's beneficial in that aspect. They get to play, and college and pro scouts can come out and watch them."

Bedrosian, nicknamed "Bedrock" during his big-league career, pitched with Atlanta, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Minnesota from 1981 through 1995. His big year came in 1987, when he led the National League with 40 saves and won the Cy Young Award. He didn't see it coming, not after the way the 1987 season began.

"I was a notorious slow starter," he said. "I started the year 1-and-3 with an 8.51 (ERA) at the end of May with no saves. And then I just caught fire, and I was lights-out for the rest of the year.

"I've got that thing hanging up," he said, smiling, referring to the Cy Young hardware. "It's an honor to be with a handful of guys -- a handful of relievers -- that have won that award."

Bedrosian also serves as the pitching coach at East Coweta High School and is the chairman of the Coweta County Board of Education. He does Olympic-style weightlifting three times a week, a regimen that helped lengthen his major league career.

"They say, if you rest, you rust."
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