Nevin’s Red-Letter Day : His Accomplishments Inspire Yorba Linda Students

Thanks to Phil Nevin, a group of Yorba Linda second-graders is probably eating its green beans and apples, exercising more often and studying its multiplication tables.

Amazing what kind of influence you can have when you’re the No. 1 pick in the professional baseball draft, the most outstanding player of the College World Series, a member of the U.S. Olympic team and a hometown hero.

How’s this for power to all fields?

When Susan Correll, who was Nevin’s teacher when he was a first-grader at Placentia’s Golden Elementary School, showed her second-grade class at Yorba Linda Bryant Ranch Elementary a tape of Nevin’s grand slam in the College World Series, she described Nevin as a boy who ate his fruits and vegetables, exercised and followed his dreams.

“They were in awe,” Correll said. “One little boy said he was going to go home and eat a carrot right then.”

The day after Nevin returned from Omaha, the former Cal State Fullerton third baseman visited Bryant Ranch Elementary, where he signed autographs, posed for pictures and spoke with the school’s 850 students.

“You could have heard a pin drop, they were so quiet,” Correll said.

Correll mentioned to her class that Nevin was good in math. She gave a math test the next day and, for the first time in her 20 years of teaching, she said, every child in the class got an A on the exam.

“Phil really inspired them,” Correll said. “It sure helped their report cards.”

Correll has remained in touch with Nevin over the years, and after showing her class Nevin’s grand slam against Florida State, her students wrote Nevin letters, complete with illustrations, asking him to visit their class.

A sampling of “Dear Phils:”

“You run and throw like a bullet. Zooooooom, you would be at the base before the pitcher would have a chance to throw the ball . . . “ Love, Jason Wambaugh.

“I heard you have hit 22 home runs. You must have been eating healthy foods!” From Anthony Petreccia.

“I am glad you did a grand slam home run. You make funny faces.” Love, Jason Lopez.

Nevin returned to Orange County June 7, the day after Fullerton’s heart-breaking, 3-2 loss to Pepperdine in the national championship game. On June 9, he departed for Team USA’s national training center in Millington, Tenn., a two-month, 30-game, 18-city pre-Olympic tour and then eventually to Barcelona for the Olympics.

But after reading those letters, Nevin, who had been away from home for about three weeks during the NCAA regionals and College World Series, decided to spend a chunk of what little time he had home with Correll and her school.

With little advance notice of Nevin’s visit, Correll and the school’s principal decided the best way to get the entire student body in one spot quickly was to hold a fire drill. The alarm rang, the kids rushed outside and there was Nevin, who last month signed with the Houston Astros for a reported $700,000 bonus.

“He stayed for two hours,” Correll said. “He signed hats, baseballs, cards, and he didn’t just sign his name. He wrote a note on each of them, which was really nice. A lot of people took his picture, and he went along with everything. I hope he remains this humble, because it was quite a thrill for us to have him there.”

Likewise, Nevin was sure.

“It was really neat to be able to touch kids like that,” said Nevin, who leads Team USA with a .391 average (25 for 64), four home runs and 14 runs batted in through 22 games.

“I know someday kids will look up to me--some do already--and I know the kind of role model I want to be. I don’t want to be someone who’s getting in trouble. I want kids to see a person who got good grades in school, the All-American boy.”

Nevin made quite an impression on those students that day, as evidenced by the stack of thank-you letters he received. Another sampling:

“Thank-you for coming to our class. . . . The Houston Astros are going to be a lot better.” From Heather Jablonsky.

“I wish I could go to Tennessee but my mom will not let me.” Love, Kristen Erdogan.

Nevin’s visit took some of the sting out of the Titans’ final College World Series loss, which Nevin is reminded of every time he turns a double play with Team USA.

Pepperdine second baseman Steve Rodriguez, who saved the Waves’ victory with a diving stop of Tony Banks’ eighth-inning grounder with the tying run on third, is also a Team USA member.

“It’s still tough getting over that game--I think about it a lot, especially when Rodriguez is here wearing a national championship T-shirt,” Nevin said. “When we played in Comiskey Park (during the Team USA tour) a ball was hit in the second-base hole, Rodriguez dived and the ball nicked off his glove.

“It was the exact same play (as in the championship game). The next inning, me and Jason (Moler, Fullerton catcher and Team USA member) look at each other in the dugout and say, ‘Damn, why couldn’t he make that play two weeks ago?’ But Steve is a good guy. He’s handled winning well, and I think we’ve handled losing well.”

Nevin, who batted .402 with 22 home runs, 20 doubles and 86 RBIs for Fullerton this past season, has handled the last five weeks remarkably well, considering all that has happened.

On the eve of the College World Series he was named college player of the year by Baseball America magazine. After two games in Omaha, the Astros made him the No. 1 pick in the draft.

Pressure? Expectations? No problem. Nevin hit .526 (10 for 19) with two home runs and 11 RBIs in the Series to lead the Titans to the championship game. He has continued his hot pace with Team USA despite the tour’s grueling itinerary.

He hasn’t played his first professional game, and already he has some skeptics. The June 15 issue of Sports Illustrated, noting that Nevin has his own baseball card, a Louisville Slugger with his name on it and wears the Oakley sunglasses favored by many professional players, quoted a Baltimore Oriole player as saying:

“Look at that. He hasn’t even signed, and he’s styling already. Tell him to lose the glasses and the aluminum bat, then we’ll talk.”

Nevin, who began wearing the glasses during an early-season series at Arizona, where all three games were played in bright sunlight, shrugged off the comment.

“I wear the glasses for the same reason they do--it’s not to impress anyone and it’s not for looks,” Nevin said. “Once I get to Houston and the players get to know me, they’ll see that I’m not out there to look flashy.

“My goals focus around the team. I don’t go into a season saying I want to hit 30 homers, drive in 90 runs. I want to win the World Series, I want to win the gold medal, whether I hit .300 or .500.”