Baseball: Mike Moustakas, the pride of Chatsworth High
It was 29 years ago when pitcher Bret Saberhagen, a former City Section player of the year from Reseda Cleveland, led the Kansas City Royals to a world championship over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Now another former City Section player of the year, Mike Moustakas, a third baseman from Chatsworth High, has helped the Royals reach this year’s World Series after Wednesday’s 2-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. He has four home runs during the postseason when the Royals are 8-0. He made a couple dazzling defensive plays in Tuesday’s 2-1 win over the Orioles and he assisted on the final out, a ground ball, to end Wednesday’s game.
Enjoying it all is Moustakas’ former high school coach, Tom Meusborn, who’s been glued to his television.
“It’s exciting,” Meusborn said. “It’s fun watching Mike play. I’m not surprised. You can tell he’s locked in. He’s the same guy I watched for four years in high school. It’s the same energy.”
Moustakas set a California state record for career home runs at Chatsworth with 52. He was taken No. 2 overall by the Royals in the 2007 draft.
He’s well prepared for playoff pressure, having played at Dodger Stadium for Chatsworth during four years of City finals.
“He’s been there,” Meusborn said of playoff pressure.
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