Perry Scott inducted to Clarke HOF

Perry Scott (Prince George, BC) hit over .400 his two seasons (2000-01) with the Clarkke Crsuders and was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame. Photo imaging: Keiran Martini-Wong.

Nov. 9, 2016 11:37 PM

Perry Scott played just two years of college baseball at Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa, but the impact he made in that time was remarkable.

Considering his proficiency with a bat in his hand - Scott hit better than .400 both years - it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to call him the Crusaders’ Ted Williams.

The speedy second basemen’s career .435 batting average, .493 on-base percentage and .435 single-season batting average still stand as Crusader records. His contributions led them to their first-ever NAIA Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference playoff appearance. Not bad for a kid who learned how to play the game on the ball diamonds of Prince George.

Scott’s accomplishments gave him a deserving share of the spotlight last month when he was inducted in the Clarke University Athletics Hall of Fame. The 38-year-old Scott became the first Canadian and third baseball player inducted in the Clarke University athletics hall.

While in Dubuque, Scott watched the Crusaders play the day before he was inducted and was invited to come out for batting practice the day after the ceremony, where he was asked how he was able to hit so frequently during his playing days.

“The biggest reason that average was there was the bunt base hit - out of a doubleheader I would have at least one bunt base hit,” said the five-foot-four Scott, who learned how to bunt while he was a teenager playing for a provincial team coached by Henry Summers.

“Being a small guy, I had to learn to do the small things and I could run a bit (he led the Crusaders with 11 stolen bases in 1999). Summers told me to go on the field at the start of the game and pick an area of the field where you visualize you’d like your bunt to go.

“That one little tip never left. Each year I got about 15 hits off bunts and both years I had roughly 54 hits. I was a left-hand hitter so I would already have that step out of the batter’s box closer to first base.”

Scott was also a dependable fielder at second base, picking up just 20 errors in more than 100 games over two years.

After he graduated with a kinesiology/physical education degree, Scott served two years as an assistant coach with the Crusaders. In 2005, he moved to Hamilton, Ont., where he works as a case manager treating people with brain injuries. He hadn’t been back to Dubuque since he left school in 2002.

Scott got started in baseball early on in his life playing T-ball in his native Terrace. He moved with his family to Prince George at age 9, moving up through the ranks in the Freeman Park Little League, Babe Ruth and the junior Grays program coached by the late John Kazakoff. Scott played two seasons at Taft junior college in California before transferring to Clarke for his junior and senior years. In both seasons he was the Crusaders’ team MVP.

“The first year was really the head coach’s first full recruitment - he brought in a ton of us and we had a trying year,” said Scott. “My senior year was the first year the baseball team ever qualified for the playoffs. At one point in the year we were actually ranked 23rd within the nation.

“We were just like a family, every guy picked everybody up. When we weren’t on the field there would be a group of us hanging out in the activity centre. We did a lot of things together off the field.”

The Crusaders played a 20-game fall season in September and October, then would move indoors to practice in the gym using hitting tunnels and bullpen mounds. The spring season ran from February to May.

“We were lucky and our coach would put in extra time with us hitters and would be there until midnight - we’d hit in the cage all day long.

“We played in some snow, we played in all weather. Going into the Midwest it was very similar to playing in Prince George. In California, where there’s no snow, we’d be outside all day long. No one wants to be inside for months hitting and taking ground balls off gym floors indoors. There a reason why those kids in Texas, California and Florida are more advanced because they play more in live game situations.”

Scott saw some of those top young American players just before they started making their marks as major league stars when he played for the host Prince George Axemen in the 2009 World Baseball Challenge at Citizen Field. The U.S. team featured the likes of pitchers Trevor Bauer (Cleveland), Drew Pomeranz (Boston), Chad Bettis (Colorado), Sonny Gray (Oakland), and Gerrit Cole (Pittsburgh) as well as position players Yasmani Grandal (L.A. Dodgers), Tyler Holt (Cincinnati), Brad Miller (Tampa Bay), Kolten Wong (St. Louis) and Christian Colon (Kansas City).

“I just remember the confidence that team had and I’ll never forget when they got into that mixup with Team Canada (when baserunner Nic Lendvoy slid into Colon at second base, breaking the leg of the star shortstop), everyone had each other’s back,” said Scott.

“The last game, we played the Bahamas and I ended up getting MVP that game. That was a proud moment and I’ve never played since.”

Knee injuries took their toll, but Scott is still coaching the game. He works for the Field House Athletics high-performance baseball program for 10- to 18-year-olds in Burlington, Ont. He and his wife Catherine have a 22-month-old daughter, Alexis.

Canadians in CollegeCBN StaffNovember 11, 2016