Toiling



February 20, 1996

Toiling

in obscurity

Zak Ammirato is hailed by teammates as an exceptional player and
all-around nice guy. So why hasn’t anyone else heard of him?

By Yoni Tamler

Daily Bruin Contributor

The praise arrives in truckloads.

"Any time you look at Zak Ammirato you want everybody to play
like him," junior Benny Craig said.

"Everyone looks up to him," left-fielder Jon Heinrichs
conferred. "He’s the nicest guy in the world."

"Zak’s the guy, the team captain, the guy that runs the show,"
said Rick Heineman, the only other senior on the UCLA baseball
team. "He is a natural leader and the right guy for the job."

Plain and simple, in the world of baseball, Zak Ammirato comes
as close to an ideal as is possible.

On a team that features exceptional hitters up and down the
lineup, Ammirato has commandeered all of the major statistical
categories, save home runs. His batting average of .426 is the
highest on the team among every-day players. In addition to hits,
he leads the club in RBIs (17), runs (15) and total bases. He’s
tied for the club lead in doubles (5) and triples (2), and given
his averages with runners in scoring position (.583) and runners on
base (.650), no one is better in the clutch.

Equally remarkable are the 31 of the past 32 games in which
Ammirato has reached base safely, a figure owing in part to a
20-game hitting streak snapped on Feb. 2.

But oddly enough, this switch-hitting infielder still plays in
obscurity. Zak Who?

His name isn’t mentioned in the pages of Baseball America or
Collegiate Baseball, and he’s never been offered a professional
contract in his life. He is not an All-American or even an
all-leaguer. So how is it that Ammirato brings opposing pitchers to
tears on a daily basis, collecting base hits faster than
statisticians can tabulate them?

Answer No. 1: "I try to tell myself that no one’s going to work
harder than me on that given day," Ammirato said.

More like every given day.

"I played ball with him this summer in Alaska, and it was
incredible the things he did in an environment where people were
out having a good time and not working on their game," said
Heineman of his senior mate, who led the Anchorage Glacier Pilots
in RBIs while setting a team record for doubles, all resulting in
the league championship. "He worked during his own time – lifting,
running, throwing, hitting, everything, and it has payed off. I
don’t find it at all surprising what he’s doing right now – he
deserves it.

"We play with first-rounders every year here, guys that are
guaranteed big leaguers, and none of them play like Zak. None of
them put out the effort or the hard work or is as well respected on
the team."

Couple his work ethic with a positive mental attitude, and you
have the complete recipe for Ammirato’s bloom.

"He thrives on success, not failure," UCLA batting coach Vince
Beringhele said. "He doesn’t get down on himself if he has one bad
swing in at bat. He gets right back into his swing on the next
pitch."

After being held hitless last Saturday for only the second time
this season, Ammirato went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two
runs scored the very next day, as the Bruins completed their
three-game sweep of Pepperdine.

"Some guys can be a distraction for one reason or another.
Whether Zak is struggling or hurt, he’s never a distraction because
he’s always on an even keel," Craig said. "You can usually tell
when guys are in a slump. Zak might go 0-for-4 and still be yelling
in the dugout."

Perhaps the one reason why Ammirato’s tear receives the
recognition only of Westwood pundits is his timing. Up until late
last season, Ammirato was leading the team in strike outs and
putting up worse numbers than during his sophomore year. Then,
suddenly, he went on a 19-game hitting streak to end the season,
and he hasn’t slowed down since.

"Getting off to a good start, you gain a lot of confidence,"
Ammirato said. "It doesn’t necessarily have to be a cocky
confidence, but a sustained confidence. You expect yourself to
perform the way you have been doing. Now, when I step up to the
plate I have that confidence in my ability and in my teammates to
get on base."

It’s precisely that approach to the game of baseball, a passion
the senior cultivated in high school, that has made Ammirato so
popular among teammates. At University High in Spokane, Wash.,
Ammirato was named most inspirational player two years in a row, so
it came as no surprise when he earned the same title on last year’s
Bruin team and was selected by the players to be team captain for
the the 1996 season.

"I make it a goal for myself to know each of the players’
demeanors and attitudes during the game so you know what they would
want said to them," Ammirato said. "I also like to talk,
definitely. I wouldn’t say I’m a cheerleader, but I say a lot."

While everyone expects and hopes for the best for him, Ammirato
demurred about his future in the major league draft, a prospect he
deemed dubious.

"As of right now, that’s not a big deal to me. Right now the
biggest priority is getting to Omaha with the team," Ammirato said.
"After last year, not being drafted, it was kind of a reality
check. You have to start thinking about other things – about school
or what you’d do without baseball.

"If I’m given an opportunity to play (professionally), with the
demands I put on myself I could make a career."

And if Ammirato says he could, you’d better believe him.

Zak Ammirato

FRED HE/Daily Bruin

Comments, feedback, problems?

© 1996 ASUCLA Communications Board

[Back] [Home]