Glaus, Parque make Olympic baseball team

Sunday, July 7, 1996

Third baseman, left-handed pitcher posted big numbers this
yearBy Grace Wen

Summer Bruin Senior Staff

Two men had the same dream, to become Olympians. The paths they
took to realize this dream were drastically different.

One was virtually guaranteed a spot because of his continuous
outstanding play. The other had to struggle against injury, doubts
and questions. The end result, both will compete in Atlanta for the
United States.

UCLA’s Troy Glaus and Jim Parque secured spots on the U. S.
Olympic baseball team last week. Glaus, the Bruin third baseman,
finished the season hitting .352, while finishing second in the
Pacific 10 with 16 home runs. Parque, UCLA’s ace, ended the year
9-3, leading the conference with 116 strikeouts.

The two men were part of a 45-player group invited to try out
for the U.S. Olympic Team.

Players were invited based on performance in exhibition games as
well as their experience. Glaus, among the first group of invitees,
had played with the team last summer and participated in fall
tryouts. Parque, on the other hand, was among the last. He didn’t
receive an invitation last summer and missed fall tryouts due to
injury.

Such is the pattern for these two men.

"It was more difficult for Jim than Troy. Jimmy wasn’t picked
last summer. He’s a little guy and has to prove himself," UCLA head
coach Gary Adams said. "Towards the end of the season he kept
asking me ‘Coach, are they ever going to ask me? All I want is an
invite.’ I kept telling him to hang in there. If he had another
good game, it was going to happen."

Parque did hang in there. And when USA Baseball decided to add
10 more invites to their list of 35, Jim Parque was among them. But
that was only the beginning of the obstacles in the left-hander’s
quest for a spot on the team.

As the youngest pitcher for Team USA, Parque had to beat out two
other outstanding lefties for a spot on the 20-man roster. Randy
Wolf of Pepperdine and Eric Dubose of Mississippi competed with USA
Baseball last summer and also took part in 1995 Fall National
Trials. It seemed as if he was up against insurmountable odds.

But Parque met the challenge. In 19 1Ž3 innings of work,
Parque is second on the squad with 26 strikeouts. His 3.26 ERA is
third on the team.

He is mechanically sound, intense and has demonstrated that he
can handle pressure situations. Against Cuba, the gold-medal
favorite, he allowed one earned run in over five innings of work.
In a span of two innings, he struck out four Cuban hitters.

Indeed, Parque has proven himself worthy of a spot on the
Olympic team. Glaus, on the other hand, did not have much to prove.
After hitting .306 with the team last summer and driving home
game-winning runs in two of Team USA’s four victories over Cuba a
year ago, Glaus was practically assured a place on the team.

Currently hitting .383 with seven home runs and 23 RBI, Glaus
will be a major factor in the U.S. line-up.

It isn’t just his hitting talents that make him an asset to the
team but his defensive skills as well. With only one error in the
last 19 games, Glaus is in a league of his own.

Glaus will most likely start at third base while Parque could be
used as a starter, middle reliever or closer.

"I expect them to do well as long as they play up to the level
of competition. They can hold their own, " said Adams. "I am so
proud of them."

Daily Bruin File Photo

UCLA’s Troy Glaus will most likely hold down his starting job at
third base for the U.S. Olympic team.