Family Ties

By Dylan Hernandez

Daily Bruin Contributor

During a typical day, while UCLA sophomore pitcher Josh Karp is
making his rounds between class and baseball practice, his retired
father Joe sits in front of the computer researching the stock
market.

If the weather is good, Joe may get out of his house in Bothell,
Wash. to play some golf. Sometimes, he washes his car. His life
seems pretty effortless.

Once a week, however, Joe takes a break from his relaxing
schedule and heads to the airport. From there, he boards a flight
to wherever his son is playing.

More than half of the time, Joe’s destination is the
Bruins’ home field ““ Jackie Robinson Stadium ““
where he has become one of the team’s most recognizable fans.
For most of UCLA’s games, Joe stands near the concession
stand above the rows of seats, talking to other players’
parents.

But when his son is on the mound, Joe plants himself directly
behind home plate with a pen, piece of paper and radar gun,
tracking every pitch. After the game, he and his son go out to eat
and discuss the details of the game.

“We approach Josh’s pitching like a job,” Joe
said. “There’s still a team approach. I don’t
look at it as a burden.”

Josh is one of college baseball’s premier pitchers. He is
a 6-foot-5 physical specimen armed with a 96 mile per hour
fastball, a sharp curveball, and a wicked change-up. Next year, he
is expected to be among the first three players chosen in the
amateur draft.

He has his father to thank for it all.

“He’s always helped me with my mechanics,”
Josh said of his father. “He probably knows my mechanics
better than anyone. If something’s wrong, he can pinpoint it
immediately. He’s a big part of my pitching.”

Joe was once a pitcher himself. He threw for Washington State in
the mid-1960s and later played in the minor leagues before becoming
a scout in the Chicago White Sox organization. Josh, naturally, was
introduced to the game at an early age.

Yet through Little League and most of high school, Karp was not
a pitcher. Rather, he was a shortstop. And his father trained him
accordingly, hitting him numerous groundballs everyday.

Shooting up in height prior to his senior year of high school,
Karp lost all of his lateral movement and decided to switch
positions. His father, though still busy scouting for Chicago, was
there again to help.

Everyday, they worked together and Karp developed rapidly. He
immediately learned to command three pitches and that summer in the
Connie Mack League went 9-2 with a 1.68 earned run average. By the
time Baseball America printed its preseason draft issue, Karp was
the No. 1 pitching prospect in the country.

In the draft before his final year of high school, Karp slipped
to the eighth round due to reports that he was firmly committed to
attending UCLA.

The Atlanta Braves, the team that selected him, desperately
tried to get him to sign, offering him a $2 million bonus. But Karp
and his father agreed that he would make more progress under the
Bruin coaching staff, which included former Los Angeles Dodger
pitcher Tim Leary, than he would in the minors.

Karp also said he wanted to experience college life.

With his father behind the backstop at each game carrying a
radar gun, Karp had no trouble asserting himself at the collegiate
level. In his first year, he posted an 8-3 record to go with a 4.26
ERA, earning Freshman All-America honors.

“He was very poised for a freshman,” UCLA head coach
Gary Adams said. “He already had a good delivery. His dad is
a great tutor when it comes to mechanics.”

In the summer that followed, Karp was chosen to represent Team
USA on its Red, White and Blue Tour.

Coming into this year, Karp was a preseason first-team
All-American. Although an early season battle with the flu cost him
a few starts, he returned to close the regular season with a 9-1
record. Last weekend, he won his 10th game of the year, beating
Oklahoma in the NCAA Regionals.

“Sometimes, I look back and think about all those times I
went to the field to practice with my dad instead of going out with
my friends,” Karp said. “I feel good that my dad did
that for me.”

As for having a father who is always around, Karp is not the
least bit bothered.

“I like seeing him,” he said. “I’m happy
when he’s happy and he loves watching me play. Hopefully, if
I make the major leagues, he can be there at my first game. I want
him to be there.”

Joe, meanwhile, is now out of scouting. Having a son who is a
top-flight prospect, he found there were certain conflicts of
interest which he could not avoid. Joe is, however, contemplating a
return to baseball after his son is drafted.

“He loves baseball,” Josh said. “He likes
being around the game. He’ll get back in it.”

One possibility is that Joe will take a job as a personal
pitching coach. Josh couldn’t recommend a better one. He has
himself to offer as proof.