USC Sports Info Mark Prior
By Scott Bair
Daily Bruin Contributor
If Regis Philbin shouted the question “Who wants to be a
millionaire?” into a crowd of people, everyone present and in
their right mind would raise their hand and beg for a chance at
fame and fortune.
But somewhere in that sea of raised hands, there is a man
shaking his head and walking away. That person is USC’s Mark
Prior, whose powerful right arm so impressed the New York Yankees
that they used the 43rd overall pick in the 1998 draft to gain the
rights to the young phenom.
The Yankees wanted to secure Prior’s unlimited potential
so much that they offered him more than a million dollars to forgo
higher education and turn pro.
Prior told the Yankees ““ the most storied franchise in
baseball ““ “thanks, but no thanks” and went to
college.
“I didn’t feel ready. I was only 17 at the time. I
needed to go to college to grow as a pitcher and as a
person,” Prior said. “I didn’t want to be forced
into something I wasn’t ready to do just because of the
money.”
Discussing the possibility of being a millionaire at age 20 got
a big laugh out of the laid-back Prior.
“I would be doing the exact same things I’m doing
now, only with a bigger bank account,” he said. “I
don’t think my life would change any.”
The decision to stay in school turned out to be a wise one for
Prior, who now has an 11-1 record with a 1.20 ERA for USC this
season.
Though things are going well now, not every decision has worked
out to the Prior standard of perfection.
Coming out of high school, Prior enrolled at his father’s
alma mater, Vanderbilt. He had a rough first season in college,
going 4-8 with a 4.59 ERA, the worst of his career.
After the season, Prior talked to Trojan Head Coach Mike
Gillespie about a transfer to USC, where he was heavily recruited
out of high school.
“I left Vanderbilt because for the first time I
wasn’t happy with baseball, and I wasn’t happy with
losing (Vanderbilt was 25-26, 5-24 in conference). I didn’t
feel that I was growing as a pitcher,” Prior said.
His confidence grew under Gillespie’s tutelage, and in
2000 he went a respectable 10-7 while dropping his ERA to 3.56.
The following summer, Prior hit the road. He traveled with Team
USA and found a close friend in his roommate, UCLA ace Josh Karp.
During his travels Prior learned a lot about his game. He started
the title game of the Haarlem Tournament in the Netherlands,
getting the win for Team USA in an 8-5 win over Cuba.
Something must have clicked during that win as Prior has been
un-hittable since returning to the U.S.
“He has developed a strong, hard 11 o’clock to 7
o’clock curveball this year to accent a fastball that reaches
the mid-90s on the gun,” USC Pitching Coach Dave Lawn
said.
The newfound competitive fire in his belly and in his arm has
not only produced un-hittable stuff, but also a heightened level of
media coverage.
The baseball media has brought its magnifying glass to Dedeaux
Field on Friday nights, adding pressure that rivals the myriad
radar guns that show up behind home plate whenever he takes the
mound.
Some Major League scouts have even gone so far to say that Prior
is ready to be a three, four or five starter in the big leagues
right now.
“Mark doesn’t think about that stuff. He stays
focused on the task at hand,” Gillespie said. “He
learned that it is the next out, the next batter, the next pitch
that’s most important.”
As a by-product of all the media attention, Mark knows what
it’s like to be a man with a target on his back that everyone
wants to knock off. Prior has defeated all dominant Pac-10 pitchers
this season, with the exception of one.
That one is his friend and confidant, Karp. The Bruins won the
first meeting this year with the second coming Friday night at USC
in a crucial matchup of crosstown rivals.
“I know Josh has Major League stuff, but I will approach
the game like any other, anticipating that it’s going to be a
dogfight,” he said.
Though he’d never admit it, Prior is becoming a
professional trapped in the body of a college kid. When asked who
his baseball idol is, he said without hesitation, “Roger
Clemens.”
And come this June, a Major League team will be touting Prior as
the next Roger Clemens, offering millions for his services, with
Regis nowhere in sight. That team, no matter which it is, will have
to have a very, very high draft pick.