1
6The Daily Tar HeelThursday, April 5, 1984
B.J. Surhoff courting Olympics, pro scouts
By LEE ROBERTS
Start Writer
Editor's note: This is the first in a series on UNC
athletes con tending for a place on the 1984 U.S.
Olympic team.
A scout for the Toronto Blue Jays was
sitting in the press box during Monday's
North Carolina-East Carolina baseball
game at Boshamer Stadium.
When somebody asked if he was there
to watch UNC's star catcher BJ.
Surhoff, the scout replied, "Every team
in the major leagues is looking at
Surhoff."
And why not? The sophomore sensa
tion from Rye, N.Y. is hitting a whopp
ing .452 to lead the No. 4 Tar Heels to a
30-8 mark with two weeks to go in the
regular season. With a batting average
like that anyone is bound to be confident,
and Surhoff is no exception.
"I feel real good at the plate," Surhoff
said on a rare off-day for the Tar Heels.
"I feel like I can hit off any pitcher that's
out there."
Surhoff said there have been a few
times this year when he felt so good that
he just knew he could hit the ball out of
the park. Take, for example, the
Maryland game on March 25. Surhoff led
off for the Tar Heels in the bottom of the
first, and he got that feeling. Especially
after the home plate umpire called a
strike on a three-one pitch that Surhoff
and the rest of the Boshamer Stadium
crowd felt was low and outside. On Ter
rapin pitcher Mike Romanovsky's next
pitch, Surhoff sent the ball high and out
side the park.
Last season, Surhoff set a North
Carolina batting record by hitting .386 as
a freshman and was named to Baseball
America's Fresjiman All-American team.
This season, Surhoff attained first team
pre-season Ail-American status as only a
sophomore, and he has promised that his
average would not dip below .400, as it
did late last year.
"1 think I can stay in the .440-.450
range this season," Surhoff said. "I'd be
disappointed if I didn't. No one so far
has shown to me that 1 can't hit that
well."
The North Carolina coaching staff
agrees. Head coach Mike Roberts called
Surhoff "one of the best players in the
country," and UNC assistant coach
Howard McCullough had even more to
say.
"B.J. has a good makeup," Mc
Cullough said. "He's never complacent;
he always strives to be better. He's got
more baseball ability than anyone I've
ever seen."
None of this should be surprising to
anyone who knows Surhoff. The 6-1, 185
pound catcher comes from athletic stock.
His father played pro basketball for the
New York Knicks, his brother pitches in
the Philadelphia Phillies farm system and
his sister played volleyball and softball at
Iona College.
Surhoff followed in their footsteps to
become All-State in football, basketball
and baseball. He topped off his high
school athletic career by being named
New York Daily News athlete, spring
athlete and baseball player of the year.
Despite his many natural athletic
abilities, Surhoff works harder every day
to improve himself and that shows on
the playing field.
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"I feel very fortunate that I have a lot
of natural ability," Surhoff said. "But it
didn't all just come to me. I put time and
work into whatever sport I play and I
hope to get better each year.
One key to Surhoffsjimprovement as
a baseball player over the last year was his
involvement in the Pan American Games
last summer. Former American League
all-star shortstop Chico Carrasquel
believed Surhoff was the best player in
the Pan Am Games.
"I learned a lot about different styles
of play in different countries," Surhoff
said. "It was fun to see a lot of guys who
played high-caliber baseball and to see
how I stacked up against them."
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Surhoff stackedup rather well, hitting
:429 in 10 games and helping to lead the
American team to the bronze medal. And
the Pan American experience earned
Surhoff many points in the eyes of the
selection committee for the 1984 U.S.
Olympic baseball team. Baseball will be
an exhibition sport this year, but is ten
tatively scheduled to be a regular points
event in the 1988 Games. Surhoff was one
of only eight unanimous selections to the
preliminary 44-man Olympic roster.
McCull6ugh was the regional coor
dinator of the Olympic tryouts in the
Southeast Region at Duke University last
fall, and he liked what he saw in Surhoff.
"In the tryout at Duke, B.J. was easily
the top player out there," McCullough
said. "He's definitely one of the top two
or three amateur players in the country."
Surhoff is not officially on the Olympic
team yet, but McCullough said that
unless Surhoff is hurt, he will be in Los
Angeles come July.
"Ever since I heard about baseball
coming to the Olympics, I've thought
that winning an Olympic medal was
becoming more of a reality," Surhoff
said. "The closer it gets, the more excited
you get about it."
Surhoff said that having the chance to
represent his country in the Olympics is .
an exciting prospect.
"It makes all the work and time I've
put into playing worth it," he said. '
"We'll have to play with a lot of pride,
because baseball is the American pastime,
and we want to show the world we're still
the best at our game."
Whatever happens in the Olympics,
McCullough is certain that Surhoff will
do his country proud.
"For someone who's gotten as much
recognition as B.J. has, it's very easy to
put your head higher than everyone
else," McCullough said. "But the kid is
as humble as the day he walked in the
door."
To top all that off, there has even been
talk lately purely speculative about
Surhoff being able to play in the major 1
leagues. Roberts and "McCullough believe
the blond-haired whiz could play profes
sionally tomorrow. ' '
"He has the two things most important '
to making the major leagues," Mc
Cullough said. "He has a great arm and
he's got fine speed. Major league peo
ple know they can't teach that. Getting
over the initial awe of playing in the ma
jors, I think he might struggles a hitter
all young players do but I could see
the kid doing pretty well."
These days, it's hard to imagine B.J.
Surhoff not doing anything pretty well.
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.J. Surhoff has drawn great interest from major league scouts
Tix distribution discussed
By MIKE ALLEN
Staff Writer
Proposals to change the football ticket
distribution system are being considered
in order to streamline ticket office opera
tions, according to ticket office manager
Ken Brown.
Brown said Tuesday that he and
Carolina Athletic Association President
Jennie Edmundson met to discuss alter
native ways to distribute football tickets,
but stressed that nothing would be decid
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received.
"What we really want is student opi
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One plan being considered is a priority
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Students wishing to offer opinions or
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