Prep Wrapup : Thomas Quits After Leuzinger Walkout : 2-Year Coaching Tenure Was Stormy

A stormy two-year relationship between Leuzinger High’s baseball team and Coach Derrel Thomas ended Thursday when the ex-Dodger resigned after most of the Olympian players turned in their uniforms.

Leuzinger Athletic Director Steve Carnes said Friday that the players who quit have been reinstated and that Thomas will be replaced by junior varsity Coach George Mendez for the team’s two remaining Bay League games Tuesday and Thursday against Santa Monica.

Thursday’s flare-up between Thomas and several players came after the team forfeited its league game against Hawthorne, a loss that eliminated Leuzinger from playoff contention and brought down the curtain on a disappointing season for the once-promising Olympians.

“The whole situation is just crazy,” said a Leuzinger teacher, who asked not to be identified. “But (the school) put up with it for two years. Thomas has had conflicts with players before.”

The teacher said Thomas, a walk-on coach, was almost fired last season for grabbing a player and has been criticized for frequently missing practices and team meetings.

Reports vary as to who was at fault for Thursday’s forfeit.

Thomas said only six players were on the team bus when it departed for the game at Hawthorne. He said other players who missed the bus because they were late drove to the game in cars but were ineligible to play.

“It’s because of insurance purposes,” he said.

However, Carnes said there is no CIF-Southern Section rule restricting the mode of transportation to and from games. He said if the players drove to the game on time, they could have played.

But when the remaining players arrived at Hawthorne, Thomas informed them that they would not play and Leuzinger would have to forfeit.

“That’s when they walked by me and handed in their uniforms,” he said.

Asked if he tried to talk the players out of quitting, Thomas said: “Why should I? I didn’t have to talk them into playing baseball.”

Thomas said nine players walked out, including star pitcher Tyrone Scott, the South Bay leader in strikeouts. He said only three starters did not turn in their uniforms.

“We’ve had problems with them being late for the bus,” he said. “I got fed up with it.”

The incident capped a rough week for Thomas. His father, Lorenzo, died Monday, forcing him to miss practice that day and have Mendez serve as acting coach in Tuesday’s 10-9 loss to Hawthorne. He attended the game and returned to practice on Wednesday.

“I had planned to take the whole week off,” he said. “But just doing nothing didn’t seem to be too productive. My spirits weren’t that high, but I still tried to coach anyway.”

The resignation did not surprise many at Leuzinger. When Thomas was hired before last season, he said he didn’t plan on coaching at Leuzinger for more than two years. The Olympians were 25-29-1 under Thomas.

“The entire baseball situation has been building to this,” Carnes said. “I think, under the circumstances, the resignation is best for all concerned. It hasn’t been easy for Derrel. He’s had some personal problems this week with his father passing away.”

Carnes said the school plans to advertise for a new coach.

“We’re looking for a teacher, somebody who is on campus all the time,” he said. “I think that will be best for the program.”

Ironically, Thomas’ arrival at Leuzinger last year was met with enthusiasm by many of the same players who walked out Thursday.

Many felt the presence of an ex-major leaguer would help fill the void left by Dennis Bowman, who died of a heart attack in May, 1987, after coaching the Olympians to a 142-86-2 record in nine seasons.

But the high expectations never materialized.

Leuzinger took third behind Redondo and El Segundo in the competitive Pioneer League last season and lost in the opening round of the Southern Section 4-A Division playoffs, finishing with a 12-16 record.

Thomas predicted that the Olympians would win the Bay League title this season, and that seemed possible in March after they captured the championship of the Costa Mesa Tournament and brought a 7-2-1 record into league play.

However, Leuzinger played inconsistently, and reports of Thomas’ run-ins with umpires and his players overshadowed the team’s lackluster performances on the field. A source at Leuzinger said Thomas was ejected from a game with Crespi on April 22 in the Palos Verdes/Redondo Tournament and drove away in his car while the team rode home on a bus.

“He said he had to go to a (baseball) card show,” the source said.

The frustration felt by Thomas and Leuzinger’s players seemed to come to a head in recent weeks as the team dropped out of contention in the Bay League. The forfeit to Hawthorne marked the Olympians’ seventh loss in the last eight games and kept them in seventh place at 4-8, 13-13-1 overall.

“They had a good team, easily one of the top teams in the area,” said a Leuzinger teacher. “And now they’re zilch.”

Carnes, who coaches Leuzinger’s football team in addition to serving as athletic director, said he sympathized with the players who quit.

“You have to realize they’re disappointed because of the way the season has turned out,” he said. “I know they weren’t happy about quitting. But they’re kids, and they’re impulsive.”

El Segundo and St. Bernard, co-leaders in the Camino Real League baseball race, will square off at 7 Wednesday night at El Segundo Recreation Park in a game that will most likely decide the league championship.

El Segundo snapped St. Bernard’s Southern Section record of 35 consecutive league victories with a 9-6 win April 15, but the Eagles figure to face a different pitcher Wednesday.

St. Bernard’s ace left-hander, Dan Melendez (9-1), did not pitch in the last meeting but is scheduled to start this time. Melendez hit two home runs and had five RBIs in the first game with El Segundo.

Carson’s baseball team forfeited its game with visiting Crenshaw on Friday when Coach Marty Blankenship was ejected for arguing about a balk in the first inning. The loss knocked the Colts into last place in the four-team Pacific League with a 6-6 record and hurt their chances of qualifying for the L.A. City 4-A playoffs with three games remaining.

The top two teams from each league and the four best third-place teams from the 4-A Division’s six leagues will qualify for the playoffs.