Gorman baseball player takes time out for wrestling

By Christopher Drexel

Friday, Dec. 5, 2008 | midnight

It's safe to say baseball is Johnny Field's day job.

He started as a sophomore second basemen for Bishop Gorman's 2008 state championship and American Legion national championship teams. And in September, he accepted a scholarship offer to play at the University of Arizona despite having two seasons left in high school.

But every winter Field takes about three months to get away from baseball, trading in his cap and bat for a singlet and headgear while competing for the Gaels wrestling team.

"I love the one-on-one competition in wrestling," Field said. "Baseball is my No. 1 sport, but there is a team to help you out. If you don't work harder in wrestling, you're not going to get anywhere because it's just you."

The type of scholarship Arizona was willing to give Field to play baseball was a rare one. Typically, NCAA baseball teams have 11.7 scholarships to divide amongst their players, with many getting about 50 percent of their college paid for. However, Arizona offered Field 95 percent, with food being his only expense once he arrives in Tucson, Ariz., in the fall of 2010.

Field said he never worries about suffering an injury on the wrestling mat that could cause him to miss time with baseball.

"You can't think about that," he said. "Because when you do think about it is when you get hurt."

It doesn't hurt that Field's father, John Field, is with him every second he spends on the mats. John Field is the coach of the Gorman wrestling team.

When father and son took an unofficial visit to Arizona in September, they immediately told coaches of Johnny's Field's intentions to continue wrestling. No problems arose, otherwise Field may still be looking for a college.

"They were real open-minded about it," John Field said. "They know he's a competitive kid — that's what they liked about him.

"My theory is you have a better chance of getting in a car wreck going to school than you do getting hurt playing sports.."

Despite regularly grappling with athletes who spend the entire year wrestling, Johnny Field has had no problem competing after spending the about nine consecutive months playing baseball.

He went 41-5 last year and won the Sunset Regional championship at 152 pounds. He later lost to the eventual state champion by one point in double overtime of a state semifinal match and finished fourth at the state tournament.

"To me, doing one sport year-round is a waste because kids can be good in other sports and still do good in their main sport," John Field said.

Johnny Field will wrestle at 171 pounds this season. He said after tasting so much success with the baseball team, he has extra motivation to replicate that in wrestling.

"We've been so fortunate these last couple years in baseball to win these state championships, and I really want to carry that over to wrestling," he said.

Christopher Drexel can be reached at 990-8929 or [email protected].