Lakeside lefty's pick-off move nails runners

Good luck getting the jump on Tim Frazier.

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The Lakeside left-hander has picked off at least one runner in each of his appearances this season. It's become a game within a game, something he and his dad can discuss later at the dinner table.

A perceptive runner might try to discern what it is that makes Frazier's pick-off move so deceptive, but probably would fail.

"I change my looks," Frazier said. "The first time, I might just throw over."

Sit in with some opponents' fans at a Lakeside baseball game, and you're likely to hear a pattern.

When Frazier takes the mound to get loose, the whispers are that he's the lefty with the good pick-off move. When the senior throws over for the first time, the calls are "Back!"

Then, after Frazier succeeds in nabbing the runner at first, the mumbles begin.

People begin questioning whether it's a balk.

The key, Frazier said, is a rule allowing lefties to point their foot at a 45-degree angle. It's the umpire's judgment as to whether Frazier takes it too far, and he pushes the limit as much as possible.

He learned of the rule when he got to high school; his brother helped him perfect it.

"Like any good lefty with a good move, you just have to be smart," said Greenbrier coach Rodney Holder after Greenbrier's Ben Morgan fell victim earlier in the year.

Panthers coach Jay Matthews thinks the secret lies in the head motion.

"I try to look like I'm going home," said Frazier, who estimated he had seven pick-offs before spring break.

Frazier has the distinction of being the only Panthers senior planning to play college baseball next year.He worked out at a Clemson University baseball camp in December and has talked with Toccoa Falls College coach Justin Pollock.

The Christian-based school doesn't offer athletic scholarships, but Frazier plans to play for Pollock next year.

"It's a nice, small college," he said. "I'll get an opportunity for some playing time."