By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
Stanly Community College is just getting its athletic programs rolling, and Salisbury slugger Doug Seaman will have a chance to grow along with the rest of the Eagles.
Seaman who is interested in mechanics, casseroles and baseball, signed with Stanly and has the potential to hit tape-measure homers in Albemarle.
Stanly, which started competing as a Division II junior college during the 2007-08 school year, fielded teams in baseball, softball and volleyball. Stanly’s baseball team took its lumps in its debut, dropping its first six outings by a combined 87-6 to established programs, but Salisbury coach Scott Maddox believes help is on the way.
“I first heard about Stanly’s baseball program when we played at East Lincoln in the playoffs, and East Lincoln’s catcher Jesse Guice said he was going there,” Maddox said. “He can play, and I’m sure they’re bringing in a lot of good kids for next year.”
Seaman also drew interest from Norfolk State, a historically black university with a nationally ranked program, and Wilkes Community College.
Seaman, who served as Salisbury’s designated hitter, isn’t a polished talent, but he has a strong arm, decent speed and prodigious power. He’ll likely play the outfield for Stanly, and the Eagles are also interested in his pitching potential.
“Doug has a great arm and can throw 87-88 mph,” Maddox said. “But after four or five pitches, he can get all over the place. He needs to refine his mechanics and get some consistency and he can help them on the mound. We’re going to be working with him on pitching with our summer team.”
Seaman’s calling card is his unusual power. He hit five homers this season, including two bombs that carried 400-plus feet against Concord.
“That night against Concord was the best feeling of my life,” Seaman said. “One ball hit the top of the fence out there at that 420 sign.”
That’s the other fence that sits way, way out there beyond the regulation fence in right-center.
Seaman overcame a midseason quad injury that took him out of his groove for a few weeks and finished his senior year with a .308 batting average, 16 runs and 21 RBIs and a spot on the All-CCC team.
His numbers were pretty remarkable for someone who was 7-for-30 in limited action as a junior.
“Last year, he struggled because he was trying to hit every pitch into the trees,” Maddox said. “This year he stayed back better, swung half as hard and still hit balls out. He started this year doing his damage against the average and below-average pitchers, but by the end of the year, he was hitting the better pitchers.”
Seaman was 5-for-12 in Salisbury’s four postseason games and drove in three runs. In May, he wasn’t hitting homers, but he’d added up-the-middle, line-drive singles to his repertoire.
“I do feel like I’ve come a long way in the last year,” Seaman said. “I know since last fall I put my heart into baseball. There were a lot of years before that where I didn’t take it nearly as seriously.”
Maddox is optimistic Seaman’s success will spur more African-American athletes to consider playing baseball at Salisbury and around the county.
“When Doug told some people last year that he was going to give up football to concentrate on baseball, they laughed at him,” Maddox said. “They gave him grief, told him he’d never play for us. There were times this year when he’d hit a home run, give me and wink and whisper, ‘OK, now what will they say about that one?’
“Doug’s had an impact, probably more than he realizes. We’ve got three black kids on our summer jayvee team. Without Doug, I don’t know that they’re out here. But when you hit home runs and hit them as far as he hit them, it gets people’s attention.”
Baseball has given Seaman an opportunity to continue his education, and playing at Stanly will allow him to stay close to home.
He’s looking forward to studying engine and automotive mechanics, but his dream is to become a great chef. Emeril is right up there with Hank Aaron on his list of heroes.
“I cooked a whole lot for Mother’s Day,” Seaman said with a smile. “It was pretty presentable.”
Maddox says Seaman has yet to cook anything for him, so he can’t comment on his culinary expertise.
But Maddox is sold on what Seaman can do with a bat in his hands.
“People who work as hard as Doug tend to keep getting better and better,” he said.
“If he keeps at it, people might be reading about him hitting 20 home runs someday. Then we’ll see who’s laughing.”