No Small Feat : Heritage Christian’s Caffrey Has Set Several Records but Is Criticized Because of School’s Size

ANAHEIM —  The way Paul Caffrey sees it, a record is a record. He hopes others will see things his way, too.

Caffrey, a sophomore shortstop and pitcher for Heritage Christian, is assaulting the record books this spring. First, it was the county mark for runs batted in, then it was county and Southern Section records for triples. Now, he’s zeroing in on the county’s best batting average, chasing Whittier Christian junior catcher Rich Walls.

Considering that the Patriots (12-7, 6-0 in league) have a league title and a playoff berth in sight, several other hitting marks aren’t out of the question.

Because Heritage Christian (enrollment 130) plays in the Division XI Express League, Caffrey’s record-setting year may not earn much respect. Certainly, he hasn’t had the kind of attention those same marks would bring if he had accomplished the feats at a much larger school.

Division I, II and III schools with well-established programs and a greater number of pitchers and hitters, have long considered small-school marks inferior.

For instance, the combined enrollment of the four-team Express League is less than the size of one average Division V school.

So how does one assess Caffrey’s marks?

“It’s bogus for people to say these records aren’t that good because I play in a lower division,” Caffrey said. “I have to work just as hard to hit on this level. I’ve been hitting them where they aren’t. You have to hit the gaps. I’m not hitting them right at people and they’re missing them.

“All these RBIs aren’t bogus, either. I still got to hit them. A lot has been said to me about this. They’ve said stuff about my records and I tell them that you have to hit them all just as hard here as you do up there.”

Standing alone, Caffrey’s 54 RBIs, 12 triples and .608 batting average are outstanding marks. The county batting record for a single season, for instance, has stood since 1990, when D.C. Olsen, a former standout at Cal State Fullerton, hit .595 at Fullerton High. Caffrey also has an outside chance of breaking the county mark for most hits in a season, a mark that has stood at 51 (Robbie Katzaroff, Los Alamitos, 1985) for more than a decade. Caffrey has 42.

Caffrey has meant a lot to the Patriots on the mound too. He is 6-2 with a 1.24 earned-run average and 73 strikeouts in 56 1/3 innings of work.

A Whittier resident, Caffrey never considered attending a public school, but did consider attending a larger Christian school. He was swayed by Heritage Christian, though, after visiting the school with his father, Tom, a former football coach and athletic director at Whittier Christian, who now holds similar positions with the Patriots.

Paul Caffrey, a natural right-hander who bats left, points out that he has participated in summer leagues against players from larger schools and plans to do so this summer too. He says many of his hits have come at Glover Stadium, the Patriots’ home field, where large-school teams also play.

“I think I can play on the higher levels,” he said. “Personally, I’ve played with these guys in summer league.”

Heritage Christian Coach Mike Smith, well aware that Caffrey’s records might come under scrutiny, agrees that pitching isn’t as consistent on the lower levels, but believes that in itself should make Caffrey’s batting marks stand out even more.

“It’s actually tougher on a hitter like Paul on this level, because pitchers may not be throwing as hard and he has to sit back and be more of a hitter,” Smith said. “The ball’s not always around the plate. He has to wait for the pitch to get there. The umps don’t help either, trying to help out a pitcher that is struggling with control. So, I think you have to be a better hitter down here on the lower level than you do on the upper level.”

Mater Dei Coach Bob Ickes said players at larger schools should get off their pedestals. While acknowledging that there are differences between larger and smaller schools, he put a new spin on Caffrey’s achievements.

“I accept the fact that he has broken those records. That’s why those records are there to shoot at,” Ickes said. “There shouldn’t be asterisks by those records. They’re more for individuals to have something to talk about when they are older. I’m sure he worked hard to get where he is at.”

That kind of talk suits Caffrey just fine. A record, he points out, is a record.