Living out his dream

Mike Sciacca

The past two weeks have been nothing short of a whirlwind for Justin

Sellers, who today is living out his childhood dream.

It all began when the Marina High senior shortstop was named the

Sunset League’s player of the year for the 2005 season. It continued

when he was drafted in the sixth round -- with the 191st pick overall -- in the major league draft by the Oakland Athletics.

Then Sellers wore his league MVP label in his last hurrah as a

prep athlete, the Orange County All-Star Baseball Game on June 14 at

Glover Stadium in Anaheim. Sellers hit a home run and drove in three

runs to lead the South to a 10-6 victory over the North.

Last Thursday he graduated from Marina and the following day, he

signed with the Athletics.

“It’s all pretty much been like a dream, that’s for sure, but this

is something I’ve wanted and worked hard for, for a very long time,”

said the 19-year-old Monday from his hotel room in Vancouver, British

Columbia, Canada, where he reported Saturday to Oakland’s Class A

team, the Vancouver Canadians.

He is in Yakima, Wash., today for a five-game road trip in

Northwest League play -- the first series of his professional

baseball career.

He originally had signed a letter of intent with Cal State

Fullerton in 2004, but decided to turn pro, he said, after watching

the draft unfold on a home computer, surrounded by family and

friends.

“Everything just fell into place, and what caught my eye, really,

is that I was drafted by a West Coast team,” said the 19-year-old. “I

was able to skip rookie and instructional ball, too, and go right to

A ball, and that was great.

“When I was a freshman at Marina, I always thought it’d be great

to be league MVP one day. When I found out that I had won that honor

this year, it was an amazing feeling. Everything that has happened to

me recently has been awesome, and I’m really thankful.”

Sellers’ father, Jeff, was selected in the eighth-round of the

1982 major league draft by the Boston Red Sox and eventually played

four years with the Red Sox during a 10-year career.

Jeff Sellers played prep baseball for Paul Renfrow at Paramount

High. For the past 22 years, Renfrow has coached baseball at Marina

and for the past four years, he has had Justin Sellers on his varsity

squad.

Justin Sellers batted .407 this year. During his Marina career, he

played on this year’s Sunset League co-champion team and was part of

the 2003 Vikings squad that won the CIF-Southern Section Division I

championship.

“We have had quite a lot of success in the four years that Justin

has been in the program,” Renfrow said. “He has so many natural

attributes when it comes to the game, things that can’t be taught.

“He has a great arm, tremendously soft hands, great agility and

good speed, and good instincts. He just plays effortlessly, and he’s

doing something that he loves.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features for the Independent. He

can be reached at (714) 966-4611 or e-mail at

[email protected].