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More than just a game
Thomas Stone alum Calvert now prepares younger baseball players
Friday, April 17, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Submitted photo
Thomas Stone graduate Mark Calvert stands behind his three sons, Ryan, left, Alex and Troy with the trophy after Calvert's 12-U Charles County Youth League club placed third last year at the Cal Ripken World Series.
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What many pitchers fail to realize is that it's more than just throwing a hard fastball over the plate and using your innate physical ability in becoming a great player. It's more a mental game and studying the concepts and the art of pitching, so that they can be able to make a plethora of routine plays in their sleep before even coming on to the field.
Mark Calvert, a 1979 Thomas Stone High School graduate, once received the all-conference and all-state honors for his 90-plus mile per hour heat that he threw past opposing hitters. He had them looking with no chance to even hit the baseball. Under former Stone frontrunner Ron Stover, Calvert was an unstoppable force during his junior and senior seasons.
In his junior season, Calvert led the Cougars to a SMAC title, a regional crown and a Class A state title appearance against powerhouse Aberdeen and future Hall of Fame shortstop-third baseman Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles, who was one of the most feared pitchers in the state that year as a senior.
During that state game, Stone was up 4-1 after 4 2/3 innings when the game was called due to thunderstorms in the area. So, two days later, both teams had to start from scratch and Aberdeen won the title by a score of 7-2 led by Ripken who pitched the whole game to lead his squad to the victory.
"Cal pitched a great game, he threw very hard," Calvert said. "He played shortstop the game before we got rained out, but he came back and pitched in the second game and no one could hit off of him. I had pitched three out of the four state playoff games, so I didn't have the stuff in that game like I had."
That same year the Orioles drafted Ripken straight out of high school in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft with a 0.70 earned run average and 100 strikeouts in his career.
Calvert also played on the basketball team for the last two years of his career. He played with Antoine Makle, Stone's second all-time leading scorer.
"I had a good bunch of guys that I played with on my team," said Calvert on playing with his Stone teammates during his junior season, which was his favorite SMAC moment. "We had a special chemistry and that entire junior year, there were a cast of characters that were interesting."
During his senior year, Calvert led his team back to the playoffs, but came up short, falling in the second round of the playoffs to Surrattsville from Prince George's County 1-0, on an error by the Stone second baseman.
That game featured not only Calvert as one of the top pitchers in the area, but alongside him was Joe Kucharski. Kucharski, who was Calvert's eventual college roommate at University of South Carolina, pitched for Surrattsville.
After a successful career as a Cougar, Calvert was drafted in the sixth round by the Oakland A's straight out of high school, but opted to pursue his education and accepted a full scholarship at South Carolina, which had a Division I powerhouse on the diamond.
"I sat down with my parents and talked about the professional level and the money, but education was more important," Calvert said. "I was one of the top students in my class and was in the National Honor Society, so I wanted to focus on getting a degree, while still playing baseball at the college level."
With over a 3.5 grade point average, Calvert balanced his studies and continued to be a feared pitcher on the mound in his career with the Gamecocks, going 26-7 and pitched in the 1981 and 1982 College World Series.
During that sophomore season, Calvert faced seven-time Cy Young pitcher Roger Clemens, who pitched for University of Texas at the time.
"The level of Division I ball was amazing, along with a lot of great players," said Calvert, who graduated in 1983 with a degree in business management. "We were ranked in the top five in the nation for three out of the four years and beat some top programs. We beat No. 1 Miami [Fla.], the top team in the country my junior year."
At 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, Calvert went 10-1 during his junior season at South Carolina and had supreme command on the mound.
After college, Calvert was drafted again in the Major League draft, this time by the Cincinnati Reds.
He spent three years in the minor league system and ended his career at the AA level after being released.
"I wouldn't trade it with the world," said Calvert of his pro experience. His inspirations were Hall of Fame pitchers Nolan Ryan and Jim Palmer. "It was a great experience. I developed relationships, the pros had its ups and downs, but now I get to share stories with the younger guys."
Calvert has some major advice for the SMAC athletes of today who want to have success on the diamond.
"If you work hard and do your job, then the team will be successful," he said. "The game is ‘evaluated by statistics,' work hard at the position you are at and be open to instruction. If you are not willing to put in the time, you have to adjust your goals because you won't make it."
Calvert, 48, loves playing golf and now works for ABM industries, providing facility management. He is the branch manager in Washington, D.C. for the security division.
He is an assistant and pitching coach for the College of Southern Maryland baseball team and lives in La Plata with his wife, Debbie and their three boys, Troy, 16, Alex, 13, and Ryan, 7.
Calvert also coaches in the Charles County Youth League. He helped lead the 12-U club last season to a third-place finish out of all United States teams at the Cal Ripken World Series at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen.
"It's about being mature, having discipline and being committed," Calvert said. "I have camaraderie and try to get the kids to understand the game and perform in the classroom."
