Vigilantes Offer Boucher Opportunity for a Save

When the Vigilantes open spring training today at Santa Margarita High, there will 32-35 players looking for a chance to rise from the independent club and latch on to a major league organization. For some this may be their best chance; for others, their last.

Pitcher Mike Boucher falls somewhere in between.

Boucher, a 24-year-old right-hander who has played in the Philadelphia Phillies’ organization, would like another chance.

“[Manager] Buck [Rodgers] says there will be Dodgers, Angels and Padres scouts watching the games, and maybe one or two of us could make it,” Boucher said.

But Boucher, who lives in Mission Viejo, also is excited about the chance to play professional baseball in his hometown.

Boucher played football, basketball and baseball at Mission Viejo High from 1989-91. He returned to the school last year as its junior varsity baseball coach, and he attends Cal State Fullerton, where he is a year away from a degree in kinesiology.

To play for the Vigilantes, who won the Western Baseball League championship the last two years in Long Beach, Boucher will have to make the 22-man roster selected at the end of spring training by Rodgers and pitching coach Brad Lesley.

Whether Boucher makes the team or not, he already has had a fair share of athletic adventures.

After graduating from Mission Viejo and recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, Boucher pitched and played outfield for two years at Saddleback College. A 4-1 record as a sophomore convinced the Phillies to select him in the 32nd round of the 1993 free-agent draft, but Boucher opted to attend the University of Wyoming.

“I only stayed one year,” he said. “It was too cold.”

No matter. Philadelphia scout Tommy Ferguson got the Phillies to sign Boucher in 1994; however, he was released after that season and returned to California. He attended Chico State for a semester, then started contacting minor league teams for a tryout.

He got one with the Salinas Peppers of the Western Baseball League in 1996. Boucher said they kept him a couple of months, but then he was again released.

Boucher thought his professional career had ended. But he hadn’t lost the desire to play.

“I contacted Brad Lesley three weeks ago and he invited me to the tryout camp,” Boucher said. “The first day I just threw in the bullpen. But two days later, I threw in an intrasquad game and was invited to spring training.”

Lesley, who said Boucher “has a few things to work on,” saw enough to recommend the pitcher.

“He has good command of the breaking ball, which, for now, is his biggest asset,” Lesley said. “I’d like to see him spot his fastball better to make his breaking ball even better.

“He’s not assured of a spot, but he does have a chance to make the team.”

That’s all Boucher--and the other Vigilante candidates--are asking for.

“Right now, I would like to play in my hometown,” Boucher said. “This league is not to make a lot of money but to play the sport. If everything goes well and I was picked up by a major league team, that would be beautiful. But I just want to play as long as I can.”

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Vigilante Spring Training

Manager Buck Rodgers has invited 35 players to today’s opening of training camp for the Vigilantes of the Western Baseball League. The regular season begins May 23 against the Chico Heat at Saddleback College.

* When: Today, starting at 3 p.m.; Monday-May 12, 10:30 a.m.; May 18, 1 p.m.; May 19-21, 10:30 a.m.

* Where: Santa Margarita High

* Wherewithal: Practices, which will run from 2 1/2 to three hours, are free and open to the public.

* Information: (714) 699-1616.