Tigers’ Crowley enjoys being son of major leaguer

There can be a lot of pressure on a youngster whose father was a long-time major leaguer.

But Clemson University second baseman Jim Crowley, son of former Baltimore Oriole outfielder-DH Terry Crowley, said having a famous father is well worth the pressure.

His dad is now the hitting instructor with the Minnesota Twins after being the Boston Red Sox’ roving minor league hitting instructor a year ago.

“There’s been a little bit of pressure but I’ve put it on myself,” said Crowley, who opened the NCAA Northeast Regionals with a 2-for-3, three-RBI day in Clemson’s 13-5 win over Princeton. “Opposing teams and fans sometimes say things like you don’t hit like your dad and that will get to me at times.

“But my dad has taught me a lot. He knows a lot about hitting and I really respect his opinion. I think he’d be much happier to see me become a doctor or a lawyer but I want to play baseball,” added Crowley.

Crowley’s older brother, Terry Jr., is playing for the Carolina Mudcats in AA ball (Pittsburgh affiliate) after signing out of high school.

He said his brother also helped him learn to deal with being the son of a former major leaguer by telling him to ignore the heckling.

While his dad was a big lefthanded hitter with power, Jim is a 5-foot-11, 179-pound righthanded hitter who has some power.

He has hit 17 homers this season and now has 72 runs batted in while hitting a team-leading .392. He entered the season with a career batting average of .304, 26 homers and 120 RBIs.

Crowley adheres to his father’s philosophy of trying to hit the ball out in front of the plate and having a downward plane swing.

His father retired in 1983 after spending most of his career in Baltimore.

“I used to go to just about every Oriole (home) game,” recalled the younger Crowley.

He calls his dad at least once a week and said he usually calls him when he’s struggling at the plate.

“I’ll tell him I’m hitting a lot of curves on the ground to short and he’ll tell me I’m trying to pull the ball too much,” said Crowley, who takes advantage of dad’s tips.

Crowley, a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection after being a second-teamer two years in a row, played for Dulaney High School (Md.) and was the 1987 Gatorade Player of the Year in Maryland. He was drafted out of high school by the Orioles in the 23rd round.

Crowley has been a clutch performer in NCAA Tournament play for the Tigers, going 15-for-33 over his career.

Crowley is one of three Tigers with famous relatives.

Junior first baseman Joe DeBerry’s father is Air Force Academy head football coach Fisher DeBerry and fifth-year senior Michael Spiers is the brother of Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Bill Spiers… Clemson Coach Bill Wilhelm joked with reporters about the ninth inning of the game with Princeton. He brought in reliever Chet Kendall to open the ninth inning, his team leading 13-1, and Kendall walked four. So he summoned Tim Peele and Peele surrendered two walks and a hit before closing ou the 13-5 win. “I apologize for keeping you guys overtime,” quipped Wilhelm. “I know you don’t get paid overtime. And our fielders certainly didn’t want to stay on the field an extra 20 minutes.”… Mississippi State Coach Ron Polk’s focus is on trying to win the regional. But he will also spend some time in his role as the U.S. Pan American Games coach when he’s away from Mahaney Diamond. “I know when I get back to the hotel, I’ll have five or six messages that I’ll have to answer (pertaining to the Pan Am team),” said Polk. “It’s a very big event. But I don’t think about it when I’m on the field.” Polk said he has been very impressed by the facilities at Maine, particularly “John’s (Maine Coach John Winkin’s) office.” Polk and Winkin have been friends for a long time and served on various NCAA committees together… Mississippi State third baseman-pitcher Chuck Daniel said some of the Bulldog players were hoping they’d get sent to the Northeast Regional in Maine. “Some of the guys wanted to go to the University of Southern California (West 1 Regional) for the weather. But a lot of us wanted to come to Maine to see this part of the country. It’s nice up here.”