Edgar Melik-Stepanyan,
Bill Hertz kept singing the same tune.
"It's not about me. It's not about what I've done. Focus on the
kids," he repeatedly said.
Throughout Hertz's coaching years, and during his tenure as an
advisor for professional athletes like Steve Garvey, Barry Zito,
Crescenta Valley High's Trevor Bell and Burbank residents Jason and
Matt Hirsh, the spotlight has duly been on the star athletes he's
represented.
Behind Garvey's all-star career with the Dodgers, behind Zito's
magnificence on the mound for the Oakland Athletics and behind Bell's
pending rise to stardom has been a self-proclaimed small-town
Glendale lawyer who has been a best friend and a father figure to his
clients.
"Bill has been amazing with Barry," raved Joe Zito, the father of
star Oakland pitcher.
"He's a perfect advisor," said Barbara Bell, the mother of Trevor
Bell, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the
Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft in June.
"Kids will always believe in Bill," added Vie Nacapoy, the team
mom for the Crescenta Valley baseball team, which features her son,
Chad, who played for Hertz as a Little Leaguer.
* * *
Hertz wasn't planning to become an advisor to professional
players. After graduating from UCLA in 1970 and earning his law
degree from the University of San Diego in 1973, he became an
attorney for several players -- including Garvey -- and never
envisioned having a dream job.
"I was fortunate enough to be exposed to athletes at all levels,"
Hertz said.
The greatest joy in Hertz's profession hasn't been meeting
athletes like Shaquille O'Neal and Mark McGwire; it's been allowing
his children -- Jenni, 30, Jared, 27, Willie, 20, Chris, 18, and
Brett, 16 -- to share in the experiences of meeting their heroes.
"All this time I spend, I reap the rewards. It's reward after
reward after reward," Bill Hertz said.
* * *
"He blew me away," said Hertz describing the first time he saw
Barry Zito pitch at L.A. Pierce College.
Hertz wasn't talking about Zito's nasty curveball, considered the
best in the majors. He was referring to Zito's reaction after his
bullpen blew a lead.
Zito and Jared Hertz attended L.A. Pierce together in 1998.
Hertz remembered watching Zito overpower his opponents to take a
lead into the eighth inning. But, L.A. Pierce's bullpen fell apart,
wasting Zito's stellar effort.
L.A. Pierce won the game in extra innings, sparking Zito to be the
first to race onto the field to celebrate with his rejuvenated
teammates.
