WHAT’S UP WESTSIDE ..................PAGE 2 MY WRITE ........................................PAGE 4 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ............PAGE 6 CRIME WATCH ..................................PAGE 7 MYSTERY PHOTO ............................PAGE 11
MONDAY
9.21.15 Volume 14 Issue 268
@smdailypress
Santa Monica Daily Press
smdp.com
Samohi grad Cody Decker called up by Padres Baseball dream comes true for longtime minor leaguer
Photo courtesy San Diego Padres
MAKING THE BIGS: Former Samohi student Cody Decker achieves his major league dreams.
BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN Daily Press Staff Writer
Cody Decker had waited his entire life to say those five words. So when his dream came true, he felt compelled to type in all caps.
“I AM A BIG LEAGUER,” the Santa Monica native wrote on Twitter last week, sharing the news that he had been called up by the San Diego Padres after toiling for years in baseball’s minor leagues. Decker, who was added to the Padres’ 40man roster, made his MLB debut Sept. 14
against the Arizona Diamondbacks as a pinch-hitter. With his deep-blue No. 28 jersey tucked into bright white pants, the Santa Monica High alumnus twisted his torso and stretched his legs as he held his bat in the ondeck circle. He then walked calmly to the plate to face pitcher David Hernandez with the Padres leading by nine runs in the top of the ninth inning of an eventual 10-3 road victory. Entering the batter’s box, he tightened the straps on his gloves and swiped the dirt with his foot. Friends and family watched intently. Fans chanted his name from the stands. After adjusting his helmet, Decker turned his head toward Hernandez and awaited his first pitch. A low 94-mph fastball whizzed past him for a ball. An 80-mph curveball was called a strike. Another curveball missed the strike zone. On the 2-1 pitch, Decker made contact on a 94-mph fastball but popped out to Diamondbacks first baseman for the third out. Just like that, the 28-year-old who had played 761 games over seven seasons in the minor leagues was in the books. It marked a major turning point in the career of the 5-foot-11, 225-pound Decker, who had struggled to crack the bigs despite compiling gaudy statistics in high school, college and the minor
Pondering process in SMMUSD School board debates role of advisory committees BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN Daily Press Staff Writer
It started as a routine agenda item as the Santa Monica-Malibu Board of Education prepared to hear from district advisory committee representatives about their goals for the school year.
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But it quickly turned into a prolonged philosophical debate as school board members discussed the role the committees should play in shaping policy for the school district. What sparked the conversation at the school board’s first September meeting was a presentation by Alan Kapen, who stood before the governing body to share the goals of the district’s
child development committee. Kapen mentioned that the committee was hoping to craft a five-year plan for neighborhood preschools on all elementary campuses in SMMUSD, a proposal that seemed to catch school board members off guard. “I don’t know realistically what it SEE COMMITTEES PAGE 6
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leagues. As a senior at Samohi, Decker hit .490 with 11 home runs and 40 RBI while leading the Vikings to a 20-10 record, according to Daily Press archives. Decker’s reputation as a power hitter grew at UCLA, where he smacked 47 home runs to finish his career in seventh on the Bruins’ all-time list. He belted a conferenceleading 21 home runs while hitting a careerbest .322 during his standout senior season in Westwood. Decker had been playing for Triple-A El Paso when he was called up, logging team highs in home runs (21) and RBI (75) while hitting .252 this past season. Decker’s 154 home runs in the Padres’ farm system are the most by any MLB-affiliated minor league player since he was drafted in the 22nd round in 2009. An attempt to reach Decker was not successful. A self-described anti-hero, Decker has made a name for himself with his affinity for pranks, off-field antics and active social media accounts. Before his first game in the bigs, Decker shared a photo of his new Padres jersey with his 20,000-plus followers on Twitter. “No matter how surreal this feels... It appears that it actually IS real!” he tweeted. JEFF@smdp.com
New wildfire in Northern California kills 1 ASSOCIATED PRESS MIDDLETOWN A new wildfire in Northern California has killed one person and destroyed or damaged 10 homes in Monterey County, a week after two other blazes killed five people and destroyed at least 1,400 homes, fire officials said Sunday.
The blaze burning about 2 miles north of the community of Jamesburg in Monterey County quickly grew to 1,200-acres after starting Saturday afternoon, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. The person who died has SEE WILDFIRE PAGE 9
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