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ANY CANNONBALL WILL DO: SHOT PUTTER TROY BAKER PUTS JITTERS, THEFTS BEHIND Published on June 3, 2009 COLUMN: BOB PADECKY It was round, heavy, gray, looked like it came from a 1770 British Navy gunship and had all the warmth of a plumbing fixture. Still, Troy Baker was attached. It was HIS shot put. It was his friend. It had done so much for him. Had it for 18 months. Won so many meets with it, it being so friendly and all, snuggling under his chin before he released it. They had a relationship, you know. Then, two weeks ago, someone stole it from the storage locker at Santa Rosa High School. What was more puzzling than how it was stolen -- Baker still doesn't know that -- was why it was stolen. It's not like a 12-pound round piece of iron makes a good Christmas gift. ``What are you going to do with a shot put?'' said Baker, headed to the State Track and Field Championships Friday in Clovis. ``I mean, what are you going to do with something that is essentially a cannonball? It's not like you can take a shot put and go play `Fetch' with your dog.'' So Baker started using another shot put. For two weeks. Then that one was stolen from the same storage locker. This time the heist really miffed Baker and his two throw coaches at Santa Rosa, Paul Troppy and Toni Noonan. ``The locker is always locked,'' Troppy said. ``Nothing else was taken,'' Baker said. All the rest of the shots and all the discuses, including one valued at $220, were undisturbed. It was just Baker's shot put. When the word went out at what happened, Cardinal Newman's Jacob Gowan offered Baker his shot put. After all, the Meet of Champions was coming up and, if Baker did well, he would make it to state. Can't be using just any cannonball for the biggest events of your career. Baker declined Gowan's offer, generous as it was. On Monday, Baker looked down at his latest shot put and he gave it a kind glance which, in all fairness, is more than the shot put deserved. Chipped, scarred, the shot looked like two lawnmowers used it as a soccer ball. ``I was a little concerned how Troy would react,'' Troppy said. ``It's something you get used to,'' Baker said. ``You get in a comfort zone.'' It's like a stuffed animal for a toddler. Provides great security. ``But why?'' Troppy said of the thefts. ``Baffling.'' Unless someone was trying to mess with Baker. A rival? A jealous knucklehead? Maybe someone had heard what happened to Baker last year at state and thought this would be a good trick to play on him and mess with his head. Baker, a junior last year, had qualified for state but was so stage-struck that he forgot to bring his uniform, borrowed one from teammate Chris McCloskey, and then scratched on all three attempts. So it might appear Baker is ripe for a meltdown. Two shots stolen in the last two weeks would unnerve most anyone, given the emotional dependence a thrower has with the metallic orb. ``Troy is so different than last year,'' Noonan said. ``Last year he was surprised when he threw well. This year he knows he can do it. He's just so solid, so confident. I don't want to say he's unflappable but he's pretty damn close.'' In his last three meets Baker, 18, has posted personal bests in the shot. He won the Meet of Champions with a best-ever 54-foot, 2-inch throw. With his security blanket being ripped from him, with the shot puts stolen, Baker has performed better than he ever has. ``All it takes is one throw,'' said Baker, describing the allure of the sport. A baseball pitcher, for example, can hit 100 mph on the radar gun but lose the game on a hanging 80-mph curve. A shot putter can get the throw of his life, the one great throw surrounded by a bunch of good ones, and find his name in the history books. Baker knows he will need that great one, the one he could never duplicate again, to make any noise this Friday. His 54-foot, 2-inch throw is ranked 11th going into state, more than six feet shorter than top-ranked Matt Darr's 60-feet, 7.5-inches. He will need the throw of his life but the odds are he won't get it, and he's OK with that. ``Have fun and get another PR,'' he listed as his goals. Such is the thinking of someone who took to heart Troppy's instruction: ``Whether you win or lose, the sun will come up tomorrow. Stop, smell the roses.'' Still, his track uniform might as well have one of those electronic ankle bracelets. ``I know where it is right now,'' Baker said. ``In my dresser next to my bedroom door. Third drawer from the top.'' And the shot put? Baker is through playing lost-and-never-found. ``I put in my trunk,'' he said. Yeah, sure, it makes a lot of noise, rolling around in the trunk. Perfect, Baker said. That way he doesn't worry whether he still has it. For more on North Bay high school sports go to Bob Padecky's blog at padecky@pressdemocrat.com. You can reach Staff Columnist Bob Padecky at 521-5490 or bob.padecky@pressdemocrat.com. CIF TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS Friday and Saturday, Buchanan High, Clovis Friday, qualifying: Field events start at 3 p.m.; running events start at 5 p.m. Saturday, finals: Field events start at 4:30 p.m.; running events start at 6 p.m.
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