'Wonder Dog': Start early, have a backup plan

NEWPORT BEACH — Addressing nearly 100 ninth- to 12th-graders at the Beach City Service League's monthly meeting Sunday, former Angels announcer Rex Hudler encouraged them to figure out what they want early in life, then go for it.

"The clock is ticking. Find your compass in life," Hudler, a major league baseball player for 10 years, told the crowd at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. "I was blessed. I loved recess, and I loved PE classes. Little did I realize that that was going to turn into a professional career for me, but it did."

Founded three years ago, the Beach City Service League is the only organization in the Newport-Mesa area that connects mothers with their sons, said Susan Friend, the youth coordinator for the league. The mission is to teach the students how to volunteer more in the community and learn more about how to succeed in life and become upstanding citizens.

Enter Hudler, whose on-field career might not have been the greatest, he said, but there's no denying that he succeeded in "living the dream," regardless of the outcome or statistics.

"I might not have put up great numbers on the back of the bubble gum card," Hudler said, "but I was blessed to have been able to have played baseball."

While Hudler's speech touched on a few regrets in life, like wondering what life would have been like had he decided to play football at Notre Dame, the key message was that they should work hard and be sure to make a "very good first impression."

"Always have a firm handshake, always look the person in the eye," said Hudler, 50, a Tustin resident who grew up in Fresno and was drafted in the 18^th round by the New York Yankees in 1978. "You never know where it might lead to."

Most of Hudler's 13-year career was spent as a utility player. The only positions he didn't play were pitcher and catcher.

The greatest piece of advice he ever received, he said, came from one of his most instrumental mentors: Dave Winfield. They were playing for the Yankees, and Winfield told Hudler that he could be sure of one thing: "Every baseball player will be an ex-baseball player."

"So I made sure to prepare for when that time came," Hudler said.

The speech was peppered with funny anecdotes on what it was like to play in the major leagues, including the time when the "Bleacher Creatures" in Wrigley Field in Chicago started to yell at him while he was in the outfield, asking him if he "rode in the car like a dog" by sticking his head out the window.