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Letter to the editor

Ballplayer son has dad in his corner

By ERNEST HOOPER
Published September 14, 2007

Talk to Lamar Cherry and he will tell you he's the happy owner of the Westshore Pizza franchise on Kingsway Avenue, the loving husband of his childhood sweetheart, Rebekah, and the proud father of 13-year-old Ty, who helped his Tampa Wellswood all-star team win the U.S. Championship at the Cal Ripken World Series in Aberdeen, Md., this summer.

When pressed, however, he will reminisce about his own days as a baseball standout. He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies straight out of Armwood High School and became one of the organization's top minor league players. He seemed destined to reach the majors until he tore six knee ligaments in a collision with then-Blue Jays catcher Carlos Delgado. Lamar now watches as his son displays the potential to play pro ball. But make no mistake: Lamar lives for Ty, not through him. We sat down and talked about the situation at his Brandon pizzeria.

Pull up a chair and join us.ERNEST: How thrilling was it to watch your son and his team win the U.S. Championship at the Cal Ripken World Series?

LAMAR: It was very thrilling. The fields were nicer than some pro fields I played on. Cal Ripken and Billy Ripken did the commentary on all the games, and he set up an hour for each team to get autographs.

When Ty started with this team, did you think it had the potential to get that far?

Honestly, I didn't think we were going to make it out of Florida. We had a harder time getting out of Florida than we did getting to the regionals. Once we got up there to Aberdeen, I didn't know what to expect. We just thought it was a great experience for the boys to get that far.

What's it like watching your son play?

Sometimes it can be stressful. Sometimes it can be glorifying. I'm very proud of him. He's not only a good ballplayer, but he makes straight A's. I'm even more proud of that. I always tell him schoolwork comes before ball.

Ty makes good grades, so his future will be fine either way, but do you dream about him playing in the majors?

That's his dream. He wants to go to Florida State - although USF is looking pretty good - and he wants to be a major league pitcher. But what's important is that he goes to college and gets an education. I got drafted out of high school and I thought I was Superman, and then my second year in the pros, I tore my knee completely apart. That was pretty much my career and I was a top prospect in the Phillies organization. Now that I've been through it and I've lived it, I think it's better for his benefit. Now I know how to push him the right way.

What lessons do you take from your experience that you try to impart to Ty?

I just tell Ty to stay humble because baseball is up and down. You're in the valley one day and you're on the mountain next. Baseball will keep you humble. I just tell him to stay humble, pay your dues and keep the Lord first. I even believe when I got hurt, there was a reason for it. I don't know what the reason was, but it happened. Maybe I was supposed to get the experience for my son so one day, if he gets in that situation, I can help him along the way.

How did you end up with a Westshore Pizza franchise?

The guy who started the franchise Bobby Vasaturo had a traveling softball team and he paid me money to play for him. Once he started franchising them out, they started doing well and I went ahead and bought one. We've been at this one almost six years.

You've mentioned faith a couple of times. Expand upon how faith has helped you.

To be honest with you, I was raised in the church. I got saved at the age of 15. I've gone to the same church all my life (First Freewill Baptist) and Roger Duncan has been the pastor all my life. I've always put the Lord first in anything I've ever done. When I opened this business, I prayed about it. I was very discouraged when I tore up my knee. That was my dream, that's all I ever did was play ball. But like I said, I think everything happens for a reason.

DESSERT: A postscript from Ernest

Lamar jokes that good help is hard to find at the restaurant, but most of his employees are reliable "kinfolk." ... Rebekah often helps and he calls their relationship a "fairy tale." Lamar met Rebekah when he was 13 and playing baseball at East Point Little League (she played softball) and they've been together ever since.Ty is currently enrolled at Seffner Christian Academy, and he plays on the school's high school varsity fall baseball team even though he's in eighth grade.

Ernest Hooper also writes a column for the Tampa & State section. He can be reached at hooper@sptimes.com or 226-3406.

[Last modified September 13, 2007, 08:12:35]