Monday, Aug. 30, 2004 | 10:03 a.m.
A lifelong Dodgers fan, Nick Theodorou has come as close to living a dream as possible this year, having a decent year with Los Angeles' top farm club and possibly in position for a call-up from the Las Vegas 51s when major league rosters expand on Wednesday.
But even hitting a home run in his first at-bat as a Dodger probably would pale in comparison to what Theodorou experienced this month while playing baseball on a 1-6 team in front of crowds that would cheer wildly over a 2-1 foul ball.
Theodorou was the leadoff batter for the Greek Olympic team, and returned last Thursday after nearly a month in Athens. A Southern California native, Theodorou was eligible to be on the Greek team because his mother was born in Achladokambos, a village on the Peloponnesian peninsula near the city of Tripolis.
It was a visit to Achladokambos that put things in perspective for Theodorou.
"We saw where she was born. We saw her old house, where she had to go across the street to go to the bathroom," he said.
It was that trip, where his family ate so much that all they did "was find something to do between meals," that was the highlight of his visit to Greece. But if the trip to experience his heritage was the highlight of his visit, the highlight of the games, he said, was opening night.
After waiting for more than five hours in the Olympic Gymnastics Center, Theodorou and the rest of "Country 202" -- Greece, the last country in -- started marching toward the opening ceremonies.
"You almost lose yourself for a while. I didn't feel myself walking," he said. "I was looking at all the people. It was one of the most ... no, definitely the most significant ceremonies I've been a part of. You're oblivious to everything, that's how emotional it was.
"I felt as though I was around the track in 35 seconds. That obviously's not the case. Time was one of those things that wasn't there."
Amidst a sea of athletes after the ceremonies concluded, Theodorou and the rest of the baseball team found themselves trying to get out of the stadium. Their path? Following the U.S. basketball team.
"They were our lead blockers," he said. "We chatted with Larry Brown a little bit."
The spectacle of opening night, though, gave way to the realities of the Olympics. Theodorou said the team, funded by Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos and made up mostly of American minor leaguers, was actually strong as far as position players went, but the Greek bullpen struggled and cost the host country a chance to advance in what turned out to be a wide-open field. More than the games, though, Theodorou left with a great impression of the fans.
"They'd cheer for anybody," he said. "I walked, and they went crazy, like we won the World Series."
Greek games drew an average of 4,867 fans to the 8,700-seat Olympic baseball venue, compared to the crowds of a little more than 1,000 that came to other preliminary games.
"Without a doubt, they were the best fans I've ever played in front of," he said.
But when the Greeks were eliminated in the preliminary rounds, Theodorou headed back, on a 22-hour journey that ended with him pinch-hitting for a game-winning hit in the 10th inning Thursday for the 51s.
Theodorou is in the last year of his contract with his favorite team, and is hoping for word on his future with the organization.
"I want the Dodgers to make that decision for me," he said. "It's not in my hands."
archive
