Since Buddy Biancalana’s childhood, playing professional baseball had always been a dream of his. After graduating from Redwood in 1978, his dream became his reality.

Biancalana played five seasons with the Kansas City Royals. He recently went to a varsity baseball practice to discuss a golden era of Redwood baseball, and his current profession involving sports psychology.

During his junior year of high school, Biancalana hit leadoff and played shortstop. With direction from legendary coach Al Endriss, Biancalana was a part of what is possibly the greatest sports team in Redwood history.

With an overall record of 34-4, the baseball team destroyed Tam High School 23-1 in the MCAL championship game. The team went on to win the NCS title that year.

The Redwood team was voted High School National Champions by athletic equipment company Easton.

“It was mythical, but that was just a tremendous thrill,” Biancalana said. “We were such a great team, so we deserved it.”

The squad even went as far as to play the Taiwanese national high school team that year, to which they lost 2 to 1.

On top of baseball, Biancalana also participated in football and basketball at Redwood. However, a back injury prevented him from continuing football and basketball his junior year.

Biancalana signed a letter of intent to attend and play baseball at Arizona State University after his junior year.

During his senior year of high school on the morning of the 1978 draft Biancalana spoke with the Royals on the phone, who indicated interest in selecting him in the first round. Later that day, he was drafted 25th overall by Kansas City.

Biancalana’s decision to immediately play professional baseball or get a college education was difficult

“My dream as a young boy had always been to play professional baseball, and as committed as I was to going to college, all of a sudden, there was my dream right in front of me,” Biancalana said. “It seemed like everything was aligning perfectly for me to do it, so I made the decision to go with the Royals.”

Biancalana decided to play in Kansas City’s minor league system as an 18 year old, instead of attending ASU.

“I’ll never forget one of the first balls hit to me in pro ball.  I kinda held onto it for a little bit, made my throw, but then the guy beat it out,” Biancalana said. “I was so shocked that someone could run as fast as that.  I’d never seen that in high school, so I needed to learn how to get the ball and get rid of it quickly.”

Biancalana credits much of his success in the major and minor leagues to his Redwood coach, Endriss, who played professional football and baseball.

“[Al Endriss’] greatest trait was making us feel better than what we were,” Biancalana said. “So when I got down to Florida, my first experience of pro ball, I was way ahead of a lot of college players, as far as knowing the game, and the way I played the game.”

After four and a half seasons in the minor leagues, Biancalana was brought up to the show for the Royals’ Sept. roster extension.  After a successful season in Triple A, he was called up for their 1982 pennant race.

He started the final game of the season at shortstop, where he recorded his first big league hit.  According to Biancalana, he got thrown out at the plate after attempting to stretch a triple into an inside the park home run.

Three seasons later, Biancalana experienced the most exhilarating moments of his life with the Royals – winning the World Series.  Despite starting in only 35 games that season, his manager played him at shortstop and second base for 13 of the final 15 games.

Biancalana carried his success into the postseason, where he started at shortstop in all 14 games.

He did not commit a single error in either series, and batted well above his career numbers.  Although he concluded his career with a .205 batting average and .261 on-base percentage, in the World Series he batted .278 with an on-base percentage of .435, the highest out of anyone playing.

That series he scored two runs, and drove in two more, and came close but fell short of winning the series Most Valuable Player award.

Unfortunately, Biancalana had to hang up his cleats in 1989 because doctors no longer allowed him to play due to the back injury that he incurred at Redwood.

According to Biancalana, the 1985 World Series was the best baseball he played in his entire life.

“I had a zone experience. Everything just slowed down.  I wasn’t thinking in my swing, and I played shortstop more fluid than ever,” he said.

This experience influenced his current line of work.  Biancalana is now working with athletes in all sports from the high school to the professional level on accessing the psychological mindset needed to excel in sports.  He has teamed up with Steven Yellin, who had a similar athletic experience, and neuroscientist Dr. Fred Travis.

He also co-wrote The 7 Secrets of World Class Athletes, and co-founded the websites Quiet Mind Athletics and Zone Training.

“We’ve quantified the processes of the brain that are taking place when an athlete is playing their best, and we have a systematic way to set up this process as a mind through drills and concepts that are taught on the field,” Biancalana said.

He has successfully worked with high school baseball teams in Los Angeles, in addition to speaking at his seminar Enhancing the Mind and Body Connection in Sports on May 3 in Terra Linda. Hosted at the Field of Dreams Baseball Academy, operated by current Redwood coach Mike Firenzi, Biancalana spoke about the power of thoughts, utilizing senses, and other techniques beneficial for sports.