Lentz

The York Revolution became a bit more "political" this week.

Of the 42 hopefuls who participated in York's open tryout on Saturday, 24-year-old Alex Lentz is the only one who earned an invitation to the team's spring training.

Revs' baseball operations manager Andrew Ball confirmed the catcher's invitation on Monday night.

Campaign: A four-year player at Messiah College from 2007 to 2010, Lentz had an unsuccessful tryout last May with the White Sans Pupfish of the independent Pecos League.

He said he hit a home run in his only at-bat in an exhibition game, but the team released him the next day.

That's when Lentz, who majored in political science and economics at Messiah, turned to politics. He soon earned a gig on the campaign of Republican U. S. Senate hopeful Tom Smith, taking over the "handling of the scheduling and the calendar."

Love of the game: In his senior year at Messiah, an NCAA Division III school, Lentz started eight of the 12 games he played in and batted just .214 (6-of-28) with a double and two RBIs. Although he threw out just three of the 19 runners who attempted to steal second base, he did have a spotless fielding percentage.

Lentz admits his numbers weren't eye-popping. But the Delaware County Christian High School product has continued to dream of playing pro ball.

"I've always wanted to give it a shot," he said. "I've always wanted to keep pushing and trying. I worked really hard. I got a shot last spring. I was amped up for that and that didn't work out."

Though Smith's campaign is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Lentz has made the drive back from steel town every weekend to his hometown in Mechanicsburg to work on his game.

Roster spot?: The Revs aren't completely unfamiliar with the approach of signing players after they went through a tryout.

Left-handed pitcher Brian Holliday, local sandlot legend Shawn Hedrick and outfielder Colin Roberson all played for the Revs in 2009 after participating in the tryout.

Excluding Lentz, York has 24 players under contract, including two catchers, with the first day of spring training approaching on Saturday. Atlantic League teams can open the regular season with up to 27 players until rosters have to be cut down to 25 by the end of May.

Lentz is leaving Smith's campaign to pursue his dream of playing pro ball. But even if things don't work out with baseball, he'll likely have some options if he wants to return to his other passion.

"I think the experience I got from the campaign has given me a lot," he said. "As some of my friends have found out, with experience you can get a job."

-- Reach John Walk at 505-5406 or jwalk@york dispatch.com or follow on Twitter @JohnKWalk.