BATTER UP—Three-year-old Christian Haupt loves to play baseball. Last summer, his parents posted a video of him playing baseball on YouTube. A week later, Christian was cast in a small baseballplaying role in a movie with Adam Sandler due out this summer. WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers Three-year-old Christian Haupt imagines the day when fans at Dodger Stadium will chant his name. He imagines hitting a home run and rounding the bases; he even predicts a selection to the All-Star game.

While his dream may be typical for a young boy, his passion for America’s pastime is not.

Baseball is all the Thousand Oaks preschooler can think about, says his mom, Cathy Byrd. When Christian’s not talking about it, he’s playing the game with the skill of a child twice, even three times his age, she says.

Last summer, Byrd and her husband, Michael Haupt, recorded their then-2-year-old son in an oversize Dodger jersey swinging and twirling his small bat. They posted the video on YouTube, and a week later it was spotted by a casting director looking for a young ballplayer to appear in the Adam Sandler film “That’s My Boy.”

DEDICATED—Christian Haupt, 3, battles his big sister, Charlotte, 6, for a ground ball during a practice at Colina Middle School last week. “He’ll play in the morning, take a nap, play baseball again, and then we’ll play in the house with him all night,” his mother, Cathy Byrd, said. WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers The movie, set for release on June 15, includes a small scene where Christian appears to play baseball better than the adults he’s competing against.

Christian filmed his part in Cape Cod, Mass., last August.

Baseball fanatic

The youngster, who attends Hillcrest Christian School in T.O., fell in love with baseball after seeing Thousand Oaks Little League games when he was 1, his parents say.

He started playing as soon as he could hold a ball in his hand.

Christian’s German-born dad played tennis in college and was at one time a tennis instructor.

He’d hoped his son would follow in his footsteps and even bought him a tennis ball machine. But Haupt said he supports Christian’s devotion to baseball.

“I think it’s great. It’s really important to concentrate on one thing,” Haupt said. “All the great players have always had a passion for the game.”

While most boys his age play with trains and watch cartoons, Christian is interested just in his bat, ball and glove and will sit in front of the television only for baseball. Before he was 2, he was already mesmerized by blackand white films highlighting the American sport’s iconic moments.

Bedtime stories are about baseball greats Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth.

“He wants to know all about the old baseball players,” Byrd said.

At night, he’ll yell “baseball!” while he sleeps. In the morning, he’ll tell his mom he had a dream about cleats.

The young aficionado wears the bottom-studded shoes and his white uniform every day, even to school.

In the Sandler movie, about a father who reconnects with his estranged son before his marriage to a wealthy woman, Christian was forced to abandon his baseball clothes and wear a polo shirt and shorts.

“He cried so hard,” his mother said.

After school three days a week, Christian and his mom head to the baseball field next door at Colina Middle School. In the car, he and his 6-year-old sister, Charlotte, sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

Just as he controls his daily practice schedule, the tiny titan is in charge on the field.

“This is the last one, then I’m not pitching anymore,” he tells Byrd. “I want to be in the outfield.”

Hours pass as Christian instructs his mom to pitch to him. He swings and hits the ball into a long arc. After each hit, Byrd chases the ball and Christian darts to the four white bases he asked his parents to buy him for Christmas. The squishy squares and a 50-pound bag of chalk for drawing baselines were his only requests.

Then he switches to catcher, squatting close to the ground with one hand behind his back and the other ready to grab the ball. A few times, he falls backward as he tries to reach a high pitch.

When the sun goes down, Byrd guides her tearful son to the parking lot. He doesn’t want to stop.

The routine continues the next day. On Sundays, he’ll play for more than eight hours.

“He’ll play in the morning, take a nap, play baseball again, and then we’ll play in the house with him all night,” Byrd said.

Learning from a pro

Family friend and former Major League pitcher Richard Rodriguez, who played for the Angels and Giants, trains with Christian every other week at his All Stars Athletics batting cages in Newbury Park.

The Camarillo resident helps his pupil develop healthy techniques by demonstrating the proper posture and body positioning.

“At the pace he’s going, by the age of 10 he’ll have more hours worked up than someone who’s 25,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a joy (to work with him). He’s so young and enthusiastic.”

His ambitious student may be a prodigy, he added.

“He’s got the passion, drive, intuition and natural talent.”

Christian looks forward to joining a T.O. Little League team this year.

His dad, who did not grow up with baseball, plans to join the league’s board of directors and help coach the team to learn more about his son’s favorite game.

“I just want to play baseball,” Christian says.

To watch Christian in action, go to YouTube and search for “baseball boy Adam Sandler.”