San Diego Player of the Week : Initiation Didn’t Deter Williams

At the outset of this baseball season, pitcher Andy Williams, of Clairemont High, feared that his first varsity outing would be a disaster.

Williams, who was chosen the starter in the Chiefs’ opener, knew he had the ability to perform at the varsity level, but he was nervous that opponents and teammates would not take him seriously because he was a sophomore.

The 15-year-old’s first appearance was worse than he had dreamed--he walked four batters and didn’t survive the first inning, as his team was shelled by Serra, 25-4.

“In that first game, I was out there with a bunch of big boys . . . guys who had beards, and that was intimidating,” said Williams, who prides himself on his control. “I was overthrowing on each pitch. I must have been throwing 10 miles per hour faster than I regularly throw.”

Last week against Kearny, Williams, The Times Player of the Week, rebounded from his earlier bewilderment, as he struck out 14 batters and gave up five hits in a 1-0 win. “In that first outing, Andy couldn’t throw a strike,” Claremont Coach Hugh McMillan said. “He had a lot of anxiety going into that first game. He had the idea that he had to rear back and throw, without thinking about control.”

Said Williams: “After that first game, I just thought to myself that I’m playing on the varsity team--I made the team and I might as well do the best job I can. From then on, I decided to work as hard as I could.”

McMillan said he feels that Williams gained confidence after the Kearny game and has emerged as a team leader. He is impressed with how the young pitcher has become a student of the game, going over the opponent’s line-up in his mind between innings.

Clairemont lost nine of its top players to graduation, leaving McMillan to work with a junior-dominated squad-there are only three seniors-this season. McMillan said pitching was a big question mark at the beginning of the season, but with Williams and junior John Tuttle, who sat out last year with a knee injury, that area may be the strongest for the young team.

For Williams, the transition to varsity was made easier because his catcher, junior Garth Klem, also made the move up.

“I think it helps a lot having Garth catching me,” Williams said. “I got to know him well last year and he knows me.

“He (Klem) calls most of the pitches and I don’t have to shake too many of them off.”