Good, but Not Flashy : UCI Outfielder Tom Baine Seeks Higher Profile--and the Scouts’ Attention

Tom Baine is not the kind of player who makes baseball scouts drool. He’s an excellent hitter. He has average speed and size, a good glove and an above-average arm.

Are these the qualities of a professional baseball prospect? So far, no one seems to think so. No one but Tom Baine.

“I was disappointed last year when I didn’t get drafted,” said Baine, a UC Irvine outfielder. “I felt I had a good enough year to be drafted by somebody. This year, I’m doing a lot better. I have a higher average and a lot more power. I hope somebody notices.”

If it’s difficult to notice Baine’s talents, that’s because he isn’t spectacular, just effective. And it didn’t help that he sat on the UCLA bench for two years before transferring to UCI--a school with a losing record.

But if there’s one person who appreciates him, it is UCI Coach Mike Gerakos.

“He’s an old-time ballplayer,” said Gerakos, who in six years has had 12 of his Irvine players drafted by the pros. “He plays the game hard from start to finish.

“He works hard all the time to get better. He has that blue-collar work ethic that is so important for success at this level. He’s the type of player that you have to see play more than once to appreciate what he does for our ballclub. He’s not flashy. He just seems to do whatever it takes to be successful.”

UCI (6-9, 17-23-2) may be having a mediocre season, but Baine is not. After leading the team in hitting with a .376 average last year, Baine is hitting .392, including a .404 average in Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. play. Of his 60 hits, 25 have been for extra bases, with 15 doubles.

As a high school freshman at Mater Dei, Baine played shortstop. But when he moved up to the varsity as a sophomore, he switched to the outfield because “that was the only position open.”

So now he has a problem with the stereotypes of hitters. Outfielders are expected to be “real good hitters with power who also have pretty good arms.”

Baine is a good hitter with a pretty good arm, but he’s still working on the power.

“I’m still not a power hitter right now, but I’m improving,” he said. “The main thing I do best is hit with consistency and with discipline.”

Baine, 6 feet and 180 pounds, worked out with weights in the off-season and added some power to his swing. After hitting just one home run as a junior, Baine has hit four this year. His slugging percentage has improved from .497 to .647.

“I’ve improved a lot over last year in that regard, but I’m still more of a doubles hitter,” Baine said.

“Even though we’re not doing well in the won-lost column, I go up there trying to hit the ball hard every time,” said Baine, who has had 13- and 10-game hitting streaks this season. “No matter how the team is doing, each individual has his own job to do.

“Whenever there are scouts watching you, there’s extra incentive to do well. Anything I can do to show them that I can play pro ball, I’ll do.”

At Mater Dei, Baine was all-league in football, soccer and baseball. He pursued baseball because he felt he had a chance at a professional career.

Despite hitting .330 as a sophomore, .360 as a junior and .390 as a senior, Baine got no scholarship offers and no interest from pro scouts. He decided to attend UCLA as a walk-on. Feeling that he was snubbed by Bruins Coach Gary Adams, who coached the Anteaters to Division II prominence in the 1970s, Baine transferred to UCI, where he plays for a former Adams assistant, Gerakos.

Baine claims that he doesn’t have any animosity toward UCLA, but he also admitted that he “might have tried a little harder” when the Anteaters faced the Bruins. He also admitted that trying harder doesn’t always work.

Last week Baine went 0 for 5 against UCLA as the Anteaters suffered an 18-6 thrashing, one of their worst showings of the year.

It was one of the few times in his career that Baine was hoping there weren’t any scouts around.