Angels Draft Santana’s Gay; Astros Pick His Teammate, Hook

As Santana High catcher Jeff Gay was preparing for batting practice with the Angels at Anaheim Stadium last week, he stepped out of the dugout and looked around. He liked the surroundings.

“It’s like you’re walking into some big place,” said Gay, who hit two homers in the batting practice. “I got used to it after a while, though.”

He better. The Angels selected Gay in the second round of the major league amateur free-agent draft Monday. Santana teammate Mike Hook was picked in the second round by the Houston Astros.

The Milwaukee Brewers signed Bonita Vista pitcher David Woodhouse, who has signed a letter of intent to play football for San Diego State. The Brewers would not disclose in which round Woodhouse was selected.

All three players will negotiate with the major league organizations today or Wednesday.

Gay, who has been Santana’s starting catcher since his freshman year, set a county record this season with his 135 career hits, eclipsing the record of 128 hits by University’s Gary Millay from 1980-83. Gay had 47 hits and a .540 batting average this season.

Gay said that the Angels predicted that he could move up quickly within the organization because of its need for catching.

Hook (12-1) threw a perfect game this season in a 10-0 victory over Grossmont League rival Valhalla. He had 140 strikeouts and a 1.28 earned-run average this season. He has signed a letter of intent to play baseball at the University of Hawaii but said that he would rather play professional baseball.

“If the money’s there, that’s all there is to it,” Hook said. “If they give me the money, I can’t really say no.”

Woodhouse, who struck out 96 batters, had a 0.67 earned-run average and 10-0 record this season. Opposing batters managed a .107 batting average against Woodhouse, who batted .447 himself this season.