THE TIMES’ ALL-COUNTY SOFTBALL TEAM : PLAYER OF THE YEAR : More Than a Pitching Phenom : Valencia’s Granger ‘Normal’? Extraordinarily So

For the past five years, softball fans in north Orange County wondered if the world’s newest pitching machine was being test marketed in their neighborhood under the brand name “Michele Granger.”

When they first saw her, the pixie look and curly chestnut ponytails were just camouflage for a 50-m.p.h. fastball.

Rest assured, Placentia’s Bob-ette Leagues had never witnessed anything like it.

Every opponent struck out through 12 straight games once when Granger, a left-hander, was in the sixth grade.

The parents of many aspiring young hitters would have been delighted if their offspring had never ventured within 25 feet of a Granger zinger again. At father-daughter games, people half expected Granger to show up with Sandy Koufax.

These days, Granger is adding to her pitching legend as a 16-year-old sophomore at Valencia High School.

And contrary to rumor, there is a body of evidence to suggest that when she leaves the field they don’t unplug her and wheel her away to the equipment room.

Actually, there’s a lot to Michele Granger besides the public figure on the mound.

There’s the president of next year’s junior class. Her campaign posters were decorated with “the cutest hot-pink pig” in a mitt and baseball cap, but no slogan was necessary. By now, she’s earned some name recognition.

There’s the two-year first-team All-Orange League volleyball player--at 5-feet 9 1/2-inches, a formidable hitter at the net.

There’s the book lover, who reads as fast as she throws the softball--”I can read 500 pages in two hours,” she said. “I like to do everything fast. I can’t stand sitting around doing nothing.”

There’s the accomplished cook, whose five-course Mother’s Day feast received rave reviews from food critics at the Grangers’ Placentia home. (The veal cutlets and strawberry shortcake were legitimate creations, but she admits that the soup was out of a can.)

There’s the potential artist, whose cartoons of bears playing softball could pass for storybook illustrations.

There’s the poet, who has had several of her works selected for publication in the school magazine. (None, however, were lyrical odes to America’s pastime.)

And there’s Michele Granger, the girl-next-door who baby-sits and saves her money for a sports car.

“I’m normal,” she giggled. “Really, I am.

“I’m not one of those softball buffs who can reel off every statistic I ever had. Once I play a game, I forget about it. It’s like, blank.”

In one way she isn’t normal--she’s exceptional.

Granger (16-9) threw two perfect games this season--on one occasion striking out all 21 Troy batters she faced. Of the 647 intrepid batters she faced, 376 struck out. That figure led the county far and away.

She allowed only six earned runs in 25 games was named Southern Section 3-A Player of the Year.

“She’s the best ever to come through Valencia,” Tiger Coach Debbie Fassell said. “As far as high school talent, I’d have to say she’s the best I’ve ever seen.”

The Tigers finished in third place in the Orange League and advanced to the playoff semifinals this season.

To measure Granger’s impact, consider the Tigers in the year 1 B.G.--the year before Granger.

“We were 1-23,” Fassell recalled.

What game did they win?

“We beat Western on a forfeit,” Fassell said.

Fassell had heard of Granger, but the first time she saw her pitch was beyond her wildest imaginings. “I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “I looked at her and said, ‘Oh, my God. My dreams have been answered!’ ”

A 68-m.p.h. fastball will do that to a coach. It can also be a safety hazard. A male assistant coach tried to catch her once this season and got hit between the eyes.

“He shied off after that,” Fassell said. “I used to catch at Fullerton College, but you wouldn’t catch me back there.”

Behind every great pitcher there’s a great catcher, and in this case it’s sophomore Valerie Finley, who was named to the All-Southern Section 3-A team for her pluck in handling Granger’s pitches.

“If Valerie was not there, Michele wouldn’t be able to pitch in high school,” said Michele’s mother, Mary Granger. “No one could catch her. They wouldn’t have the guts to stay back there.”