Homers Put Tagliaferri in a Class by Himself

Kennedy High shortstop Gino Tagliaferri’s standout senior season not only helped bring the school a City Section 4-A Division baseball championship, it made Tagliaferri the City’s career and single-season home run king as well as the 1989 state home run champion, according to Sacramento-based Cal-Hi Sports magazine.

Tagliaferri slammed 13 home runs this season, which places him in an eight-way tie for fifth on the state single-season list. Dan Melindez of Playa del Rey St. Bernard and Todd Johnson of Fresno Bullard were close behind Tagliaferri with 12 home runs each this season.

Tagliaferri’s 13 home runs also broke the single-season City record, according to Cal-Hi’s Mark Tennis. Exactly who held the previous City mark is unknown, Tennis said, because the state record book does not list players who hit fewer than 13 homers in a season and the City does not keep track of individual records. Tagliaferri is the only City player listed with 13 or more home runs, Tennis said.

In addition, Tagliaferri’s 23 career home runs make him the City career leader and tie him for sixth on the state career list with Eric Brooks of La Mirada, Scott Davison of Redondo and Heath Jones of El Segundo. The state single-season record is 17, set by Brian Johnson of Oakland Skyline in 1986. Johnson, who now plays baseball and football at Stanford, also holds the state career mark with 39 homers.

Valley-area players now hold single-season home run records in both the City and Southern sections. Scott Sharts of Simi Valley--who hit 15 home runs last season to set the Valley-area mark--also holds the Southern Section career record with 32 homers; Melindez is second with 31. The Southern Section single-season record of 16 was set by Arnold Garcia of Channel Islands in 1981.

Tagliaferri, 18, was drafted in the third round by the Detroit Tigers on Monday and has signed to play next season at Fresno State. Todd Johnson also has signed a letter of intent to play at Fresno State.