UC IRVINE NOTEBOOK / MIKE DiGIOVANNA : After Handling Injuries, Gallego Hopes Pro Career Still Awaits

Chris Gallego can’t help but wonder how things would have turned out had he taken the money and run to the New York Mets’ farm system five years ago.

After his senior season at Rowland High School, the infielder was an 11th-round draft pick of the Mets, who offered a $30,000 signing bonus and an additional $12,000 toward a college education.

Gallego, the brother of Oakland Athletics infielder Mike Gallego, decided instead to go to UC Irvine, where two major injuries have put a big-league dent in his pro baseball hopes.

Gallego was considered a hot commodity after his sophomore season (1987). The Anteater shortstop was solid on defense, hit in the .260 range and had some extra-base power.

Irvine Coach Mike Gerakos said pro scouts were interested in Gallego, but he wasn’t eligible for the draft until his junior year.

There would be no junior year for Gallego, though, at least not in 1988. A rotator cuff injury to his throwing arm required surgery in the summer of 1987, and Gallego was redshirted in 1988.

When he started his comeback in the fall of 1988, Gallego strained ligaments in his right knee sliding into third base.

“I wasn’t a speedster to begin with, but that slowed me down even more and hurt my range,” Gallego said.

His arm also wasn’t what it used to be, so Gallego moved from shortstop--which requires longer throws--to second base in 1989. He did well offensively, batting .331, but played hurt throughout the season and didn’t regain his defensive form.

Don’t think the scouts didn’t notice. Gallego wasn’t drafted.

“I wasn’t strong last season, and I think the scouts wrote me off,” Gallego said. “I hope this year they can see that my arm and knee are better.”

Gallego ranks third on the team with a .343 average. He has six doubles, four triples and a home run. He has a .951 fielding percentage with 12 errors in 234 chances.

Gallego has no idea if he’ll get another pro offer, but he’s trying not to worry about the June draft. There’s enough to focus on with one month left in the season and the Anteaters trying to make a run for the Big West Conference championship.

But there are times, Gallego admits, when his mind drifts back to 1985 and the Mets’ offer.

“I think about what might have happened, but I have no regrets,” Gallego said. “Playing here for four years, I’m more mature physically and mentally as far as the game goes.”

How much further Gallego’s game will go, he doesn’t know. But he’s sure of one thing: He has come a long way at UC Irvine.

“I’m going to graduate in June with a degree in social ecology,” Gallego said. “I wasn’t a good student in high school, but I have a 2.4 grade-point average here, and this is a tough school. That’s an accomplishment.”

Add Gallego: He might not wind up on the “Anteaters in the Pro Draft” section of Irvine’s program, but Gallego’s name will appear in the school’s hitting records.

The 5-foot-9, 170-pound senior is sixth on the Anteaters’ career RBI list with 102 and eighth on the hit list with 192. With 15 games remaining, Gallego has a chance to finish among the top five in each category.

If Gerakos had his way, he might devote a whole page in the program to Gallego and use it as a recruiting tool.

“What he has been through in five years, the way he has handled adversity and come back from career-threatening injuries, I hope that epitomizes the type of kid we have,” Gerakos said. “He has persevered on the field and in the classroom. Whether he makes it in baseball or the business world, he’s going to be a success.”

Add baseball: Irvine’s modest three-game winning streak, which came at the expense of last-place University of the Pacific, ended abruptly Tuesday night when UCLA routed the Anteaters, 15-5, in a nonconference game.

The Bruins ripped Irvine pitchers for 20 hits--not exactly the kind of confidence-boosting performance Gerakos was looking for as the Anteaters prepare for this weekend’s three-game series against Cal State Long Beach.

But Gerakos, whose team has dipped from a 20-9 start to 26-18, doesn’t see the loss as a momentum-killer.

“I’m not sure we had any momentum going into the UCLA game,” Gerakos said. “We were fortunate to win three games against Pacific, because we didn’t play well. I was hoping we’d break out of it against UCLA, but this wasn’t one of our better performances.”

The Anteaters, plagued by poor defense and inconsistent hitting, are tied for fifth place in the Big West with UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach. All are 4-5.

Irvine must win two of three games or sweep the 49ers this weekend to stay in the race. The teams play at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 1 p.m. Sunday at Anteater Field.

“I’m just worried about Friday night,” Gerakos said. “I’m more concerned with us being able to play one good game, not three.”

Irvine has established an endowed scholarship program, joining a growing trend in the funding of athletic grants. A pledge of $100,000 from Bernie and Peggy Svalstad of Corona del Mar will generate income for scholarships in the 19 NCAA sports that Irvine sponsors, the school announced.

Bernie Svalstad, a former mayor of Fountain Valley, is chair of an endowment campaign planning committee. He and Peggy Svalstad, a member of Ladies of UCI Sports, gave $50,000 in 1984 toward the construction of the Bren Events Center.

In recognition of the pledge, the position of center on the men’s basketball team will be named for the Svalstads.

Anteater Notes

Irvine men’s tennis Coach Greg Patton has signed two recruits, Brett Hansen-Dent from Newport Harbor High School and Brett Stern from Haires City High in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Hansen-Dent, the son of former Wimbledon champion Phil Dent, is ranked No. 2 in the Southern California Tennis Assn.’s 18-year-old division and No. 19 in the U.S. Tennis Assn. rankings. Stern is ranked 42nd in the USTA’s 18-year-old division. The Anteaters, ranked 14th in the nation, close their dual-meet season with a match at Fresno State on Saturday and a home match against San Diego State on Monday. The Big West championships are scheduled for April 27-29 at Ojai. . . . The Irvine men’s and women’s track and field teams will compete in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays Friday through Sunday; the Anteaters’ multi-event athletes will participate in the California Heptathlon/Decathlon at Azusa Pacific University on Friday and Saturday. Last weekend, Irvine athletes competed in the Nevada Las Vegas Track Invitational, and senior Mike Morales was named athlete of the meet. Morales won the hammer throw with a toss of 204 feet 6 inches, and placed second in the discus and shotput. . . . The Irvine men’s volleyball team finished the 1990 season 8-14 overall, 3-14 in the Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn.