USD’s Cheek Shows He Can Play a Little

Tom Cheek of the University of San Diego can be called many things.

Versatile. Cocky. Loose. Clown Prince of Torero Baseball.

They all apply.

Sam Blalock, his former coach at Mt. Carmel High, chose: “Gregarious. Outgoing. Confident.”

“That was Tommy,” he said. “A real inspiration. He was a catalyst. He brought out the best in people.”

But try as you might, it’s difficult not to call little Tommy Cheek little.

After all, he is 5-feet-8 and 165 pounds, just an inch taller than the shortest player in the West Coast Conference.

So go ahead if you must. If the bootie fits . . .

Cheek usually finds a way to rise above the stigma. He finds fuel in the comments he has heard all his life. It makes him try harder, want to give that much more. It’s his edge.

Just don’t tell him he cannot do something because of his size.

Pitch? He’s first in the WCC in saves (eight) and appearances (a school-record 36) and eighth in earned-run average (3.89).

Field? Recently given a shot at second when he’s not expected to pitch, he was flawless in 45 chances with five double plays before making his first error Tuesday against San Diego State.

Hit? He had done so in every offensive game he had played--a six-game hitting streak--before going zero for three against SDSU. His first at-bat this year was a run-scoring triple. His .280 average and .480 slugging percentage are both third on the team.

Lead? Unquestionably, he’s a major reason why USD is tied for third in the WCC at 15-15 (23-30 overall) in a year in which the conference preseason poll of coaches had the Toreros pegged as a doormat.

The coaches apparently didn’t expect the impact of little Tommy Cheek, a junior transfer from Southern Idaho Community College.

He has been particularly tough in WCC games--second in ERA at 2.33. He has five of USD’s 15 WCC victories. He also has seven saves.

Ask Loyola Marymount’s All-American catcher, Miah Bradbury, just how tough Cheek is.

Cheek and Bradbury, one of the most feared hitters in college baseball, were battery mates and friends at Mt. Carmel and have known each other since Little League.

Loyola was ranked ninth nationally when the two teams met two weeks ago at USD but trailed the Toreros, 2-1, in the last inning. Cheek, in relief, didn’t have his best stuff. He needed a spectacular diving catch by left fielder Jim Alexander for the first out. Cheek then walked a batter and hit the next one in the face as he squared to bunt. A force on a grounder and a stolen base made it two down with runners on second and third.

The batter was Bradbury (6-4, 210 pounds).

“He (Cheek) told me later, he dreamed of that situation,” USD Coach John Cunningham said.

It’s not in Cheek’s nature to shy away. He loves that situation. He loves shutting up those who say he can’t do something.

After a high fastball and a vicious cut by Bradbury, Cheek came back with an inside fastball, jamming Bradbury into a weak grounder back to the mound.

Cheek tossed to first. Game over.

“He’s probably as confident a player you’ll ever find,” Cunningham said. “He’s cocky. He’s one of those guys that says, ‘If you want Ws, just give me the ball,’ ”

Is there anything he can’t do? Ask the flight attendants on a trip USD took to Sacramento. He told them to take a break. He’d handle things for a while.

So there he was, passing out mints, serving drinks, fluffing pillows and getting verbally abused by teammates. The attendants loved it so much they gave him his wings at the end of the flight.

“The guys still tease me about that,” he said. “How I earned my wings.”

Said Cunningham, who is in his 27th year at USD: “Tommy’s one of the most refreshing fellows we’ve had in the program.”

There was always doubt when people thought of Cheek and his size. He has had to prove himself wherever he played. But that, he said, is part of what motivates him.

For Mt. Carmel, Cheek was 21-5, an All-San Diego Section selection and started in two section 3-A championship games. He lost in 1986 to Santana, 7-2, but came back in 1987 and beat Santana by the same score. It was his third victory of the playoffs.

At Southern Idaho, he was 9-3 with a 2.34 ERA and an all-region selection last year as a starter. His freshman year as a reliever, he had 13 saves and led the team to third place in the community college national tournament.

Cheek is quick to credit Blalock, Cunningham, USD catcher Sean Gousha and Lou Skertich, a fellow 5-8 pitcher for USD.

“A lot of people say we don’t have much of a chance to go on in college,” said Skertich, who leads USD with a 3.65 ERA, “but (Cheek is) such a competitor, it rubs off on everybody. I’ve learned a lot from him about how fun it is to play baseball.”