Former Ocean View Catcher Selected 19th by Giants

San Diego State catcher Eric Christopherson, a former Ocean View High School player, was selected 19th by the San Francisco Giants in Monday’s free agent draft.

Christopherson batted .356 with seven home runs and 51 runs batted in as a junior this season for the Aztecs, after hitting only .256 with no homers and 24 RBIs as a sophomore.

“I knew I had to improve offensively more than anything,” said Christopherson, a third-team All-American selection by Baseball America. “They knew I could catch. I just had to show them I could hit.”

In 69 games, Christopherson threw out half of the 78 runners who tried to steal on him.

But the key for Christopherson, an all-Southern Section selection and Sunset League MVP as a senior at Ocean View, was his drastic improvement at the plate.

“I think I just gained a lot more confidence,” said Christopherson, who is 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds. “About the only thing I did differently was widen my stance.”

Though he has another year of eligibility at San Diego State, Christopherson said he expects to sign with the catching-poor Giants fairly soon.

“I am more than willing to get on with my pro career,” said Christopherson, who was drafted out of Ocean View in the 14th round by the Oakland Athletics.

With the Giants’ major league catchers Terry Kennedy, 33, and Gary Carter, 36, nearing the end of their careers, and their top catching prospect, Kurt Manwaring, 23, being sent down to triple-A Phoenix before the season, Christopherson, 21, believes he has an opportunity to be San Francisco’s catcher of the future.

“My personal goal is to be up there soon,” he said. “I know the catchers they have now have quite a bit of experience. I hadn’t been contacted by San Francisco, but I’m glad they picked me.”