Cady Set Lofty Goals, Hit Them : All-Section baseball: The Grossmont High star wanted to win the San Diego Section 2-A championship and the section player of the year award. He got what he wanted.

Todd Cady of Grossmont High says his goals before the 1990 high school baseball season were to win the section 2-A championship and the San Diego Section player of the year award.

Lofty? Perhaps. But Cady, a junior, reached both and then some.

Grossmont won the championship--5-2 over San Diego--and Cady is the player of the year--as selected by the Hall of Champions.

“Then some” is primarily in the form of two items:

--Earlier this week, Grossmont, which finished 29-2, was ranked No. 2 in the nation by USA Today.

--Earlier this season, Cady broke the section record for runs batted in. No, he shattered it. His 62 RBIs were 15 better than the existing mark set by Carlsbad’s Jeff Myers in 1988.

It helped that Grossmont had the most potent offense in section history, but Cady was the foreman of the wrecking crew.

In 104 at-bats, Cady, a switch-hitting catcher, had a .442 average, 10 home runs and 2.0 RBIs per game.

To compare, Oklahoma State’s Mike Daniel led the NCAA with 1.44 RBIs per game for a team that averaged nine runs, about the same as Grossmont.

And consider that in his first two years--he was selected all-league in both--Cady drove in 23 and 27 runs while batting .375 and .411. In 1990, he had 12 more RBIs than the first two years combined.

In three years, Cady has 112 RBIs. The section record is 113 set by Crawford’s Manny Gagliano (1986-89).

Cady also is fourth in career home runs with 20 (the section record is 24 by Santana’s John Franco from 1982-85). And Cady is sixth in hits with 112 (Santana’s John Gay had 135 from 1983-86).

Impressive indeed, but the statistic that seems to raise eyebrows is that Cady, who is 6-feet-4, 215 pounds, stole 22 bases this year.

“With (teammate John) Tatum up there, and his reputation, they never paid attention to me,” Cady said.

OK, then. Power, speed, size, hits for average and is good defensively, but how are his grades?

Well, he has a 3.5 grade-point-average on a four-point scale.

And personality?

Let’s put it this way. The kid’s going to have his choice of college next year, but he said his twin sister, Mendy, will have a say since they want to go together.

On the subject of next year, Cady is well aware of the pressure Helix’s Rob Ippolito felt after being named player of the year last season as a junior. He and Ippolito have been friends since childhood.

“Last year, Robbie played on a great team. He had all kinds of support. This year, (Helix) didn’t have that.”

The same could await Cady next season. Grossmont, whose only losses were to Monte Vista and San Diego--the 3-A and 2-A runners-up--is losing a number of seniors, including Tatum, who hit .406 with 11 homers and 36 RBIs batting behind Cady.

Cady doesn’t seem particularly worried. “I know I’m going to have to work harder next year,” he said.

Other All-Section first-team members include:

John Tatum, infield, Grossmont, Sr.--Tatum, who played third and pitched, was also 6-0 with a section-record 13 saves. He hit two home runs in a game three times. He was a co-player of the year in the Grossmont 2-A League and is a repeat first-team selection. Tatum was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in this week’s free-agent draft.

Vern Mullis, infield, Monte Vista, Sr.--The co-player of the year in the Grossmont 3-A League, Mullis led the Monarchs (20-12-1) to their first section title game by hitting .452 with five homers and 31 RBIs. Mullis played a number of positions, including catcher despite having never done so before this year.

Raul Sanchez, infield, Sweetwater, Sr.--Sanchez led a good-hitting Sweetwater team with a .463 average, four home runs and 22 RBIs.

Jackie Sosa, infield, Castle Park, Sr.--One of two Trojans on the first team, Sosa sparked the offense with a Metro Conference-leading seven home runs and 32 RBIs while hitting .386.

Tony Clark, outfield, Christian, Sr.--Led the county’s 2-A and 3-A players in home runs for the second consecutive year with 11. His 22 in two years places him fourth on the all-time section list. Clark, who was selected No. 2 in this week’s free-agent draft by the Detroit Tigers, also batted .524 with 21 RBIs despite limited action early because Christian was involved in the state basketball playoffs.

David Sanchez, outfield, USDHS, Jr.--Hit .500 with 42 RBIs--second in the county--for the Dons, who finished the regular season as The Times’ second-ranked team.

Josh Stepner, outfield, San Diego, Sr.--Helped the Cavers to the 2-A title game, hitting .392 with six home runs and 22 RBIs and compiling a 7-1 record as a pitcher. His seventh-inning, three-run homer lifted San Diego to a 7-6 victory over top-ranked Grossmont in the Lions Tournament semifinal.

Dan Miller, pitcher, Poway, Sr.--Was 12-1 with a 1.21 earned-run average and led Poway to the Palomar League championship and the top seeding in the 3-A playoffs. Miller, who struck out 123 batters in 98 innings, was drafted by Philadelphia this week.

Eric Nicholson, pitcher, Helix, Sr.--Nicholson makes it three in a row, following Rob Ippolito and Rick Navarro as Highlander pitchers on the first team. His 11-1 record and 1.81 ERA led Helix to the Grossmont 3-A League title. He also struck out 78 in 77 innings.

Benji Gil, utility, Castle Park, Jr.--A repeat first-teamer, Gil was again one of the county’s elite pitchers with a remarkable 0.55 ERA and 6-3 record. He also hit .385.

Andrew Acevedo, utility, Oceanside, Sr.--Acevedo did it all for Oceanside, hitting .393 and going 9-1 with 91 strikeouts.

Marc Nielsen, utility, Mira Mesa, Jr.--Picked up the star role nicely when Mike Bovee and Beau Champeaux went down with injuries. He was 11-2 as a pitcher and batted .375 in leading the Marauders to the 3-A championship.

ALL-SECTION SELECTIONS

Pos. Name School Yr. Key Statistics C Todd Cady Grossmont Jr. .442 BA, 10 homers, 62 RBIs Inf. John Tatum Grossmont Sr. 11 homers, 13 saves Inf. Vern Mullis Monte Vista Sr. .452 BA, 31 RBIs Inf. Raul Sanchez Sweetwater Sr. .463 BA, 22 RBIs OF Tony Clark Christian Sr. .524 BA, 11 homers OF David Sanchez USDHS Jr. .500 BA, 42 RBIs OF Josh Stepner San Diego Sr. Six homers, 22 RBIs P Dan Miller Poway Sr. 12-1 record, 1.21 ERA P Eric Nicholson Helix Sr. 11-1 record, 1.81 ERA Util. Benji Gil Castle Park Jr. 0.55 ERA, .385 BA Util. Andrew Acevedo Oceanside Sr. 9-1 record, .393 BA Util. Marc Nielsen Mira Mesa Jr. 9-2 record, .375 BA

Second Team--Catchers Ricky Spears (El Camino) and Kiko Palacios (Castle Park); infielders Todd Davis (Crawford), Jim Earley (Grossmont), Angel Torres (Oceanside) and Kenya Hunt (Oceanside); outfielders Greg Sorrell (Poway), Jason Alcoser (St. Augustine) and Mike Romero (Sweetwater); pitchers Jose Silva (Hilltop) and Doug Hill (Mt. Carmel), and utility players George Hadden (Rancho Buena Vista) and Travis Denmark (Julian).