Hansell Making a New Pitch for the Big Leagues : Baseball: Former Kennedy High standout, armed with an improved curveball and changeup, has gotten a fresh start in Dodgers’ organization.

Greg Hansell is on the phone talking to his parents. He calls after every game he pitches, a ritual he has had since graduating from Kennedy High School in 1989.

This night, though, there’s really something to talk about.

Hansell had been overwhelming, allowing one hit in seven innings for Bakersfield, a Class-A team for the Dodgers. He struck out six of the first eight San Bernardino batters and had a no-hitter for 6 2/3 innings.

Finally, Brian King slapped an 0-1 pitch into right field for a single.

Back in the clubhouse, Hansell tells Mom all about it.

“I did OK, but I made a mistake in the seventh,” Hansell says.

Hansell keeps his feet on the ground these days. Even when he has every right to be walking on air.

In the past year, his baseball career has taken a definite upswing. He was tradednot once, but twice, to organizations who are renown for developing young pitchers.

The New York Mets took Hansell away from the Boston Red Sox last July. Then, six months later, they grudgingly sent him to the Dodgers, who coveted his 90-m.p.h. fastball and saw potential in his 6-foot-4, 200-pound frame.

Hansell has not been disappointing. This season, he is 3-0 with a 2.63 earned-run average and 22 strikeouts in 26 innings.

But numbers matter little to Hansell.

“If you’re satisfied with what you did yesterday, then you haven’t done anything today,” he said. “I still have a long road ahead of me.”

Hansell has already come a long way.

He was a 10th-round selection by the Red Sox in 1989 after being named the Orange County player of the year. Hansell had relied mainly on his fastball through high school, but that was plenty.

As a senior, he was 13-1 and struck out 123 batters in 96 innings.

That success continued on the professional level. He was 3-2 with two saves and a 2.52 ERA for the Red Sox rookie team in the Gulf Coast League.

However, Hansell found out that one-pitch pitchers had a limited future. Especially if the one pitch was a fastball.

“Everybody on this level can hit the fastball,” he said. “I learned that quick. The first game, I had a runner on third in the ninth with two outs, so I let one fly. I threw as hard as I could and the guy ripped it. Fortunately, he hit it at the left fielder.”

Hansell decided he preferred not to survive on good fortune. He worked on his curve, but struggled with it.

Part of the problem was that he had changed his pitching motion, throwing almost side-arm. It caused his curveball to flatten out, which caused people to hit it rather hard.

Hansell labored last season, struggling to find some consistency. He was 7-10 with a 3.59 ERA for Winter Haven, the Red Sox’s Class-A team in the Florida State League.

“I had no confidence in my pitching,” he said. “I wasn’t getting much attention from the Red Sox. I didn’t know where my career was going.”

That changed on July 27, when he returned from a trip.

“My brother was in Florida visiting me and he met the bus that night,” Hansell said. “The first thing he said was, ‘You’ve been traded to the Mets.’ That was the first I heard about it.”

Looking for some immediate help, the Red Sox had traded three minor league players, including Hansell, for Mike Marshall.

Hansell had pitched two strong games against St. Lucie, the Mets’ Class-A team in the Florida State League, and had made an strong impression with pitching coach Joe Horlen.

“My boss called me and said they were going to make a deal with the Red Sox and he wanted to know what I thought of these two pitchers,” Horlen said. “When he mentioned Greg’s name, I said, ‘Get him.’ I thought he had great potential, but he just hadn’t received enough instruction.”

Horlen, who pitched 12 years in the major leagues, began to teach and Hansell began to learn. He changed his motion, throwing from over the top again, and started working on a curveball and changeup.

“The first day I was there, Joe put the ball in my hand, showed me how to grip it, and told me to throw as hard as I could,” Hansell said. “The ball kind of floated up there and dipped to the right. I loved it.”

Armed with a change and curve, Hansell’s pitching improved. Although he was only 2-4 with St. Lucie, he had a 2.61 ERA.

“The second game he pitched for us, he threw a curveball that broke beautifully over the plate,” Horlen said. “When the ump called it a strike, Greg looked at me in the dugout and smiled.”

Hansell was happy with the Mets and felt they were happy with him. So, it came as a surprise last December when they traded him to the Dodgers.

The Mets were in need of a right fielder after Darryl Strawberry had signed with the Dodgers, so they pursued Hubie Brooks. They offered pitcher Bob Ojeda and a minor leaguer to the Dodgers for Brooks.

“When we had talked to the Mets, they mentioned several young players,” said Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ executive vice president. “Greg was on our list. We had very good reports on him from way back when he was in high school. Our people in the Florida State League were very high on him.”

Said Horlen: “I didn’t learn about the trade until after it had happened. If they would have consulted me, I would have told them to tell the Dodgers, ‘Forget it.’ I liked Greg that much. Unfortunately, he’s going to be a very good pitcher for another team.”

Although he liked the Mets’ organization, Hansell was not unhappy about the trade. He had followed the Dodgers as a boy and even pitched at Dodger Stadium when he was in high school, winning, 1-0, in the Southern Section 3-A championship game.

He also knew the Dodgers’ reputation for developing young pitchers.

“The Mets’ people told me that the Dodgers had requested me,” Hansell said. “And during spring training, I got a lot of attention. Claude Osteen worked with me and even Tommy Lasorda came over to take a look at me. I’m glad the Dodgers wanted me.”

Still, he has kept everything in perspective.

He pointed to the nameplate over his stall in the Bakersfield clubhouse. On it was his name, written in easy-to-erase chalk.

“Yesterday is yesterday,” he said. “I have to be worried about today.”