After Snub, He Becomes a Cub : * Baseball: Right-hander finds his niche in Chicago rotation after being traded by Philadelphia.

Bob Scanlan was ready to quit baseball in 1989.

After giving the Beverly Hills resident little pitching opportunity in spring training, the Philadelphia Phillies demoted him a level to double A. The organization wanted him to change his style. On his 23rd birthday, a Philadelphia sports columnist billed him as the “Beverly Hills Flop.”

But Scanlan rebelled against the Phillies’ wishes, and thanks to a trade and a season-ending shoulder injury to Mike Harkey, has become a member of the Chicago Cubs’ pitching staff. He joins Hall of Famer Jim Palmer as the only products of Beverly Hills’ elementary schools to reach the major leagues.

Scanlan, a 1980 graduate of Beverly Vista School, was denied permission to attend Beverly Hills High after his parents moved to Rancho Park that summer. Instead, he went to Harvard High, winning All-Pioneer League honors in baseball and basketball. Scanlan’s parents have since returned to Beverly Hills and the 24-year-old makes his home there during the off-season.

(Palmer left Beverly Hills for Scottsdale, Ariz., after graduating from Horace Mann School. Beverly Hills High has yet to have a graduate reach the majors.)

The Cubs recalled Scanlan from Iowa on April 30 after Harkey went on the disabled list and had planned on using him in relief.

But a three-inning stint in a simulated game in Atlanta prompted a change in plans. Instead, Scanlan made his major league debut as a starter May 7 in the Astrodome.

“I wasn’t really that nervous,” Scanlan said. “I was just trying to concentrate on the things I concentrated on in triple A--throwing strikes into the mitt.”

In seven innings, he allowed five hits, an unearned run and three walks in a 4-3 win over the Houston Astros.

But Scanlan was inconsistent at best in his subsequent starts. He pitched a three-hitter over 7 2/3 innings in a 4-3 win over the Montreal Expos May 24, and received a no-decision after pitching a two-hit shutout over 7 2/3 innings against the San Francisco Giants June 23. The Cubs eventually lost that game, 2-1.

Scanlan allowed seven runs in starts against the New York Mets (May 29) and San Diego Padres (June 4). He was dropped from the rotation after giving up five runs in 1 2/3 innings and being charged with the defeat in Chicago’s 14-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals Friday.

Scanlan pitched three innings of one-hit shutout relief and was the winning pitcher in the Cubs’ 6-5 13-inning victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates Monday, improving his record to 3-3 and lowering his earned-run average to 3.82.

“He’s got a good, live fastball and great work habits between starts,” Cub Manager Jim Essian said.

The Cubs acquired Scanlan on April 7 from the Phillies along with pitcher Chuck McElroy in exchange for reliever Mitch Williams. Scanlan had spent seven seasons in the Phillie organization without reaching the majors.

“At first I didn’t know what to expect, but then I was excited because I knew I wasn’t going to get too much of a chance to pitch for the Phillies,” Scanlan said. “They already had made the decision on what guys they were going to go with. I think of this as a fresh start. I was optimistic about it.”

The Cubs sent Scanlan to their triple-A affiliate in Iowa, for which he was 2-0 with a 2.95 ERA before being recalled.

Scanlan’s professional career began in 1984. After signing a letter of intent with UCLA, Scanlan signed with the Phillies, who had selected him in the 24th round of the June amateur draft.

“Since at the time it was said the Phillies had a good minor league system, I decided here was a chance to play professionally with a good club as opposed to another organization I didn’t want to play with,” said Scanlan, who attends UCLA in the off-season, majoring in mechanical engineering.

So Scanlan was off to Sarasota (Fla.) of the Gulf Coast League, followed by stints with Spartanburg (S.C.), Clearwater (Fla.), Reading (Pa.), Maine and Scranton (Pa.). Scanlan’s best year in the minors was 1987, when he led the double A Eastern League with 15 wins.

“I grew up in professional baseball,” Scanlan said. “It was my first time away from home, and I was living out my dream. . . . Going to different towns and meeting all different types of people from different walks of life. I have a lot of experiences that no way would have I gotten had I played college baseball.”

But there were painful times too.

“Sometimes you go through periods where you ask yourself, ‘Gee, am I doing the right thing? Maybe I don’t have what it takes. Maybe I should go back to school and finish up and get on with my life,’ ” Scanlan said.

The questioning became intense in 1989.

Scanlan was on Philadelphia’s 40-player major league roster for the third consecutive year, but was not used much in spring training.

“I wasn’t throwing the ball real well,” Scanlan said. “They wanted me to throw sidearm. They put me back to double A after I pitched triple A the year before. There was a lot of things going on. I had reached the point where I was pretty much ready to just come home and stop playing ball. I just wasn’t enjoying it the way it was going.”

On Aug. 9, 1989, Scanlan’s 23rd birthday, Philadelphia Daily News columnist Bill Conlin made light of Scanlan.

“Please excuse me for getting nauseous whenever I see right-hander Bob Scanlan included on lists of Phillies pitching prospects,” Conlin wrote. “The Beverly Hills Flop has gotten a million frequent-flier miles out of his 15-5 record at Reading in 1987. Accomplished with a high-scoring team of career minor leaguers behind him, it was one of the most misleading records in baseball history. His ERA was 5.10, he allowed a staggering 187 hits in 164 innings and struck out just 91 hitters.

“Those numbers earned him promotion to triple A last year, where he was 5-18 with a 5.59 ERA, 181 hits in 161 innings and 79 strikeouts. He’s having another dreadful year back in double A, but is said to be resisting an organization suggestion to drop down to a three-quarter delivery to impart more movement to his Pennsylvania Turnpike-straight fastball.”

Scanlan returned to his old delivery during the season’s final month.

“I knew I could get people out throwing overhand,” Scanlan said.

In 1990, Scanlan improved to 8-11 with a 4.85 ERA for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Pa.) of the triple A International League.

Scanlan’s hometown of Beverly Hills is still the subject of discussion.

“Some people questioned my desire, figuring if I’m from Beverly Hills, I must be filthy rich and what would motivate me to want to play baseball,” Scanlan said. “I’m not filthy rich and I’m motivated because it’s something I want to do. As long as I have fun doing it, I’m going to give 100%.”