U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL: ORANGE COUNTY’S DAY : LOS ANGELES 1991 : The Rain Man Cometh; Seal Knows Stats : Baseball: Irvine pitcher/outfielder can recall names and statistics the way Dustin Hoffman’s character could in 1988 movie.

Bob Flint, baseball coach at Irvine High School, invited Angel pitcher Kirk McCaskill to deliver a motivational speech to his players two years ago.

McCaskill started his talk by encouraging the Vaquero pitchers to learn to develop other pitches besides a fastball. He used Frank Viola learning to throw a changeup as an example.

“Viola learned to throw one in 1988, and how did he do?” McCaskill asked.

The answer came from the back of the room. It belonged to Irvine pitcher Mike Seal.

“He was 24-7 with a 2.64 ERA,” Seal said.

McCaskill turned to Flint.

“Who is this guy?” McCaskill asked.

Seal is known around Irvine High, and the U.S. Olympic Festival baseball camp, as the “Rain Man.”

Seal, a left-handed pitcher and outfielder with the West team, earned the nickname two years ago because he could remember names and statistics the same way Dustin Hoffman’s character could in the 1988 movie, “Rain Man.”

“I was playing scout ball one winter and one of our assistant coaches, Paul Felix, gave me the name,” Seal said. “He couldn’t believe how I could remember stats. I listed all his stats from when he played minor league ball.”

As a youngster, Seal collected baseball cards, memorizing the statistics on the backs of them.

“Baseball stats stick with me because I’m so interested in it,” he said. “If I put my mind to it, I could probably do better with my schoolwork.”

Seal, 5 feet 11 and 186 pounds, has produced some solid statistics of his own.

Armed with a good changeup and a fastball in the low 80-m.p.h. range, Seal was 7-2 with 88 strikeouts last season. He also led Orange County in earned-run average (0.93), and was a member of The Times Orange County second team.

Seal went two for four with an RBI in the West’s 4-2 loss to the South Wednesday. He did worse, but his team fared better Thursday: Seal went 0 for 1 with a strikeout, as the West defeated the North, 5-2, to advance to Saturday’s gold-medal game against the East.

Seal is in familiar surroundings at the Festival. Three of his West teammates--Villa Park’s Aaron Boone and Mater Dei’s Cale Carter and Lionel Hastings--also play on his Connie Mack summer league team, the Giants.

“Our (Festival) team is pretty close,” Seal said. “We all get along well and there’s great talent.”

But they play for the West, a team that has been snake-bitten in past Festivals. The West is 0-6 in gold-medal games.

“I think we have a good chance,” Seal said. “We’re definitely shooting for the gold.”

Last spring, Seal accepted a baseball scholarship to Loyola Marymount. He said he wants to play there a couple of years before testing the major league draft.

“Loyola is the best situation for me,” he said. “I saw a good chance to start as a freshman because they’re losing all their outfielders.”

He also plans to study contract law and has hopes of becoming a player agent someday.

“If I don’t make it as a baseball player,” he said, “I can stay in it as an agent. I know a lot about the game, and I think I could help a lot of guys. I might give the front office a try, like a general manager.”

Flint said Seal would make a good field manager.

“I’ve tried to encourage him to teach and coach,” Flint said. “He’s a special kid.

“He has been coaching my junior varsity team this year and he’s doing a great job. I couldn’t get a better guy to do it.”

La Quinta High Coach Dave Demarest, an assistant coach with the West, said Seal “is one of the all-time great kids.”

“You don’t come across kids like him every day,” Demarest said.