He Has a Mound of Talent : Loyola Freshman Hammett Gets Hit, but Finds the Mitt

The question of the moment for followers of Loyola Marymount’s baseball team must be, “Who is Shawn Hammett?” Furthermore, why does he have the Lions’ only two victories in this otherwise dreary season?

The answer to the first question: Hammett is a freshman walk-on from Saratoga, Fla., who made the team in the fall and has proceeded to work his way into the starting rotation.

The second question is a bit tougher. Hammett, a right-hander who is 2-0 with a 2.12 earned-run average, has led somewhat of a charmed existence this season. For instance, his teammates have given him superb support--the Lions have scored 16 runs and made only three errors in the two games he has started, but have scored only 18 runs and made 15 errors in the other six games, all losses.

Hammett is not overpowering, possessing an average fastball and, by his own admission, a less-than-average curve. Opponents are batting .265 against him. His saving graces are his control--he has nine strikeouts and only four walks--and his ability to change speeds.

“When you’re around the plate as consistently as he is, you’re going to get hit,” Lion Coach Jody Robinson said. “But your defense tends to play better behind you if you stay around the plate, because they know the ball is going to be put into play.”

Hammett also has a knack for pitching out of a jam. In Saturday’s 4-1 victory against UC Santa Barbara, which was called after six innings because of darkness, he gave up 10 hits, but only one run.

Typical of Hammett’s ability to pitch out of jam was Saturday’s first inning, in which he gave up a leadoff triple but didn’t allow the runner to score. He retired the next three Gaucho batters on an infield pop-up, a ground out and a strikeout.

“I throw more strikes than a lot of pitchers,” Hammett said. “That’s one reason the guys play better defense behind me. They don’t have to sit back on their heels and wait.”

Robinson would like to take credit for discovering Hammett, but he can’t. Loyola didn’t find Hammett; he found it.

He didn’t play much at Bellardine Prep in San Jose his junior year, appearing in only four games and finishing with a 2-1 record. And when he blossomed during his senior year, going 11-3 with a no-hitter, “It was too late,” he said. “It’s your junior year that counts (with college recruiters).”

Robinson, in his first year with the Lions, wasn’t hired by Loyola until November of last year and acknowledges, “I had never heard of him.”

Hammett was familiar with Loyola because his brother, Christopher, graduated there in 1989 and Shawn would drive down and visit him. Hammett chose Loyola over Santa Clara, ultimately, because the latter was “too close to home.”

Knowing he had the talent to pitch at the Division I level, he tried out for the Lions as a walk-on in the fall.

Said Robinson: “I had just gotten here, and we had open walk-on tryouts on campus. A lot of kids came and went, and then this guy shows up.”

Hammett proceeded to pitch his way onto the roster in the fall and then into the starting rotation the past two weeks.

And things are getting better for Hammett. Robinson said the pitcher will be given a scholarship next year.

The amazing part is that Hammett probably would have given up baseball for good if he had not made the team in the fall.

“It was a dream of mine to play in college, but I kept it in perspective,” he said. “It never got to the point where it was out of control. I knew I was good enough, but it’s gotta end somewhere. . . .

“I couldn’t have imagined it being any better than it is right now.”

Although he has made one relief appearance and might make others, Hammett will be used primarily as a starter, which suits him fine.

“When I’ve been a reliever, I try to throw too hard--like those big major leaguers,” he said. “And when I do that, I get hit.”

Robinson also likes Hammett as a starter, if for no other reason than the fact there is nobody better right now. The Lions’ team ERA of 5.43 grows to 6.53 if you throw out Hammett’s mark.

“We don’t have an ace,” Robinson said. “There’s no No. 1 (pitcher), just a lot of twos and threes. But Shawn is going to be a starter. Hey, the guy has got all of our wins--I’d better start him.”