THE COLLEGES / MIKE HISERMAN : Value of CSUN’s Hodgins Grows With His Versatility

Once they were called garbage collectors and gofers; now, sanitation engineers and administrative assistants.

What’s in a title? In this regard, baseball imitates the rest of society. Those who were once simply relief pitchers now are set-up men or closers.

How then should one refer to handy Andy Hodgins, versatile infielder-outfielder and one-time catcher for the Cal State Northridge baseball team?

To say he is a utility player somehow doesn’t create an appropriate image.

Simply stated, Hodgins, a former walk-on, is among the most valuable members of the Matadors’ team.

He has played almost every position--although he usually is found near the middle of things, either at shortstop or in center field.

“I just like to be where the ball goes,” Hodgins said. “Playing different positions keeps things interesting.”

Hodgins considers playing shortstop his greatest challenge. He has started there in 17 of 22 games this season.

“The outfield always came easier for me,” said Hodgins, a junior who also played several positions at Simi Valley High. “At shortstop there are more skills you have to know.”

There are, however, distinct advantages to playing in the infield--such as keeping a safe distance between oneself and the concrete wall that lines the outfield at Matador Field.

Hodgins recalls seeing one opposing player lose some front teeth in a particularly spectacular encounter with the wall. “I’ve run into it a couple of times,” Hodgins said, “but not at full speed. Not yet. And I don’t plan to, either.”

Neither does Hodgins miss the sprinklers and patchy turf, other hazards common to the outfield at the Matadors’ home field.

“I know where the sprinklers are pretty much,” Hodgins said. “But those divots out there, you never know about those.”

Hodgins has played each of the three outfield positions for Northridge in addition to third base, shortstop and second base. However, he is quick to note that he is not the Matadors only, uh, utility man.

“We don’t have that many position players, so just about everybody practices more than one position,” Hodgins said. “(Mike) Solar can play anywhere in the infield and Kyle (Washington) plays in the outfield and catches.”

Hodgins, as a freshman, was once tried as a catcher.

“It was a one-day thing, but, yes, Coach (Bill) Kernen did ask me to try it,” Hodgins said. “I don’t exactly remember why, but I gave it a shot. I wanted to play wherever I could.”

Hodgins batted well in excess of .400 as a high school senior but was recruited by only Northridge and Westmont, an NAIA school.

And although he liked Westmont’s scenic location, he chose to walk on at Northridge because “it freaked me out that there were fewer people at (Westmont) than there were at my high school.”

Hodgins was a reserve as a left fielder and right fielder as a freshman, but he played a substantial role for the Matadors last season both in the outfield and at third base, filling in for the often-injured Denny Vigo.

“He’s one of those guys who is pretty solid wherever you put (him),” Kernen said.

At the start of this season, Solar, a four-year starter, was the shortstop and Hodgins was in center field.

But after the Matadors’ slow start, Solar was moved to first base, Hodgins joined the infield and Greg Shockey moved over to center from right, making room for both Greg Shepard and Washington in the outfield.

The move seems to have benefited everyone. Solar and Shockey share the team lead in home runs with five. Shepard and Washington are among the hottest hitters, and Hodgins, ever consistent, has done a solid job at shortstop while batting .313 with two homers and a team-high six doubles.

By season’s end, Hodgins said he would like to have maintained his batting average, but his main goals are more team oriented.

“I want to get back to the regionals, that’s what I want to do,” he said. “Losing (the title game) last year left a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth.

“As long as our team wins, I just want to contribute however I can. Where I play doesn’t really matter.”

Southland showcase: Southern California, a hotbed of college baseball, does not have a showcase for its best teams.

Therefore, we dutifully suggest the following: An eight-team tournament featuring USC and UCLA of the Pacific 10 Conference, Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount of the West Coast Conference, Cal State Long Beach and Cal State Fullerton of the Big West, and San Diego State and Northridge, which will join the Aztecs in the Western Athletic Conference next season.

Teams from the same conference could be separated if the tournament were split into divisions, one playing at USC’s Dedeaux Field and the other perhaps at Jackie Robinson Field, UCLA’s home turf.

Divisional play would follow a round-robin format with each team playing a game a day. After the third day, the teams would be seeded within their divisions and then meet in inter-divisional playoffs for first, third, fifth and seventh places.

Each team would be guaranteed four games, but the only time a team could be matched against a conference opponent would be in the final.

Such an event surely would attract a fair share of spectators and it might be appealing to television--if not on Prime Ticket, then perhaps a smaller cable station.