He’s Only Looking for a Shot in Minors

More than anything, Mike Adams wants to become a professional baseball player.

It’s not an uncommon dream for a college player, but for Adams, a pitcher/infielder/outfielder at Christ College Irvine, it’s a dream with a twist.

“I think they should get rid of all the players (in the pros) and start over by hiring everybody who really likes to play and isn’t in it for the money.

“Then I’m sure I’d be there.”

Short of such a radical reconstruction of the major leagues, Adams can only look ahead to baseball’s June amateur draft and hope.

Last year after his junior season, his hopes were dashed. Despite a .461 batting average, 56 runs batted in and a pitching record of 10-3 with a 2.08 earned-run average, he wasn’t selected.

He’s realistic enough to know why: He’s a 5-foot-11, 200-pound player without tremendous speed or a home-run swing; a right-handed pitcher without a 90-m.p.h. fastball.

“I’m not going to lose you any games,” he said, “but I’m not going to be the guy who’s going to make $10 to $12 million for a scout because he signed me.”

Adams knows he’s no bonus baby, but says he at least deserves a shot in the minors.

“I don’t care if it is in the 290th round, if they even go that deep,” he said. “I don’t care. I just want to play.

“I’d like to play somewhere at the end of the year. I just can’t imagine not playing. But I guess that’s how everybody feels.”

To improve his chances and show that last season wasn’t a fluke, Adams hopes to maintain his statistical pace. So far, he has a 6-4 record with a 3.07 ERA and is batting .402, second in the Golden State Athletic Conference.

Adams was CCI’s most valuable player the past two seasons, and by the time he graduates in May, will hold school records in victories, innings pitched, ERA and hits.

But Christ College Irvine Coach Scott Sarver said Adams’ value goes beyond statistics. Sarver said Adams is the most competitive person he has ever known.

“I think any organization that gets Mike is going to end up saying, ‘Man alive, we’ve got a player ,’ ” Sarver said. “He’s the reason Christ College Irvine is no longer the doormat of college baseball.”

After a strong 1989 season at San Joaquin Delta Community College, Adams decided to attend Christ College Irvine because Sarver said he would have the chance to pitch and play every day.

Most other schools that were interested--including Fresno State, San Diego State and UC Riverside--wanted him only as a pitcher.

“No one was offering the opportunity to hit and that’s really what I wanted to do,” Adams said.

But he has continued to develop as a pitcher. He depends on off-speed pitches, including a couple of different curveballs and a knuckleball that Charlie Hough of the Chicago White Sox helped him with before the season.

Adams has something in common with another major league pitcher, Orel Hershiser of the Dodgers. Last summer, orthopedic surgeon Frank Jobe operated on Adams’ left shoulder to repair damage similar to that which sidelined Hershiser most of the 1990 season.

Adams had dislocated his shoulder sliding head-first in a summer league game in St. Joseph, Mo. Because it was an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, he recovered quickly.

Undoubtedly the biggest moment of CCI’s season was the Eagles’ 5-2 opening-day victory over Cal State Northridge, then the 11th-ranked team in NCAA Division I.

Adams gave up only four hits, three of them singles.

“I knew a couple of the hitters by name, so when they would announce one of them I would know what went with it--15-20 home runs or whatever. I don’t ever remember a game when I was so intense for every pitch.

“That’s the high point so far. I hope there are more.”

Add Eagles: The forfeits that CCI was awarded Friday when Azusa Pacific failed to appear for a doubleheader are being held up by the conference.

Azusa Pacific is disputing the scheduling decision and the forfeits. Carroll Land, GSAC president, said a decision about the situation may not come before next week. Until then, the games in question won’t be counted on the teams’ record.

“In the interest of fairness we’ll leave it that way until the decision is validated by the executive committee or the president,” said Land, who is also the baseball coach and athletic director at Point Loma Nazarene.

Therefore, Azusa Pacific (19-9) and CCI (21-8) remain tied for first with 7-3 records. Southern California College (16-14-1, 8-5) is in third.

For the third consecutive week, an SCC pitcher was named NAIA District 3 pitcher of the week. David Black, who has the lowest ERA (1.43) in the district, won twice in a row and Ryan Meredith took the award this week.

Meredith, a sophomore from Trabuco Hills High, also was named the conference’s pitcher of the week after his three-hitter in a 5-2 victory over Point Loma Nazarene Thursday. Meredith gave up three hits and two runs in the first and no hits thereafter. He retired the last 20 batters he faced.

In the second game of the doubleheader, another former Trabuco Hills pitcher, freshman Jeff Beckley, pitched a five-hitter in a 6-1 victory.

SCC’s Justin Pysar, a senior outfielder, was named the district’s player of the week. He batted .391 with four home runs, 11 RBIs and seven runs scored as the Vanguards won five of six games.