NCAA BASEBALL REGIONALS : At Last, He Feels Wanted : Cal State Fullerton: Division I schools continually passed on Tony Banks, but now he’s a Titan mainstay.

With his stocky frame and penchant for power, Cal State Fullerton outfielder Tony Banks has drawn comparisons this season to Jimmy Wynn, the former Houston Astro and Dodger slugger known as “The Toy Cannon.”

Hard to believe that as late as last summer, many college coaches considered Banks a Division I dud.

Banks, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound lefty, hit .636 with four home runs, 27 runs batted in and 31 stolen bases his senior year at Oakland Skyline High School.

He had the grades and Scholastic Aptitude Test score required for college freshman eligibility. He had a good attitude and wasn’t a troublemaker.

But he didn’t receive one scholarship offer from a four-year school.

Banks moved on to Laney Community College in Oakland, where he hit .348 with six homers, 38 RBIs and 11 stolen bases as a sophomore and earned all-conference honors in his freshman and sophomore years.

Still, no scholarship offers.

“I didn’t know what they didn’t see,” Banks said. “They had some doubts, but I don’t know what they were.”

Banks had his shortcomings, to be sure. He didn’t have a very strong throwing arm, and occasional bouts with tendinitis in his knees forced him to miss a few games.

But the guy could hit, and that’s what Titan pitcher Yusef Ford told George Horton, Fullerton associate head coach, last summer.

With the Toronto Blue Jays flashing large amounts of money in front of Titan signee and Blue Jay draftee Dante Powell, Horton went looking for outfield insurance--preferably of the left-handed variety--in case Powell turned professional.

Ford, a teammate of Banks for a season at Laney College, tipped off Horton about Banks. Horton called Laney Coach Tom Pearse and received a favorable recommendation. Horton, having never seen Banks play, offered him a scholarship.

Banks proceeded to make Horton, Pearse and Ford all look like geniuses, batting .301 with nine home runs and 46 RBIs this season to help the Titans advance to the NCAA tournament, where they’ll face Ohio State in a first-round game of the South I Region today in Baton Rouge, La.

“I got a good break,” said Banks, who has started 26 games as designated hitter and 17 in the outfield. “I guess something was due to go my way.”

Titan Coach Augie Garrido found it hard to believe that Banks had been overlooked by so many schools, but given the inexact science known as college baseball scouting, he could see how it happened.

“College scouting is so inefficient because we have small (coaching) staffs, we’re busy with our season and you can’t see that many players,” Garrido said. “Measuring ballplayers is like measuring race horses. What’s the difference between the good ones and the great ones? Not much.

“One coach can see a kid on a night he strikes out three times and think he’s nothing. Another goes the night he hits three home runs and thinks he’s got great power. So what is he? Probably something in between.”

Banks may not go down as one of the Titans’ all-time greats, but he has had a positive impact on the team, “and we recruit guys every day who fall short of that,” Garrido said.

Though Powell turned down the Blue Jays to become a Titan and Fullerton has a glut of excellent outfielders, Banks has played and contributed enough to earn All-Big West Conference honorable-mention honors.

Used mostly against right-handed pitchers, he has provided power from the left side and several clutch hits. His three-run home run was the difference in Fullerton’s 5-2 victory over Cal State Northridge Feb. 17, and his pinch-hit, ninth-inning single gave the Titans a 6-5 victory over UC Irvine May 2.

“For some reason I’m zeroed in much more in those situations,” Banks said. “I don’t need to take a few pitches, and I’m ready to hit the first good one I see. When you come off the bench late in the game, pitchers usually try to get ahead of you early in the count, so that’s when you’re going to get good pitches.”

Banks went on a tear early in the season, knocking in 11 runs during a five-game stretch from March 4-10. He ranks second on the team in homers and third in RBIs. He also has only 12 strikeouts in 191 plate appearances, an inordinately low number for a No. 5 hitter.

“He has an unbelievable ability to recognize pitches early,” Horton said. “When we tried to get him out in intrasquad games, it became very apparent he could recognize the spin on the ball and change of speeds very early. When he swings, he usually makes contact.”

Banks has been developing his batting eye and hand-eye coordination since he and his younger brother, Brian, began playing ball in the back yard of their East Oakland home.

With a taped-up whiffle ball, the pitcher would stand about 30-35 feet away and fire everything from fastballs, curves and knuckleballs at the batter. You had to be quick to even get a piece of the ball.

“That helped me become a good contact hitter,” Bank said. “I mainly developed hand speed, and that helped me much more later.”

There’s still plenty of kid left in Banks, 20. When he goes home, he still plays ball in the yard with Brian, 15. Only now, he has to be careful that his back-yard swing doesn’t ruin his Division I swing.

“Playing in the yard helped my quickness, but sometimes you can be too quick,” Banks said. “Sometimes I’ll come back from vacation and I’ll be out in front of pitches a little bit. It takes a while to get your timing back.”