Hessman Applies the Philosophy of Hitting : Baseball: Junior, whose strong point was thought to be pitching, is among county leaders in average, RBIs and home runs.

You look at his numbers at the end of the regular season--.405 average, 11 home runs, 36 runs batted in--and it’s surprising to discover that pitching was considered the one baseball skill Mike Hessman had in abundance.

Hessman, a junior at Mater Dei, is among the county leaders in all three offensive categories. But it wasn’t until he hurt his shoulder in March and was restricted just to hitting, that he began to tap the potential stored in his 6-5, 200-pound frame.

“I’m a little surprised. I didn’t think I’d hit nine home runs but that’s fine by me,” Hessman said.

Hessman, who averaged .286 with two home runs and five RBIs in 11 games last year, his first varsity season, spent last summer working daily in batting cages with Greg Shockey, his summer league coach. “Just brushup stuff, no drastic changes in the swing,” Hessman said.

But the results are obvious. Before Thursday, he had not homered or driven in a run for two weeks. But Hessman still managed at least one hit in 22 of 24 Mater Dei games.

Monarch Coach Bob Ickes said part of Hessman’s breakthrough has been his mastering of the program’s hitting philosophy.

“We try to teach our players to be aggressive and not worry about the outcome,” Ickes said. “That’s the philosophy of our program; but it’s not something most kids accept quickly, because you’re always taught that striking out is bad. Many of our freshmen come here as defensive offensive players. But even if we strike out, we want to be aggressive doing it.”

Hessman has taken those ideals to heart. Even so, he definitely has an eye for the strike zone. Hessman has struck out only five times, and two of those came April 28 against Capistrano Valley.

Don’t think, however, he doesn’t miss pitching.

“I like being in control of the game,” Hessman said. “There are some guys who can control it as a hitter. But as a pitcher, I like having everything happen in front of me; I can dictate what goes on.”

His pitching future appeared bright. As a sophomore, Hessman was 8-3 in 12 starts with a 1.03 earned-run average. He gave up only 54 hits and 10 earned runs in 68 innings. Equally impressive, Hessman walked only eight and struck out 52.

He appeared headed for greater things this season, beginning with a one-hitter March 4 against Orange. But since coming out after five innings of a game March 9 with a tight right shoulder, Hessman has been on the mound only once--the championship game of the Upper Deck tournament during spring break.

“I don’t really know how I hurt it,” Hessman said. “But it wasn’t one particular pitch that caused problems. Every throw produced a sharp, stabbing pain.”

The problem was diagnosed as weakened antagonistic muscles, which keep the shoulder in place as a pitcher completes his throwing motion.

Hessman was restricted to occasional infield duty and serving as designated hitter, but he convinced Ickes that he was sound enough to pitch in the tournament. Against Germantown (Tenn.), the eventual winner, Hessman made it through only two innings on a cool evening. Ickes took him out after giving up three runs primarily because Hessman was rusty. Ickes limited Hessman to a specific number of pitches for the game.

Ten days later, after deciding he wasn’t healing fast enough, Hessman’s doctors decided to prohibit any throwing this season. He is rebuilding the shoulder with weights and exercises.

So all he can do is hit.

But that shouldn’t bring smiles to the faces of the opponents Mater Dei will face in the Southern Section playoffs, which begin next week. The Monarchs, champions of the South Coast League for the third straight season, are 19-5 and 12-3 in league.

Still, Hessman isn’t ready to become only a hitter or--perish the thought--just an everyday player. The desire to stare down from the mound and take part in the mind games pitchers and batters play against each other burns unchecked.

“I won’t give up pitching unless they tell me,” he said.