1995 LOS ANGELES TIMES : All-Ventura Baseball Team : Player & Pitcher of the Year : Marvels of the Marmonte

Santos Mummey is a monument--albeit a relatively small one--to the effectiveness of a good breaking ball.

The junior right-hander from Thousand Oaks High is 5-foot-11 and his fastball is for display purposes only, but he used pinpoint control and a knee-buckling curveball to help pitch the Lancers to their first Marmonte League championship in 12 years.

He didn’t pile up strikeouts or pitch any no-hitters, but Mummey, The Times’ Ventura County pitcher of the year, compiled an 0.56 earned-run average--best in the league by more than 1 1/2 runs.

In 62 innings, Mummey allowed only 51 hits, striking out 34 and walking 25.

All this after a humble start.

“I was told by a few coaches that I might not even play varsity,” Mummey said. “I was hoping just to make the team and maybe get a few innings.”

Said Thousand Oaks Coach Jim Hansen: “He made a believer out of us.”