Borchard Exercising Options

Joe Borchard convinced the Chicago White Sox he was a top major league baseball prospect with his athletic ability.

Soon the Stanford right fielder will try to persuade the club to let him use his talent for one more season--on the football field.

Borchard, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound junior, was selected by the White Sox with the 12th overall pick in the amateur draft.

He also could be Stanford’s starting quarterback in the fall.

If Borchard and the White Sox come to terms, he is expected to receive a signing bonus in the range of $2.5 million.

He does not just want to take the money and run to the minor leagues. He wants to do that, return to Palo Alto in late July and run the Cardinal offense before devoting himself to baseball full time.

“Who knows what’s going to happen?” he said. “There are so many options at this point and by no means is anything etched in stone. There is still a long way to go.”

And at least one more big game to play for Stanford.

The Cardinal meets Louisiana State in the championship game of the College World Series today at 11:30 a.m. PDT at Rosenblatt Stadium.

Stanford is in the final for the first time since winning consecutive titles in 1987 and ’88. The Cardinal, making its third World Series appearance in four years, beat Louisiana Lafayette twice and Clemson once to reach the championship game.

LSU is trying to win its fifth championship, its first since winning back-to-back titles in 1996 and ’97. The Tigers advanced to the final by beating Texas, USC and Florida State.

Today’s game is the first final between unbeaten teams since 1996, when LSU played Miami.

Stanford will start junior right-hander Jason Young (9-1, 3.71 earned-run average), a second-round pick by the Colorado Rockies. Junior righ-hander Justin Wayne (15-3, 3.04), selected fifth overall by the Montreal Expos, is available should Young falter.

LSU will start junior left-hander Brian Tallet (15-3, 3.32), a second-round pick by the Cleveland Indians.

“It’s a great matchup between two very successful programs,” Stanford Coach Mark Marquess said. “Both teams have some great players. And great players usually step up in big games.”

Borchard, a switch-hitter, is seven for 10 in the World Series with a home run and four runs batted in. He is batting .432 with three homers and 11 RBIs in 10 postseason games, and .339 with 19 homers and 76 RBIs overall this season.

“As far as RBIs, getting the big hits and the big home runs, this has been his best year,” said Marquess, who has coached several two-sport athletes, including John Elway and Chad Hutchinson. “He’s just as dangerous hitting right-handed as he is left-handed.

“He has a great arm, he plays hard every day and he is as strong as an ox. If you consider all that and remember he’s just played baseball for four months a year all these years, his [potential] is unlimited.”

Borchard, who attended Camarillo High and was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 20th round of the 1997 draft, acknowledges curiosity about seeing how good he can be if he concentrates solely on baseball.

But football opportunity beckons.

Last fall, he backed up Todd Husak as the Cardinal won the Pacific 10 Conference and played in the Rose Bowl for the first time in 28 years.

Borchard passed for more than 300 yards and threw five touchdown passes against UCLA, including a 98-yard scoring play to Troy Walters, the longest in Pac-10 history. He followed that with a 300-yard passing day against San Jose State.

Husak completed his eligibility last season, leaving Borchard, Randy Fasani and former Long Beach Poly High standout Chris Lewis to battle for the starting job.

At the end of April, Borchard spent the week shuttling between spring football practice and the baseball diamond.

“You put so much time and effort into [football], you want to feel the rewards,” he said. “The opportunity’s coming up for me. It’s one of the things that keeps you wanting to explore that option.”

He created his own quandary by finishing fast after a slow start this baseball season.

He said his early-season performance was not impacted by his impending draft status, but teammates said it was impossible not to be affected.

“You can see when your good friends are pressing,” senior center fielder Edmund Muth said. “He got hot right before the draft, but a little before he was really feeling it. He was trying to swing too hard and carry the load instead of just letting it happen.”

Muth and senior third baseman John Gall helped Borchard put together his big year by occupying spots in the middle of the lineup with him. Both players were drafted as juniors--Muth in the 22nd round by Oakland, Gall in the 50th round by Cleveland--but returned to school to complete their degrees, improve their draft positions and play for the elusive national title.

Muth, selected by the Rockies in the seventh round of this year’s draft, is batting .303 with 22 homers and 81 RBIs. Gall, drafted in the 11th round by the St. Louis Cardinals, is batting .341 with 11 homers and 70 RBIs.

“If those guys hadn’t come back, then Joe’s right in the middle of the lineup and other teams would not have pitched to him,” Marquess said. “When those two guys decided to come back, I knew we could protect him a little bit.”

Borchard is ready to put himself in harm’s way during football season, if the White Sox will let him.

Elway played his final season for Stanford in 1982 after spending the summer in the New York Yankees’ farm system, and Michigan’s Drew Henson and Georgia’s Quincy Carter played quarterback last fall after signing pro baseball contracts.

None of those players, however, was a first-round draft pick.

Borchard will meet with Stanford football Coach Tyrone Willingham after the World Series to update him on his plans and meet with representatives of the White Sox soon.

“I’m hopeful,” Borchard said. “It’s wishful thinking, possibly. But maybe it can be worked out.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

College World Series

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

* Who--Stanford (50-15) vs. Louisiana State (51-17).

* Where--Rosenblatt Stadium, Omaha.

* When--11:30 a.m. PDT today.

* TV--Channel 2.

THE PITCHERS

STANFORD’S JASON YOUNG (9-1, 3.71 ERA)

vs. LSU’S BRIAN TALLET (15-3, 3.32 ERA)

* Update--On the surface, it’s Stanford pitching vs. LSU hitting. But both teams have plenty of weapons at the plate and on the mound. Young, who beat Louisiana Lafayette in the series opener, is a junior right-hander who can throw three pitches for strikes. So is teammate Justin Wayne (15-3), who will be the first pitcher up in the bullpen. Closer Jeff Bruksch, a transfer from USC, has 13 saves. Junior Joe Borchard (19 homers) and seniors Edmund Muth (22) and John Gall (11) are the big hitters for an experienced Stanford team. LSU catcher Brad Cresse, who leads the nation with 30 homers and 105 runs batted in, broke a 0-for-nine series slump with a double Thursday night against Florida State. First baseman Brad Hawpe has 36 doubles and has hit three homers in the series. Tallet beat Texas in the series opener. LSU is a team that plays on emotion and the Tigers will be buoyed by thousands of LSU fans who have made their presence felt throughout the series.