Baseball Beckons to Two-Sport Star Klein

Football’s loss is baseball’s gain. That’s how supporters of Anaheim Servite two-sport standout Dan Klein view his decision last month that put an end to speculation as to which sport he would pursue in college.

“I definitely thought about it a lot,” he said. “I thought I had a future in baseball.”

Klein, a 6-foot-3 junior pitcher, committed to UCLA the first week in April. But that didn’t deter California football Coach Jeff Tedford, who proceeded to offer a scholarship to Klein, a quarterback who passed for 2,005 yards and 15 touchdowns last fall. Washington State made a similar offer last week.

“It’s kind of cool,” Klein said of the attention he’s receiving.

But Klein repeated his intention to focus exclusively on baseball in college.

“UCLA presented a good opportunity for me, and I decided to jump on it,” he said.

Not that Klein is giving up football quite yet. On Monday, he was at spring football practice, just four days after his baseball season came to an end when Long Beach Poly eliminated the Friars, 4-3, in a Southern Section Division I playoff game.

Baseball teams that faced the right-hander this season probably wish he didn’t have another year of high school eligibility remaining.

He helped Servite earn a share of the Serra League championship and finished with a 7-1 record, 1.72 earned-run average and only seven walks in 61 innings.

His exceptional control and good velocity -- he throws close to 90 mph -- made him one of the top pitchers in Southern California.

“Control is a big part of pitching,” Klein said. “A lot of guys throw hard, but if you hit your spots, you’ll be fine. You don’t want to throw as hard as you can every pitch. Throwing strikes and hitting spots is more effective.”

In a game against Bellflower St. John Bosco, Klein demonstrated how he can baffle hitters. One batter received four fastballs that registered 85, 89, 86 and 87 mph on a radar gun. No pitch was the same.

Klein has a chance to establish himself as one of the best two-sport athletes in Servite history.

He’ll return to quarterback this fall after a junior season in which he led the Friars to one of their biggest victories, a 28-20 upset of Long Beach Poly in the Southern Section Division I quarterfinals.

In that game, Poly defensive linemen were repeatedly dropping Klein to the turf in the first half, but he kept getting up.

“After you get hit, your teammates look to see how you respond,” he said. “You have to send a good message.”

In the second half, Klein rallied the Friars to a victory few thought possible.

“It was amazing,” he said. “We proved everyone wrong.”

One of Klein’s best friends, linebacker Chris Galippo, has committed to USC. The two will be wearing their future college sweatshirts a lot next year.

“In two years, we’ll be at rival schools,” Klein said.

For now, baseball, not football, will be Klein’s college sport, and the way he has been pitching makes his decision look awfully smart.

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The organizers of the Orange County all-star football game set to be played on July 14 have created controversy by allowing Laguna Hills Coach Bruce Ingalls to add receiver Scott McKnight of Rancho Santa Margarita Tersoro to the South squad.

McKnight was suspended from his school’s team last October when the Capistrano Unified School District concluded that a journal entry written as a creative writing assignment for an English class amounted to a death threat against a teacher.

The district’s disciplinary action ended McKnight’s season. His addition to a high school all-star game flouts longtime state policy that a disciplinary suspension means no athletic privileges.

Thom Simmons, a spokesman for the Southern Section, said the section is disappointed in the decision to allow McKnight to play.

“It’s the feeling of the section that McKnight forfeited his right to participate in any athletic endeavor that would put himself in the spotlight,” he said.

McKnight deserves a second chance after making an error in judgment, but in this case, it should happen at the college level.

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The success of Westlake Village Oaks Christian in attracting players from around Ventura County has created animosity among rival schools, but Agoura football Coach Charlie Wegher offered nothing but praise for the Lions’ help in gaining eligibility for 6-5, 285-pound freshman lineman Kevin Graf.

Graf transferred to Agoura after playing for the Lions last fall. He will be eligible to play at Agoura immediately despite not moving because he received a hardship waiver from the Southern Section thanks to strong support from Oaks Christian.

“They deserve a lot of credit for helping us,” Wegher said.

Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.