Thursday, August 20, 1998
Martines planning
return to Rainbows
The former Punahou star hopes to
By Al Chase
play baseball for Hawaii next spring
Star-BulletinScott "Scooter" Martines will board an airplane bound for Lubbock, Texas, Wednesday with his sights firmly fixed on one goal.
Martines is returning to Texas Tech University for the fall semester to right his academic ship. When that is accomplished, he plans to return to Hawaii for Christmas vacation and stay, enrolling at the University of Hawaii for the spring semester.
Following recruiting trips to four schools, the 5-foot-10, 205-pound first baseman/outfielder picked Texas Tech over UH, Southern California and the University of Nevada after graduating from Punahou in 1997.
"Tech made a good scholarship offer and the program seemed ready to be in the big picture," Martines said. "If I was going to get better, I wanted to be around a lot of good players."
The Red Raiders won the Big 12 Conference tournament and advanced to NCAA regional action at Miami, Fla., which certainly fulfilled some of Martines' expectations during his freshman year.
There also were disappointments.
During the fall, he severely sprained his left ankle and missed the final two weeks of practice. Until the injury, Martines was a leading candidate to land the first baseman's job. In fact, sophomore Mark Austry had been moved to the outfield.
"He came back to play first and caught fire," Martines said. "I give him credit. He did the job."
When spring practice started, Martines was rusty. He didn't feel comfortable at the plate. He didn't play much, either.
He saw action in 11 of Tech's 64 games with five hits in 12 at-bats.
Then the rumors of Tech being hit with NCAA sanctions in several sports turned to reality. Martines thought about transferring as the season progressed, but waited until the season ended. Tech head coach Larry Hays, who had his scholarships cut to five (NCAA rules allow 11.7 for baseball), gave Martines his release.
"He was very understanding and contacted some junior college coaches for me," Martines said.
But Rainbow Stadium, where he attended games as a youngster and played for the Hawaii Island Movers in 1997, was where Martines wanted to be next season.
"I went away for the experience and got my feet wet. Now I want to come back home and contribute to the team," he said. "I want to see that stadium packed again. I'm really thankful that (UH) coach Les (Murakami) gave me the opportunity to come back."
College baseball players can play immediately at a new school without sitting out a year if they receive a release from the previous school. This is the case with Martines.
"I grew up a lot last year," he said. "I know what needs to be done. I'm really excited and looking forward to playing ball for the Rainbows, but right now I have to take care of business."
Should Martines clear the academic hurdles, he would provide depth at first (where he is most experienced), possibly at third base, and in the outfield, where the Rainbows will be rebuilding completely in 1999.
