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Saturday, August 5, 2000
Luuloa anxiously Keith Luuloa knows what it's like to move around.
waiting to get
the call
The utility player from Molokai
Hawaii Pro Baseball Report
wants another shot in the big
leagues after spending
some time in AnaheimBy David DiCenzo
Special to the Star-BulletinThe former Edmonton Trapper infielder from Molokai, who now plays for the Iowa Cubs, is comfortable at a lot of positions on the baseball field, but Luuloa's biggest move ever came a couple of months ago when he got his first taste of life in the major leagues.
From May 17 to June 2, he suited up with the Anaheim Angels, and though his stint in the big leagues was decidedly short, it was indeed memorable.
"It's everybody's dream to get there," Luuloa said. "I had a great time. I went to Minnesota, carried on in Kansas City, and then went to Cleveland.
"So far, it's been the best two weeks of my life. The experience of being up there, just being around the players, hearing what they're trying to say, it was great. You have to sit down and figure out what's going on, as far as not touching your luggage, or not doing certain things to upset the older players.
"It was weird at first, but you learn as you go ... and just hope you don't do anything wrong," Luuloa added with a laugh.
In the six big-league games he appeared in, he batted a respectable .333 (6-for-18), but Luuloa's ability to play nearly anywhere on the field is a quality that most managers drool over. Those skills are appealing for a big- league coaching staff looking to plug a hole, and part of the reason he was called to Anaheim in the first place. But if Luuloa plans on making it back to the majors this year, he'll have to do it in a Chicago Cubs uniform.On July 28, the popular Trapper was shipped to Iowa, along with reliever Brett Hinchcliffe, in exchange for the Cubs' Chris Hatcher, Brett King and Mike Heathcott.
Luuloa had mixed feelings about leaving the organization he came up with in 1993, when he was selected in the 30th round of the draft.
"I'm in terrible shock right now," the 25-year-old told the Edmonton Journal the day of the transaction. "I've never been traded -- I've never experienced this, so we'll see what happens. If it's going to help my career, then so be it. I've been with this organization for six years already, so I got used to it, and had a great time here. But a change is also good in some ways.
"I think I'm more valuable on a National League team with my experience of playing all kinds of positions, with the double-switches and guys hitting for a pitcher, then being replaced by a defensive player."
"His versatility is so great that I always have someone to put somewhere," said Edmonton manager and longtime major-leaguer Garry Templeton, before Luuloa's departure. "You can put him in the outfield, you can play him anywhere in the infield, and we had also done a little experimenting with him catching.
"There aren't too many players in baseball that have the kind of versatility he has. Now, he just has to be a little more consistent."
That reference was to Luuloa's bat, which had been hot just before the trade, but not as solid as expected over the course of the season. In 1999, his first full year of Triple-A in Edmonton, he batted .285 with four homers and 46 RBIs.
This season, Luuloa's power numbers were up (eight home runs and 44 RBIs by July 26), but his average had slipped down to .248 because of a bad start.
That hasn't been a problem with the Cubs. In his first nine at-bats, Luuloa had four hits (including a double and a homer), four runs and three RBIs. Those kinds of numbers, combined with his defensive prowess, might just land him back in the majors.
"It was comfortable when I was up there, but I was very nervous, because it was the first time," Luuloa said. "If I do get back up there, I won't feel the jitters.
"I'll just go out there and play."
Players with Hawaii connections who, through Thursday's games, qualify for inclusion in the weekly statistics compiled by Howe Sportsdata International: THE HAWAII
PROFESSIONAL
BASEBALL REPORT
Batter Team League Cl AB R H HR RBI AVG Keith Luuloa Iowa Pacific Coast AAA 16 4 6 1 4 .375 Key Voshell Peoria Midwest A 31 4 11 1 5 .335 Keoni DeRenne Macon So. Atlantic A 50 5 16 0 4 .320 Benny Agbayani N.Y. Mets National ML 213 32 65 8 36 .305 Jason Ross Greenville Southern AA 180 27 51 10 21 .280 J.Thornton-Murray Cubs Arizona R 101 20 28 2 23 .277 Buster Small Medicine Hat Pioneer R 73 7 18 0 7 .247 Chad Santos Spokane Northwest A 159 29 39 11 31 .245 Chris Truby Houston National ML 99 6 23 1 9 .232 Darren Blakely Erie Eastern AA 349 55 78 12 40 .223 Shane Victorino Yakima Northwest A 148 22 33 2 12 .223 Scott Suraci Elizabethton Appalachian R 72 13 16 3 15 .222 Miles Luuloa Oneonta NY-Penn A 81 11 17 0 6 .210 Brandon Chaves Williamsport NY-Penn A 67 3 9 0 7 .134
Pitcher Team League Cl IP H BB SO W-L ERA Kyle Kawabata Evansville Frontier Ind 1 1 0 0 0- 0 0.00 Fletcher Lee Feather River Western Ind 6 2/3 6 4 5 1- 0 1.35 Jay Spurgeon Bowie Eastern AA 39 32 7 27 3- 1 1.62 Mike Fetters Los Angeles National ML 30 1/3 18 17 27 3- 1 2.37 Mike McCutcheon El Paso Texas AA 22 18 7 20 3- 1 2.86 Ian Perio Lowell NY-Penn A 17 2/3 15 4 17 4- 1 3.06 Jerome Williams San Jose California A 96 2/3 70 35 83 5- 5 3.07 Onan Masaoka Albuquerque Pacific Coast AAA 27 1/3 19 29 13 2- 0 3.62 Thomas Ford Bluefield Appalachian R 17 1/3 11 9 16 0- 0 3.63 Damon Yee Auburn NY-Penn A 39 2/3 33 11 30 4- 1 3.63 Paul Ah Yat Nashville Pacific Coast AAA 74 1/3 69 23 37 2- 6 3.75 Corey Miller Visalia California A 40 1/3 43 17 45 5- 4 3.79 Rich Snider Vancouver Northwest A 9 1/3 11 2 7 1- 0 3.86 Kaipo Spenser Valley Western Ind 39 2/3 42 24 34 2- 3 4.08 Dusty Bergman Cedar Rapids Midwest A 126 2/3 141 50 76 3-12 4.48 Kahi Kaanoi Charlstn,.WV So. Atlantic A 8 9 6 5 0- 1 5.63 Scott Karl Colorado Spr. Pacific Coast AAA 20 2/3 21 4 16 0- 3 5.66 Jeff Martin Lynchburg Carolina A 32 29 16 28 0- 2 5.91 Mark Johnson Toledo Internat’nl AAA 64 93 17 30 1- 8 6.33 Tyler Yates Midland Texas AA 11 1/3 10 7 11 0- 0 7.94 Hawkeye Wayne Everett Northwest A 18 2/3 26 20 19 0- 2 12.54
Mark Johnson finally won his first game of the season Tuesday when he pitched four-hit ball for seven innings as the Toldeo Mud Hens beat the Columbus (Ohio) Clippers, 3-0, in an International League game.
Scott Karl went on the disabled list July 15 with a strained lower back. He has been on a rehab assignment with Colorado's Triple A team at Colorado Springs (Pacific Coast League).