HAWAII GROWN REPORT
COURTESY OF BOB SOLORIO
Sacramento State outfielder Jim Strombach would like to play professional ball after college, but he says it won't get in the way of completing his degree.
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Storming back
Jim Strombach brings a healthy .331 average back home as Sac State visits UH
JIM Strombach knows the difference between productive dedication and unhealthy single-mindedness.
It is a thin line, but he walks it very well.
The Moanalua graduate and Sacramento State senior outfielder loves baseball, but said it won't kill him if his career ends short of the pro ranks.
Strombach, a co-captain who starts in center field, leads the Hornets into Les Murakami Stadium for a three-game series against Hawaii starting tonight.
"There's been some light attention from scouts, and I hope to get a chance after college," Strombach said. "But my main goal is to get my degree (in kinesiology). I can stay with the sport as a coach."
Sac State coach John Smith said Strombach has many seasons ahead of him as a player.
"A lot of players his age are obsessed with making it to the pros," Smith said. "He's not that way, because he's very confident as a person that he can do other things."
Strombach's statistics indicate that he is a very good college baseball player. After going 3-for-5 with a triple and his first homer of the season Tuesday against UC-Davis, Strombach is batting .331. He is also perfect in 11 stolen-base attempts.
"He has size, speed, arm strength. He's got all the athletic ability to play pro ball," Smith said. "It's going to come down to how much he wants it.
"If he plays pro ball, he'll do his best and enjoy it, but I know he'll be a success in whatever he does. I worry about some guys when they leave here. I won't worry about him."
COURTESY OF BOB SOLORIO
Jim Strombach rebounded from a down year in 2004 but hit .305 in his last two years.
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The UH pitchers will this weekend, though. Strombach has thrived in his homecomings the past few years. The Hornets' 2005 MVP batted .480 in the First Hawaii Title Rainbow Baseball Tournament last year, making the all-tourney team. And Strombach's performance here against the Rainbows in 2003 convinced Smith to make him a regular starter as a freshman.
"He's definitely gotten better every year, but he came to us game-ready," Smith said. "As a freshman he didn't play much right away. But he had a great series at Hawaii and caught fire and never cooled off."
Strombach is in the top 10 in several school career batting categories. But he almost bypassed college baseball altogether. Strombach set an Oahu Interscholastic Association single-season record with 1,003 receiving yards in 2001, and football became an option for the former quarterback.
"It was hard to choose between the sports," said Strombach, who also started at goalkeeper for the Menehunes soccer team. "I got some attention from UH, Morgan State, Arizona State and some others. I stuck with the school that gave me the best scholarship package."
Strombach said he enjoys Sacramento, partly because many people who live there are from Hawaii (one is Hornets catcher Brett Tanigawa, who was also Strombach's teammate at Moanalua).
"And there's a good amount to do here," Strombach said. "Fishing, hunting. A lot of outdoors things. I like to fish. The salmon runs through here."
Hawaii is still home for Strombach, though. His cell phone number begins with area code 808. His mother, Pearl Barr, lives in Aiea. And Strombach expects up to 25 friends and family members at each of this weekend's games.
"My time (at Sacramento State) went by way too fast," Strombach said. "But it's always good to come home. I'd love to come back to Hawaii and teach P.E. and coach but the cost of living is so high. It'd have to be the right job."
Jim Strombach's career statistics
How the Moanalua alumnus fared in his four seasons at Sacramento State
Year |
G |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
SB-SBA |
Avg
|
2003 |
41 |
119 |
20 |
34 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
11-13 |
.286
|
2004 |
48 |
116 |
14 |
22 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
13 |
8-8 |
.190
|
2005 |
57 |
234 |
33 |
68 |
14 |
2 |
0 |
19 |
15-18 |
.291
|
2006 |
38 |
124 |
16 |
41 |
11 |
2 |
1 |
17 |
11-11 |
.331
|
Totals |
184 |
593 |
83 |
165 |
33 |
6 |
3 |
57 |
45-50 |
.278 |
Source: Sacramento State