Thursday, June 3, 1999

Williams feeling
like a Giant

San Francisco selects the
Waipahu pitcher 39th, the highest
any Hawaii prep player
has been drafted

By Pat Bigold
Star-Bulletin

Three hours after the San Francisco Giants made him the 39th pick of baseball's amateur draft yesterday, Jerome Williams drove to Waipahu High School and walked into the cafeteria for lunch.

"Some guy called out my name and then everybody gave me a standing ovation," he said.

"Man, that really felt great."

But now the cheering and hugging is over, and it's time for Williams, his family, and his newly acquired sports agent to get down to business.

And it could be lucrative business.

Though no one is officially discussing money yet, the signing bonus could be in the $750,000 range, according to one baseball insider familiar with the process.

The Giants used their second pick of the draft to take the 6-foot-3, 187-pound Marauders senior right-hander. They selected Louisiana State right-hander Kurt Ainsworth with their first pick, the 24th selection of the first round.

HAWAII'S DRAFT PICKS Jerome Williams, RHP, Waipahu High School, 39th, Supplemental Round, San Francisco Dusty Bergman, LHP, Hawaii, 191st, 6th Round, Anaheim Shane Victorino, CF, St. Anthony H.S., 194th, 6th Round, Los Angeles Hawkeye Wayne, OF, Columbia, Iolani School, 335th, 11th Round, Seattle Fletcher Lee, RHP, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), Kaiser H.S., 408th, 13th Round, San Francisco. Jandin Thornton-Murray, SS, St. Louis H.S., 440th, 14th Round, Chicago Cubs Chad Santos, 1B, St. Louis H.S., 661st, 22nd Round, Kansas City

Williams became not only the highest drafted Hawaii prep baseball player ever, but also the highest drafted locally born player ever.

Until yesterday that distinction was held by former Kamehameha catcher Dane Sardinha (now with Pepperdine), who was drafted 59th overall in the second round by Kansas City. Sardinha, who will be eligible for next year's draft, remains the highest drafted player of Hawaiian ancestry.

Williams received a call at 8:40 a.m. yesterday from Giants scout Darren Wittke, and shortly afterwards the modest second-floor Leoku Street apartment unit was rocking with joyful celebration.

A moist-eyed Williams, suddenly realizing what a dramatic shift his life was taking with Wittke's call, hugged his mother, Deborah; father, Glenn Sr., and older brother, Glenn Jr. Then he called everyone he could think of who was connected with his baseball career, from youth league to high school.

Neighbors filed in for hours after the call to congratulate Williams, who won't turn 18 until Dec. 4.

One of those neighbors was his T-ball coach, Charlotte Silva. She brought daughter, Ipo, who played on the same team with Williams at age 5.

The 30-year-old Wittke, who covers southern California and Hawaii, said he has been scouting for four years and Williams is his most legitimate find yet.

"It's pretty exciting for me and I intend to take good care of him," said Wittke.

He said he foresees no difficulty in negotiating terms.

"I spoke with his agent (Dave Roberts) a couple of times today but we didn't really get into money yet," said Wittke. "That's pretty much for the front office to decide. I haven't heard anything from them yet, but I think we should be able to get it done."

Williams was one of seven players with Hawaii ties taken in the first 22 rounds of the draft yesterday.

One other local prep player, St. Anthony's (Maui) outfielder Shane Victorino, made it into the top 10 rounds.

Victorino, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the sixth round, said he had gained a new respect for Williams after striking out against him in an all-star game on Monday.

He called Williams within minutes of his selection to share the news.

Victorino was the 194th pick overall. He was three selections behind Hawaii pitcher Dusty Bergman.

Victorino won three sprint titles (100, 200 and 400 meters) at the state track and field meet last month on Maui and sources indicated that raised his value in the draft.

But he said yesterday he isn't sure if he will sign. Victorino has a Rainbows baseball scholarship.

"At one point, I wanted to quit track, but both my parents said that would be stupid because speed is a plus in the draft," said Victorino.

"I'm glad I didn't quit."

Wittke said he will fly to Hawaii on Monday to talk with Roberts and the Williams family.

"Jerome graduates this weekend and I want to let him enjoy it," said the scout.

San Francisco used all of its four picks in the top 75 to draft pitchers.

Williams was the eighth of 16 pitchers drafted in the supplemental round. The round, which covered the 31st to 51st picks, served as additional compensation to teams that lost key players to free agency.

A total of 29 pitchers were selected ahead of Williams.

Williams will be making his very first trip to the mainland when he reports to the Giants' training complex in Scottsdale, Ariz., prior to assignment to Salem-Kaiser of the Class A Northwest League.

Wittke said the first game he saw Williams pitch was his first loss of the season. But the second time he watched him, Wittke said he was impressed with Williams' slider.

"For a kid to pick something up like that so quick indicates aptitude and athleticism right away," said Wittke.

He said he had gunned Williams' fastball at up to 95 mph.

Williams finished his senior year with a 0.30 earned run average and 116 strikeouts in 65 innings.

Two St. Louis School players were also drafted: shortstop Jandin Thornton-Murray (440th) in the 14th round by the Chicago Cubs and first baseman Chad Santos (661st) in the 22nd round by Kansas City.

In addition, Iolani alumnus Hawkeye Wayne - an outfielder -was drafted out of Columbia by the Seattle Mariners in the 11th round (335th overall pick) and Kaiser graduate Fletcher Lee, who pitched for NAIA champion Lewis-Clark State was a 13th-round pick of the Giants (408th overall).

The draft, which continued today, was to reach 50 rounds.