Friday, June 4, 1999

Six more from
isles drafted --
two by Giants

Of the 13 players with
Hawaii ties picked in the
baseball draft, four were
selected by San Francisco

By Pat Bigold
Star-Bulletin

The San Francisco Giants made the biggest local impact during the annual amateur baseball draft, which concluded yesterday.

The Giants selected four of the 13 players with local ties taken by major league clubs in the two-day, 50-round draft.

The Giants took two Rainbows yesterday: senior catcher Lars Hansen in the 28th round and junior infielder Jamie Aloy in the 48th round.

Hansen batted .312 over 42 games with 21 RBIs. Aloy batted .358 over 48 games with four home runs, 17 doubles and 39 RBIs.

On Wednesday, San Francisco made Waipahu High School right-handed pitcher Jerome Williams (39th pick, supplemental round) Hawaii's highest drafted locally born player ever, and then grabbed former Kaiser High and Lewis-Clark State right-hander Fletcher Lee in the 13th round.

The first local player taken yesterday was Mid-Pacific shortstop Rex Rundgren. He was drafted in the 24th round (739th) by the Boston Red Sox. Rundgren is the son of rock singer Todd Rundgren.

Hawaii junior left-handed pitcher Randon Ho was scooped up by Philadelphia in the 29th round (876th).

Ho was 6-3 with a 2.57 earned run average and 55 strikeouts in 57 innings.

The Detroit Tigers then grabbed two shortstops from Hawaii: Miles Luuloa, who played for Molokai High and Laney College, in the 37th round (1107th); and Kaulana Kuhaulua, who played for Waianae and Los Angeles Community College, in the 39th round (1,167th) by the Detroit Tigers. Kuhaulua is the son of former major league pitcher Fred Kuhaulua.

Yesterday's draft began with the 23rd round.

Meanwhile, there were developments with the two players taken in the sixth-round on Wednesday.

UH junior left-handed pitcher Dusty Bergman (191st) said last night that he has come to a tentative agreement to sign with the Anaheim Angels.

"Looks like I'm going to end up signing," said Bergman by phone from his Carson City, Nev., home.

Bergman, who said he had hoped to go higher, would not reveal the terms discussed or the size of the bonus offered.

"But it was right what I was looking for," Bergman said of the offer.

Asked what the Angels had told him about why they selected him, Bergman said, "They liked that I have a smooth delivery and that I'm a big, tall guy."

Bergman, who was 4-4 with a 4.35 ERA, spoke over the phone with scout Jack Uhey.

Shane Victorino, the St. Anthony High School (Maui) multi-sport athlete taken three picks after Bergman by the Los Angeles Dodgers, said he was offered a Rainbows football scholarship a few hours after his draft call.

Victorino kicked and played slotback for St. Anthony for four seasons.

He said the Dodgers' initial bonus offer on the phone was $80,000. But he is undecided about signing.

Victorino said he will think about the football scholarship because he has always wanted to play the game in college.

"It was my dream after I got to high school, but I knew that even though I had the speed, I didn't have the size," said the 5-foot-8, 160-pounder. "I have to think on it. But right now, baseball is more important because I know I can play that professionally. There's only a slight, slight chance that I could ever play pro football."

Victorino earlier signed a letter of intent to accept a Rainbows baseball scholarship. If he decided to accept the football offer, head coach June Jones told him he would allow him to also play baseball.

"June Jones is on Maui now and I am going to give him a call at his hotel and see if we can set up a time to talk," said Victorino.

Ho said he was surprised he was drafted. He'd been hampered by a pulled back muscle this past season.

"I don't know what I'm going to do at this point," said Ho, who played for Iolani and Mililani while in high school. "I'd love to come back and play (for the Rainbows)."

Hawaii Draft Picks, Day 2 Rex Rundgren, SS, 739th, 24th round, Mid Pacific Institute, Boston Lars Hansen, C, 858th, 28th round, Hawaii, San Francisco Randon Ho, LHP, 876th, 29th round, LHP, Hawaii, Philadelphia Miles Luuloa, SS, 1107th, 37th round, Laney College, Molokai, Detroit Kaulana Kuhaulua, SS, 1167th, 39th round, L.A. CC, Detroit Jamie Aloy, 1B, 1426th, 48th round, Hawaii, San Francisco