Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Saturday, April 1, 2000
Sardinha ready
for next step
The Pepperdine catcher --
By Al Chase
a former Kamehameha star --
may be an early choice in
the June 5 baseball draft
Star-BulletinHIS swing is fluid with no wasted motion, as sweet as it ever was when he played for Kamehameha and terrorized Interscholastic League of Honolulu pitching.
He calls his own game as Pepperdine University's starting catcher. His name will be called early in major league baseball's amateur free agent draft the first week of June.
From the reactions and smiles of the local Hawaii Rainbow players when they went to bat Wednesday night, it was obvious Dane Sardinha hasn't forgotten how to 'talk story' either.
Selected in the second round of the 1997 draft by the Kansas City Royals, Sardinda turned down a signing bonus in the neighborhood of $1 million to further his career at Pepperdine.
Sardinha, now a junior, is content with that decision. He is aware several publications have suggested he will be a first-round pick, but he just grins and says he'll wait to see what happens. He acknowledges the possibility does create some pressure.
"It does a little, but that's what makes guys even better, playing under pressure," Sardinha said. "I've put more pressure on myself just coming down here to play."
The Waves' week-long Rainbow Easter Tournament gig is Sardinha's only appearance here in front of family and friends as a collegian. He has played previously in Rainbow Stadium for the Hawaii Island Movers . His Pepperdine teammates peppered him and brother Duke about the facility.
"They asked a lot about playing here. Not only did they ask, but we bragged about this ball park a lot. It's the best out there," Sardinha said.
"We didn't have to change our style. We're not a gorilla ball team so we try to stay with our short game and once in awhile we get a home run." Sardinha certainly hits his share. He had eight homers to go with a .350 batting average and 34 runs batted in entering the tournament. His last roundtripper put Sardinha at the top of the Waves' career home run list with 36.
He belted 13 home runs as a freshman and 15 last year while hitting .263 and .365, respectively.
"Dane has improved in all facets of the game," said Pepperdine head coach Frank Sanchez. "He's athletic and doesn't only have to be a catcher, but there was no doubt from day one his best position was catcher."
Sardinha, as he did against Winthrop Thursday, has played some second base for the Waves. It usually happens in one end of a doubleheader.
"I play him there only because I want to get his bat in the lineup. I wasn't trying anything special. Dane loves to play and I wanted him to play," Sanchez said.
Sardinha thinks there has been an overall improvement in his game during his stay on the Malibu, Calif., campus and points to one area with the most progress.
"It's the detail part of the game, knowing batters, knowing where balls are supposed to be thrown, how to pitch around batters, knowing when there is an open base, all that stuff," the 6-foot, 210-pounder said.
"He has developed to the point where he calls a better game than I do," Sanchez said. "He's not a cheerleader, but he certainly is a leader by example on and off the field."
"He's a very likeable guy, very popular with his teammates. We're so blessed to have had him for three years."
Is there any chance you'll have him back next year, coach?
"No."
A first-team preseason All-America pick by Baseball America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, Sardinha will concentrate on helping Pepperdine defend its West Coast Conference title and make a return to the NCAA playoffs.
Come June 5, the excitement and tension will be high in the Sardinha household as the first selections are made in the draft.
