Friday, June 8, 2001
[ MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ]
Sardinha set to Negotiations between the New York Yankees and Bronson Sardinha, the 34th overall pick in the Major League Baseball's first-year player draft earlier this week, went well last night.
sign with Yanks
The 34th pick in the draft may
ink a deal with New York todayBy Al Chase
Star-BulletinSo well, in fact, that Sardinha was expected to sign a pro contract as early as today.
"I'm very happy with the way things are going,'' Sardinha said. "Right now they (his parents and New York area scout Gus Quattlebaum) are going over everything. I will sign just as soon as everything is taken care of."
Sardinha, the highest prep player from Hawaii ever selected in the draft, will be assigned to Tampa, Fla., in the Gulf Coast League, a short-season rookie circuit.
His older brother, Duke Sardinha, drafted in the 41st round by the Colorado Rockies, is still recovering from two surgeries on his left hand during his sophomore season at Pepperdine University.
"I tore the cartilage and had arthroscopic surgery for that, then broke the hamate bone when I came back," said Duke Sardinha. "A lot of scouts didn't like that."
The hamate bone is a small, hook-shaped carpal bone of the wrist.
The Rockies decided to take a chance with a different approach. They drafted Sardinha and will watch his progress throughout the summer. He will play for Northern Ohio in the Great Lakes League.
"I'm still rehabbing. The left hand is about 20 percent weaker than the right," Duke Sardinha said
The University of Hawaii's Gregg Omori and Ryan Petersen from Hawaii-Hilo were not drafted. Both are nursing injuries that dulled the interest of scouts. Their plans for next year are set.
Omori, who led the team with a .367 batting average, will be back in a Rainbow uniform for his senior season.
"I didn't really expect to go very high because of my elbow," said Omori, who suffered through the 2001 season with tendinitis in his right elbow.
He goes to rehab three times a week, working to eliminate the problem. He isn't throwing at all, but says the elbow feels a lot better and it doesn't prevent him from swinging a bat.
Petersen, who broke his left hand against Washington in April, had the cast removed last week. X-rays indicated there may be another broken bone in the hand.
"I thought I might get a shot, but right now, with the hand, baseball is out," said the UHH graduate.
"I'm going to go back to school at Southern Oregon University for a year so I can become certified as a teacher."
