Tuesday, July 3, 2001
Komine chooses The problem between Shane Komine and the St. Louis Cardinals came down to this: The major-league team saw him as a 19th-round pick with a bad back.
to stay in school
The Cardinals offered
the Kalani alumnus a
spot in the minorsBy Kalani Simpson
ksimpson@starbulletin.comKomine's decision was simple. The Kalani High School product and two-time collegiate All-American pitcher decided he would rather return to Nebraska for his senior season.
The two sides had been negotiating for weeks, Komine said.
The word had been that the Cardinals had drafted Komine low but would pay him high.
But, Komine said, then the realities of the negotiating set in.
"After a while they started saying, 'This is good money for the 19th round,' instead of what they were originally thinking about," Komine said.
The Cardinals told him straight out that his injury history was a factor.
"They didn't want me going out there and breaking down," Komine said.
St. Louis was apparently nervous about risking a big investment on the Nebraska junior, and wasn't going to budge.
Once that became clear, Komine, who had spent more of the summer than he had planned to on the decision, made his mind up in a hurry.
"It wasn't hard at all," Komine said.
So he's headed back to school, where he could once again be among the nation's best collegiate pitchers. If injuries were a concern, he decided he was much better off at Nebraska, where an entire staff was centered on keeping Komine healthy, than in the minor leagues.
At Nebraska, Komine had even worked with Dr. Ron Hruska, who gained notice by treating home run king Mark McGwire. Komine said Hruska told him the problem was a rotation of the hip rather than with his back, and Komine claims he is now 100 percent.