The route Chris George took to Hawaii and the Rainbow baseball program had some twists that resulted in a happy ending. George happy
he chose HawaiiBy Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comGeorge could just as easily have been pitching for Kansas in the Jayhawks' series against Hawaii-Hilo earlier this year. He originally had committed to Kansas during the November signing period of his second year at Cypress (Calif.) Junior College.
"Then we had a JC All-Star game and a lot of the California schools started talking to me," said George, who began thinking staying in California might be best.
When: Today and tomorrow, 5:05 p.m.; Sunday, 1:05 p.m.Where: Murakami Stadium
TV: Sunday's game live, KFVE, Channel 5
Radio: All games live, KKEA, 1420-AM
Tickets: $6 Orange, Blue levels. $5 Red level. $4 Seniors, children ages 4-18, UH students in the Red level.
Parking: $3
He called Kansas coach Bobby Randall and they agreed that if George wasn't sure he wanted to come to Kansas, that he shouldn't. Randall gave George his release. That decision did not sit well with his junior college coach.
"Let's just say we butted heads. After that, he didn't help me at all," said George, who still didn't have a school to transfer to once the Cypress season was finished. He headed off to a second season of summer ball with the San Francisco Seals.
"Aaron Pribble (former UH left-hander) was there and Brent Cook still didn't know where he was going. That's how Coach K (UH pitching coach Chad Konishi) ended up seeing me," George said.
He decided to sign with Hawaii after the Seals finished playing in the National Baseball Congress tournament in August 2001. Still needing an associate of arts degree, George spent that fall at Cabrillo JC in his hometown of Santa Cruz, Calif. Fortunately, his high school coach worked out a throwing program for George, who could throw to a friend, a catcher for the St. Paul Saints in the Northern League. He arrived on campus the day of last year's alumni game.
George quickly worked his way into the 'Bows' starting rotation, becoming the Friday pitcher for most of the season. He posted a 6-6 record with a 5.91 earned run average while leading the staff with 91 1/3 innings. His strikeouts-to-walks ratio (94-38) was good.
If he experienced trouble on the mound, it was due to his fastball command, opposite of most pitchers who usually run into difficulty with controlling the offspeed and breaking stuff.
"My weak point has always been spotting the fastball. It has improved, most definitely, and it will keep improving if I keep going out there and doing what the coaches tell me," George said.
On a scale of one to 10, George said he probably had average fastball command last year.
"It's climbing toward 10 and I think it is going to get there," the 6-foot-2 right-hander said.
Said Konishi: "We basically put a gag order on his offspeed pitches other than the changeup in the fall. The whole thing was he had to move his fastball around, either in or out. If he got hit, he got hit. We wanted to teach him to understand he could not leave that fastball in the middle of the plate.
"We did clean up his mechanics a bit. Chris was separating a little late. His hand was coming out of the glove a little late, which did not allow him to get to his leverage position. This creates a fastball that is flat. There is no downhill angle to the ball. That's when hitters have the leverage."
Every time George takes the mound, he expects to go nine innings. It is a mindset he developed the first summer he pitched for the Seals.
A wide receiver/defensive back in football, a shooting guard in basketball and a shortstop/pitcher in baseball, George was not heavily recruited out of Santa Cruz High School.
"There are a couple of schools like BYU, but nothing major," George said. "I think it was kind of like a godsend to come here instead of going to Kansas. I felt pretty darn lucky the coaches gave me a chance. The whole environment, the people, UH sports is exactly what I wanted. It worked out for the best."
Probable starting pitchers
HAWAII (3-1)
W-L ERA K RHP Chris George (Sr.) 1-0 2.25 6 LHP Justin Cayetano (Sr.) 0-0 4.50 6 RHP Ricky Bauer (So.) 1-0 1.52 0 SACRAMENTO STATE (5-1)
W-L ERA K RHP Marshall Plouffe (Jr.) 0-0 3.60 5 RHP Chris Kinsey (Jr.) 1-0 0.00 17 RHP Steve Cuckovich (Sr.) 2-0 0.90 14 Notes: The Grand Slam dinner bash at the Stan Sheriff Arena last month netted the baseball program $57,000. ... The Rainbows and Hornets have played 47 games, with UH leading the series 33-14. ... Last year, the Hornets won two of the three games played at Murakami Stadium. ... Four Hawaii freshmen are on the Hornets roster. They are Kamehameha's Shannon Kahale, an infielder/left-handed pitcher; Chris Mols, a left-hander from Roosevelt; Aaron Powell, an outfielder/catcher from Aiea; and Jimmy Strombach, an outfielder from Moanalua. ... The Hornets' wins have come against Oregon Tech (two), Pacific and Stanislaus State (two). The loss was to St. Mary's.
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