[ MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ]
COURTESY OF MIDLAND THE ROCKHOUNDS
Pitcher Shane Komine moved up to the Texas League this past season after going 6-0 with a 1.82 ERA for the Class A Kane County (Ill.) Cougars of the Midwest League.
Local players
progress in AA ranksSecond in a series on minor league players with local ties
The middle rung in the minor-league ladder is Class AA ball. Six players with Hawaii connections played at that level this summer.
CORRECTION
Saturday, July 20, 2003>> The photo of Shane Komine on Page B2 was provided by the Midland (Texas) Reporter-Telegram. It was incorrectly attributed to Midland the Rockhounds.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at fbridgewater@starbulletin.com.There were struggles -- one player was released but got a second chance with a new team -- but they all had a positive outlook at the end of the season.
Shane Komine (Kalani, Nebraska) opened in the Class A Midwest League with the Kane County (Geneva, Ill.) Cougars. After he went 6-0 with a 1.82 earned run average, the Oakland Athletics promoted him to the Midland RockHounds in the Texas League.
"I felt comfortable getting back into a starting role," said Komine, who is attending classes at Nebraska and needs two semesters to finish his degree in sociology with a minor in education.
"It wasn't a big jump to the Texas League, but the hitters were a little more patient. I still had to go out with a game plan and pitch," the right-hander said.
"I feel great about my season. I did what I wanted to do and put up the numbers I wanted. The goal is to move up one level each year."
He also was happy to go through a full season without any health problems, considering his history of back problems.
Komine posted a 4-6 record with a 3.75 ERA at Midland. His most impressive numbers were a combined 39 walks and 125 strikeouts.
Chad Santos (St. Louis) did not begin the season the way he wanted to, but the first baseman is quite pleased with the way his campaign with the Wichita Wranglers of the Texas League progressed from early June on.
"I had a way better second half. I was only hitting about .200 early on, but my manager (Keith Bodie) told me I hit about .315 the second half," said Santos, who will play for the Peoria (Ill.) Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League.
Santos has always had a tendency to try to pull pitches even though he knew he could hit to the opposite field. Bodie worked hard with him this summer to get Santos, a left-handed hitter, to rip the outside pitch to left field.
"Even though I knew I could hit the other way, I was always trying to pull the outside pitch. Everyone I talked to said they went through this, that I just had to hang in there and it would happen," Santos said. "My defense never suffered and that's a plus. Even when I was struggling, my manager kept me in there because of my glove. Finally I started being more consistent and was hitting the ball hard all the time."
He finished with a .270 average, his best for a full season. He had 21 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs and 49 RBIs, most coming in the second half. Santos also got to hit against Komine.
"I never played against him in high school," Santos said. "He faced us three times and I think I had a couple of doubles.
Mark Johnson (Hawaii) was 8-3 with a 3.59 ERA for the Erie (Pa.) SeaWolves in the Eastern League. Those statistics were the best the right-hander has compiled since the 1999 season. He did it by filling several roles for Erie as a some-time starter, a setup pitcher and occasionally as a closer.
"I threw the ball pretty good this year. I've done everything and it has been interesting. I had a lot of appearances and a lot of innings," said Johnson. "I'm basically showing people that I can do everything and hopefully that's another value that makes my stock go up."
Dane Sardinha (Kamehameha, Pepperdine) received the call every minor league player hopes for. The Cincinnati Reds purchased his contract from the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern League on Sept. 1 and put him on the big league roster for the final four weeks of the season.
Sardinha also is scheduled to continue working on his catching and hitting skills while playing for the Scottsdale (Ariz.) Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League, which opens Sept. 30.
He started the season a month late after suffering a knee injury in spring training and was rusty for the first five weeks of action.
" I think it was just getting my timing back and getting comfortable at the plate. Getting hurt moves everything back," Sardinha said. "It took a lot longer than I thought it would. By the end of the year I felt like I had come a long way from where I was, but, at the same time, it could have been a better year."
After bouncing back and forth on either side of the Mendoza Line into the third week of July, Sardinha found his comfort zone at the plate and hit .311 the final six weeks of the season.
Keoni De Renne (Iolani, Arizona) was released by the Atlanta Braves early in the summer, then spent three weeks working out on his own in California waiting for another chance.
Montreal and Philadelphia were interested, but De Renne did not feel comfortable with the situation in those organizations, one of which wanted him to go down to Class A.
Fortunately for De Renne, the New York Yankees needed an infielder for the Trenton (N.J.) Thunder in the Eastern League.
"I was so happy. I just wanted a chance to play. I was lonely and depressed in California knowing the season was going on and I wasn't a part of it," De Renne said.
"I'm just happy I still have a job and I hope someone sees what I bring to a team."
Before being released by Atlanta, De Renne pitched an inning, his first as a pro, for the Greenville (S.C.) Braves.
"We were getting blown out. It was such an Adrenaline rush. I gave up a two-run homer, but I threw strikes," said De Renne.
Dusty Bergman (Hawaii) was invited to the Anaheim Angels' big league spring training camp, where he produced creditable numbers, a 2.08 ERA in 11 short appearances (13 2/3 innings), but was assigned to Salt Lake in the Pacific Coast League prior to opening day. He was ineffective in one outing with the Stingers and reassigned to the Arkansas Travelers in the Texas League.
The left-hander, in his fifth season of pro ball, appeared in 50 games as a reliever, closer and starter (10 times). He posted a 6-5 record with a 3.79 ERA while walking 33 and fanning 82.
