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| Summer Edition | |
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| Summer Edition | |
BY HEATHER CROZE and BILL STEINMAN
Athletic Communications
To paraphrase a famous baseball movie line, "Throw it more than 90 miles an hour, and they will come." And they will draft. Early.
Just ask H. Hamilton Wayne, known to his friends at Columbia by his unusual first name, "Hawkeye." The Lion senior baseball player, an outfielder who doubled as a pitcher this spring, was spotted in that role by major league scouts on the Southern trip, and followed closely all season.
Last month, Wayne was drafted in the 11th round of the Major League Draft, by the Seattle Mariners, the earliest selection ever of a Columbia player. Former major league pitcher Frank Seminara '89 was drafted in the 13th round by the New York Yankees.
Wayne, who lives in Honolulu, came to Columbia as a pitcher/outfielder, but decided to concentrate on the outfield.
"When Hawk came here, we thought we'd use him more as a pitcher than an outfielder," said Paul Fernandes, who was coach at the time. "But he came to me and said it was hard doing both. He chose to concentrate on the outfield, because he wanted to play every day."
Wayne became a fixture in right field for Columbia. A good all-around player -- he batted .274 with 12 stolen bases this spring -- he soon acquired a reputation for his arm.
"He had accuracy as well as arm strength," Fernandes said. "When we took outfield in pre-game, opposing teams would watch him throw. When they would meet before the game, they'd say 'we're not going to run on that right fielder!' "
Prior to the 1999 season, Wayne informed Columbia's new head coach Mikio Aoki that he was available to pitch if necessary. Aoki wasted little time in taking him up on the offer, inserting him in relief in the season's first game, against William Paterson in Florida.
With major league scouts in attendance, Wayne pitched an inning of relief to save the Lions' 1-0 victory, and struck out two of the three men he faced with a blazing fastball that lit up the scouts' radar guns.
From then on, he was a marked man, drawing scouts' attention at every game he pitched.
Used early as a short-term reliever -- he saved a win with one inning against the University of Pennsylvania, and struck out three in a one-inning stint against Stony Brook -- Wayne broke into the starting rotation late in the season. He struck out eight in six innings in a 3-2 loss to Yale, four in two innings against Cornell, and six in six innings at Princeton.
Wayne saved his best for his last game, a 4-0 shutout of C.W. Post in which he struck out 11 and walked only two in seven innings. He notched a team-leading 35 strikeouts (in 29 innings), finishing with a 1-5 record and 5.90 earned run average.
"Hawkeye threw 93-94 MPH fairly consistently," Aoki said. "Against Princeton, he threw not one pitch under 88."
As news of his consistent 90 mile per hour-plus fastball spread, it became apparent that he would be drafted. Besides Seminara, other recent Lion draftees were taken in the 17th round (Garrett Neubart by Colorado in 1995), 20th (Chris Kotes by Toronto in 1990), and 21st (ex-major leaguer Gene Larkin by Minnesota in 1984). But Seattle, the team which showed the most interest in Wayne, chose him in the 11th round.
Hawkeye signed a contract quickly, and was sent to the Everett Aqua Sox in Everett, Wash., a "short-season" Class A minor league.
Wayne has been a professional baseball player for little more than a month. Although his professional career consists of five-hour bus rides, staying with host families and the threat of being fined for not shaving, Wayne is loving it.
"I can't believe I'm getting paid to play baseball," he gushed.
The biggest difference between playing for the Lions and playing for the Aqua Sox, he said, is "knowing when I'm going to pitch. And I'm enjoying just being a pitcher. Not a pitcher, outfielder and hitter like at Columbia."
Wayne got his first start for the Aqua Sox on July 18th, going three innings and giving up one run. "They allow you to throw 50 pitches or go five innings, whichever comes first," Wayne explained.
Minor league staffs consist of many pitchers, so chances to throw often are widely-spaced. Due to some shakeups in the Mariners system, Wayne could possibly see more action as players are let go or moved up.
"I've been told that I should see more starts as the season progresses," Wayne said. "They've been impressed with my pitching enough that they said I should get an invite to the instructional camp in Florida."
The instructional league, several weeks of intensive instruction in the fall, is a key training site for young pitchers. It will be a godsend for the inexperienced Wayne.
"When Hawk left Columbia, he wasn't [ready] to play pro baseball," Aoki said. "He has the athletic ability to learn how to pitch, and he's been blessed with a gift -- he can throw the hell out of a baseball -- but it's going to depend on how much he can absorb, how to pitch.
"Pro baseball is very competitive. You have to make progress, and someone in the Seattle organization has to like you. Some of it is in his hands, and some is out of his control."
Hawkeye may be the first of a Wayne tradition in pro baseball. His brother Justin is an outstanding pitcher for Stanford, and will be eligible for the draft next year, while another brother, Ethan, is a promising high school pitcher who is entering his senior year. Their father, Jeffrey Wayne, pitched at the University of Buffalo.
"I'm really happy for Hawkeye," Aoki said. "It's a boost for the program, too. When you talk to high school kids about the Ivy League, they think coming here means kissing off pro baseball. I can tell them about Hawkeye."