Big ambitions in C.C. baseball

Go to community-college baseball games and you are likely to see major-league scouts with radar guns.

But CC baseball flies under the radar of many of the state's sports fans, who are unaware of the good caliber of play.

"The crowds I played in front of in high school are bigger than the crowds I play in front of now," said Harrison Bishop, a sophomore pitcher for Bellevue Community College who starred at Juanita High School.

Bishop, drafted in the 40th round last year by the Baltimore Orioles, is one of 17 draftees playing in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges ("N-Wack" in oral shorthand) this season.

Kirc Roland, athletic director at Lower Columbia CC in Longview, said, "A lot of people are ignorant of just how good the athletes are at the community-college level. If our teams were to play Washington or Washington State in a 10-game series, we'd win some games."

He might be right.

Bellevue CC played Mariners rookies in Arizona this spring and lost 3-2 after leading 2-0 after 7 ½ innings.

Although Northwest community-college baseball lacks the reputation of California or Texas junior-college ball, it does attract scouts and produce players. Since 1947, when baseball became a community-college sport in Washington, the state's CCs have been a stop for 34 major-league players.

That includes Mel Stottlemyre and his son Todd, Ray Washburn, Dave Riske and ex-Mariners Tom Wells, Buddy Black, Rick Sweet, Tom Lampkin and Mike Blowers.

"We scout the JCs very heavily," said Bill Lohr, a Centralia-based scout for 21 years with the Minnesota Twins. "There are ballplayers there."

There is little argument that baseball is the best-played sport at Northwest two-year schools.

"By far it's the best," said Rob Kelly, who just stepped down after 20 years as NWAACC publicist.

NWAACC teams don't get a chance to show how they stack up against some of the nation's best programs. For financial reasons, the league champion doesn't advance to national competition. California also has a "no-nationals" policy.

The No. 1 reason Northwest community colleges get good players is because there are only five Division I teams in Washington and Oregon — Gonzaga, Portland, Oregon State, Washington State and Washington.

"Kids have limited options," said Bellevue CC coach Mark Yoshino.

Division I programs have more prestige, but community-college baseball gives players more options.

High-school players who accept scholarships to four-year schools and start school can't be drafted until after three years in school or when they turn 21.

Community-college players can be drafted every year. Many players who are drafted out of high school are encouraged by the team that selected them to enroll at a community college where their progress can be monitored. It's called "draft and follow." If the pro franchise likes what it sees after one season, it has the option of signing the player just before the next draft.

Bellevue's Bishop underwent Tommy John surgery in December 2004, missed the 2005 season, and the Orioles are following his progress.

Another option for a CC player is accepting a scholarship to a four-year school after each season at a community college. Presently, there are 176 former Washington CC players at four-year schools across the nation, according to the NWAACC.

Community-college rosters always have some players who didn't qualify academically for four-year schools and often they have a player or two who left four-year colleges in search of playing time and exposure.

Fans in towns such as Longview, Wenatchee and Yakima, where the two-year schools are the best game in town, are familiar with community-college baseball.

The eight-team NWAACC tournament will be held again this year in Longview over five days spanning Memorial Day weekend. Fans there sometimes fill 2,000-seat David Story Field if the hometown Red Devils, who won last year's title, are playing.

Community-college ball is a tougher sell in metropolitan areas and it is the rare sports fan who can name all the baseball teams in King and Snohomish counties. Answer: Five — Shoreline, Bellevue, Green River, Edmonds and Everett, which had three players chosen in the first 10 rounds of last year's draft.

Twelve NWAACC schools in Western Washington, six in Eastern Washington, eight in Oregon and one in British Columbia field baseball teams. The main source of league baseball information is the NWAACC Web site, www.NWAACC.org.

One of the NWAACC's appeals to scouts is that since 1999 the league has used wood instead of aluminum bats.

"Wood bats make it easier for us to see who has power," said Mariners scout Phil Geisler.

Dick McClain, NWAACC executive director, said, "I would just as soon have true, pure baseball at our level. Plus, you don't have to worry about someone getting killed [with a ball hit off an aluminum bat]."

Some players have struck it rich out of community-college baseball. In 2002, Blake Hawksworth signed a $1.4 million contract with St. Louis after one year at Bellevue CC. The pitching career of the former Eastlake High School star has been hampered by injuries since then, but he is still in the Cardinals' farm system.

Hawksworth is one of 16 pitchers and seven position players who have been drafted in the seven full seasons Yoshino has been Bellevue's coach.

There is a hunger in community-college baseball because few players see it as their final destination.

Tom Morris came out of Lake Washington High School in 1999 then played two seasons at Lower Columbia. He went on to win an NCAA Division III national championship ring with George Fox University in Newberg, Ore.

"I felt like junior college was more intense because there were so many guys fighting and clawing to get to the next level," he said. "A lot of guys had a chip on their shoulder because they were overlooked by Division I schools."

Craig Smith: 206-464-8279 or csmith@seattletimes.com