Jeff Samardzija allowed two runs in two innings in a less-than-perfect professional baseball debut Tuesday night, but then again, no one expected anything more from the Cubs’ fifth-round draft pick.
“I’m not really concerned about his velocity,” Boise Hawks manager Steve McFarland said. “I’m not concerned about what they do against him. I just want him to be able to go out there and command something, just throw some strikes.”
Samardzija did that right away, getting the first two Salem-Keizer Volcanoes he faced in the first inning on just six pitches.
Then things started to get rocky.
Samardzija hit a batter and allowed a home run. He hit two more batters and gave up a run-scoring single before brushing up against his 35-pitch limit and exiting in the second inning.
He was behind 2-0 in a game he and the Hawks went go on to lose 6-1.
Now the Notre Dame wide receiver/starting pitcher can show how adept he is at turning his early struggles into unparalleled success.
After catching just 24 passes in his first two years in an Irish uniform, Samardzija finished the 2005 season with 77 receptions for single-season Notre Dame records of 1,249 yards and 15 touchdowns, earning first-team All-American honors.
During football off-seasons, he also fashioned himself into a power pitcher who fell to the fifth round in the draft only because teams weren’t sure whether his heart lies with football or baseball.
Samardzija sees no reason to make a decision now.
He will remain with the Hawks until about Aug. 1, logging at least six starts, before he returns to South Bend to prepare for his senior season at Notre Dame.
Already, he has impressed McFarland and pitching coach David Rosario with his work ethic and focus.
“He’s a different type of person. No. 1, he comes from a football background and mentality, so you know he’s dedicated and he’s going to work hard,” McFarland said.
So intent was Samardzija on not missing a moment of the summer baseball experience that he got into his car on June 18 in Valparaiso, Ind., and drove straight through to Boise without pause, arriving in Idaho in time for the Hawks’ Northwest League opener June 19 against the Eugene Emeralds even though he didn’t sign his Cubs contract until June 21.
“Me and my CDs,” Samardzija said when asked if he drove by himself. “I wanted to get invested in this organization as soon as possible.”
The Cubs gave him a $250,000 signing bonus, normal for a fifth-round draft pick.
Conventional wisdom would dictate Samardzija will be hard-pressed to continue pitching at a high level if he decides to pursue an NFL career.
But McFarland thinks Samardzija may be one of those rare players who can pull off doing double duty.
And he should know.
McFarland already has managed three two-sport players in his career–Josh Booty and Patrick Pass in the Florida Marlins organization, and Matt Mauch with the Cubs’ farm system.
All three position players wound up ditching baseball in favor of football.
“They’ve kind of given up. It was just too frustrating to them to hit, and they all fell by the wayside and went the football route,” McFarland said.
“[But if Samardzija] decides to do both, I see him as kind of one of those special guys because he’s a pitcher.”
Samardzija has said he’s a pitcher with plenty of room for improvement.
“I started trying to pitch a little too fine [Tuesday night], especially for my first outing,” he said. “You leave a ball out in the middle of the plate, or you give up free bases whether by hitting a batter or by walking him, and you’re going to pay.”
Plus, Rosario said, “He likes to get around the ball a little bit, and even though he throws extremely hard, I’ve got to watch out for that.
“I’ve got to make sure he stays on top of the ball at all times, and follows the pitches well instead of getting under the ball.
“That’s something that eventually might cost him, affecting his control.”
That, though, can be taught.
Everything else about Samardzija, Rosario said, screams superstar.
“When you see Jeff, you see a perfect athlete’s body,” he said. “I mean a tall, lean guy who can really run, who can really throw the ball, and it’s exciting.
“We’ve got a few guys here that have some quality talent, [but] you don’t see too much talent like Samardzija has.
“I think that was a great job from the scouting department to get some guy like Samardzija.
“I think he’s one of those guys when you see them you see somebody that knows where he’s going and is on a highway to the big leagues.”
———-
apatel@tribune.com
