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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Saturday, June 25, 2005

Rangers sign ex-Maui pitcher

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

Five years after his freshman season at Lower Columbia College in Longview, Wash., Maui's Jared Joaquin realized how much he missed baseball.

Jared Joaquin

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound right-hander, a 1998 Maui High graduate, returned to the JC this season. It turned out to be the wise choice. Earlier this week, Joaquin signed with the Texas Rangers as an undrafted free agent. He has reported to the Clinton (Iowa) Lumberkings of the low-A Midwest League.

"This feels good," said Joaquin in a telephone interview from Iowa. "I'm really happy about it."

He ought to be pleased considering pro teams aren't expecting to find 25-year-old prospects. But with a fastball topping out at 96 mph and consistently hitting 93 mph, it's hard to look past a live arm. Or so Joaquin thought. He was bypassed in the draft two weeks ago. He was supposed to play for the Goldpanners of the Alaska League and was headed for Lewis-Clark State in the fall.

"I was disappointed I wasn't drafted," he said. "If they weren't going to draft me at 25, I don't think they were going to draft me at 26."

Joaquin was in Alaska when Rangers scout Gary McGraw called and made an offer. He was the same scout that got the Oakland Athletics to draft him in the 40th round in 1999 following his true freshman season at Lower Columbia after going 5-0 with four saves and a 1.11 earned run average. He opted not to sign.

But between then and this season, Joaquin said he flunked out of school, worked as a sushi chef in Oregon and returned to Maui, where he played in an open league last summer. That's when he felt the urge to give his career another try. He called his JC coach, Kelly Smith, who welcomed him back to Lower Columbia.

"I missed playing ball and competing," Joaquin said.

Joaquin completed his second season at Lower Columbia College earning all-league honors. He was 3-0 with a 0.50 ERA with a school-record 13 saves in helping the Red Devils capture the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges championship.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8042.