ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 17, 1996 TAG: 9604170037
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: FERRUM
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
JIMMY HAMILTON IS READY to embark on a professional baseball career after his junior season as a Panther - with his family's blessing.
Given the choice between family and baseball, Jimmy Hamilton would choose family every time. But at his family's urging, Hamilton will choose baseball on June 9, the day the 1996 major-league draft begins.
Hamilton, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound left-handed pitcher for Ferrum College, is regarded as the top prospect in NCAA Division III and likely will be selected in the draft's first 10 rounds. He is expected to join former teammates Billy Wagner, Eric Owens and Keith Mayhew this summer in the minor leagues.
Hamilton had the chance to go pro in 1993 as a senior at Turner Ashby High School in Bridgewater. The Chicago Cubs selected him in the 25th round, but back then Hamilton didn't really think about signing. He said he didn't feel mature enough and didn't want to be far from home. His passions were spending time with his family, hanging out with his grandparents all day and working on cars and trucks with his father, Jim Sr., at night.
Life became more complicated when his grandfather and close friend, Harry Hamilton, died during his first semester at Ferrum. Jimmy's grandmother, Lucille, hadn't wanted him to see his grandfather when he entered the hospital, and she asked that if Jimmy wished to see him at the memorial service, he go with his father. Jimmy heeded her words, and still remembers another request: ``You keep the memory of how you saw him before that.''
``There's a lot of Grandpa in him,'' Jim Sr. said.
That semester, Jimmy Hamilton went home to Weyers Cave whenever he got the chance.
``We had to help him through that,'' said his coach, Abe Naff. ``It was important that he play college baseball, because he wasn't ready for the pros.''
That's no longer the case. Hamilton, a junior, is 8-1 with a 1.83 earned run average, the undisputed ace for the Panthers (26-4-1). He has 89 strikeouts in 73 innings this season. His three-year record is 25-7.
Hamilton was the only Division III player invited to try out for the 1996 Olympic baseball team and became only the third Division III player ever to compete for an Olympic berth, although he did not make the cut.
But the real proof of his growth is in the way he conducts himself on the mound. Scouts have paraded in to most of Hamilton's games this season, but unlike the old days, Hamilton hasn't noticed.
``It was so weird,'' he said. ``My freshman and sophomore years, if I saw a [radar] gun, I tried to rear back and throw it as hard as I could. I tried to do so much more than what I had to do.
``This year, I see them, but I don't see them during the action. It's good, because if you've got somebody on second and third and one out, you can't be looking at any scout.''
Hamilton's adopted family at Ferrum has helped him handle the scouting onslaught. First, Naff told Jimmy and his parents not to worry, he would handle everything. With Wagner, Owens and last year Mayhew, he has experience dealing with the draft. Wagner, for example, twice changed his phone number in the spring of 1993 to avoid the 'round-the-clock phone calls, but the scouts kept on tracking him down. ``Coach Naff wanted me to have fun instead of worrying about that,'' Hamilton said.
``I can't be there, but Coach Naff is the next best thing,'' Jim Sr. said.
Then, there are Wagner and Owens. Both spent time with the Panthers before they went to spring training, and both spoke at length to Hamilton about the pros. Wagner showed him his personal weightlifting regimen, stressed the need to throw over the top instead of three-quarters or sidearm and told him to really look closely at hitters when they come to the batter's box.
Owens tried to offer a glimpse into the future. ``Eric told me, `When June 9 hits, everything around you completely flip-flops,''' Hamilton said.
Although he has one more year of college eligibility, no one at Ferrum, including Hamilton himself, expects him to be back in the fall. ``Quality left-handed arms are in demand,'' Naff said. ``He has everything going for him.''
Scouts have asked Naff, however, if Hamilton really is ready to be away from home. His grandmother's health isn't the greatest and his father (who also is his best friend) won't be able to leave his garage for days at a time to see him play. Jim Sr. said his son's time at Ferrum has given him an excuse to take off from his business. ``It's brought me and my dad so close and I love that so much,'' Jimmy said. ``It's brought everyone in my family closer together.''
The family isn't holding him back, though. They're actually pushing him, particularly Grandma Lucille; and as his only left-handed ancestor, she gets special consideration.
``She's always been the one that told me to go after what I want,'' Hamilton said. ``She's always been a strong person, to get what she wants, to do what she wants.
``Leaving home would be no problem. That's why they have telephones. My family is going to be here for me, but baseball might not always be there, and they told me, `Just go after it.'''
LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: RICHARD CUNDIFF. Ferrum College left-hander Jimmyby CNBHamilton has grown up: ``My freshman and sophomore years, if I saw a
[radar] gun, I tried to rear back and throw it as hard as I could. I
tried to do so much more than what I had to do. This year, I see
them, but I don't see them during the action.'' color.