Titans' Powell Has No Regrets

By MIKE DiGIOVANNA

Jan. 28, 1992 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

FULLERTON — On those days Dante Powell doesn’t have enough money in his pockets to buy a burger, fries and a Coke, he admits his mind starts to wander.

Hmmm, if only I would have signed that $425,000 contract the Toronto Blue Jays offered last summer, I could have bought a fast-food franchise for myself.

And I could have traded in this old economy car for something a little more sporty . . . and moved out of this little apartment and bought my own house, and maybe a condo for an investment . . . and . . .

Then reality, which really isn’t so bad, strikes back.

Powell, a Cal State Fullerton freshman, surveys the practice field and sees he’s surrounded by some excellent college baseball players and coaches, and he will start for a Titan team that could compete in a high Class-A professional league.

He looks at his report card from his first semester in college, the one that shows he made the dean’s list with a 3.0 grade-point average, and feels a sense of satisfaction.

He looks in the mirror, sees an 18-year-old kid who is growing into a man, and feels comfortable with his decision to pass up the big bucks and small towns of the minor leagues for a chance to play big-time college baseball.

“I have no regrets at all,” said Powell, a Long Beach Millikan High School graduate who was selected between the first and second rounds of last June’s professional baseball draft. “Some days when I don’t have any money I think I should have signed, but you’re going to have those days. I’m only human.

“Everybody thought I was crazy to turn down all that money. But if I do well in college, I’ll probably get as much or more money (when I’m drafted again) and I’ll be a lot closer to a degree. To hear that kind of money was exciting, but I came to the conclusion this was best for my future.”

It wasn’t so bad for the Fullerton baseball team’s future, either. The Titans had quite the recruiting haul last spring, signing six players who were eventually selected in the first 10 rounds of the pro draft.

The only problem was all but one called U-Haul, signed pro contracts and were shipped out to the minor leagues.

But the jewel of the bunch--Powell--turned down the riches to become a Titan for at least three seasons, and Fullerton should be all the better for it.

Powell, who will probably bat second and play left field, brings much-needed speed to the Titan batting order. A three-year varsity starter in basketball and baseball, Powell hit .450 and stole 48 bases to lead Millikan to the Southern Section 5-A championship last season.

Baseball America rates Powell as the second-best freshman in the country entering the 1992 season, which Fullerton opens next Tuesday against UCLA.

“He’s one of the best, if not the best, young players with speed at making decisions that I’ve had,” Titan Coach Augie Garrido said. “He knows when to run, he’s very aggressive, mature, and he has a good feel for the game.”

The 6-foot-2, 170-pound Powell, a right-handed hitter who has been timed from the batter’s box to first base in 4.1 seconds, should give Garrido a lot more offensive flexibility.

“Last year, we relied on hitting, bunting and hit-and-runs--we weren’t going to steal many runs because of speed,” Garrido said. “But we’ll be able to do base-running things this year that we weren’t able to do last year.”

This should benefit Titan third baseman Phil Nevin, who will bat third in the lineup behind Powell. If Powell is on base, Nevin will probably see more fastballs from pitchers who will be concentrating more on the runner--and, Nevin hopes, less on the batter.

“I’m real excited about him batting in front of me,” Nevin said. “We need him to have a big season.”

Nevin can relate to the pressure and expectations that Powell will face this season. He, too, turned down a six-figure signing offer out of high school (El Dorado) to play at Fullerton and entered college with the star label.

“People expected me to do everything my freshman year,” Nevin said. “I just told Dante to go about his business, not say anything, and keep working hard so you can see that kind of money again, because it’s not going to come that easily.”

Powell said he put a lot of pressure on himself during the fall season. Add to that the adjustment to college pitching, where the fastballs are a little faster and the curveballs and sliders break a little sharper, and it’s no wonder he struggled.

“I got eaten up in fall practices,” Powell said.

But Powell has improved since then and has grown more comfortable with his surroundings.

“There was probably some initial jealousy among his teammates who looked at him under a microscope, wondered about his reputation and why he was worth that much,” said George Horton, Fullerton associate head coach.

“But he’s earned the respect of the players and is well-liked. He works hard and hustles. He’s being looked at more than any other freshman, but he’ll handle it well. He likes the limelight and has always risen to the occasion. The bigger the event, the better he plays.”

Titan coaches are trying to ease the burden on Powell, playing him in left field instead of center field, a position that demands more leadership and experience and a stronger throwing arm. They also are batting him second instead of leadoff, where there is more pressure to get on base.

They might even bat him ninth to alleviate even more pressure. This, Powell says, does not excite him.

“They think leading off is a lot of pressure, and that’s fine, but I don’t know about No. 9,” Powell said. “I like the top of the order. I think I can handle the pressure pretty good.”

He handled it last summer, when Powell made the biggest decision of his life. He was drafted in early June, but negotiations with the Blue Jays didn’t heat up until August.

Toronto made an offer of $275,000 in early August, boosted it to $350,000 in mid-August, and on the day before Powell was scheduled to start school at Fullerton, the Blue Jays had topped out at $425,000.

Team scouts usually handle negotiations with high school players, but the Powell family dealt almost exclusively with Toronto General Manager Pat Gillick, an obvious sign that the Blue Jays wanted Powell badly.

“That day before school I went back and forth, back and forth,” Powell said. “I made four back-and-forth decisions in the last two hours.”

The last one was that he would enroll in college. He said he got a good night’s sleep, woke up the next morning and drove to school. There was no motorcade or police escort, but Titan assistant Bill Mosiello did walk Powell from the baseball office to his first college class, linguistics.

Once the teacher called roll and Powell said, “Here,” there was no turning back. He was officially a college student and committed to Fullerton for three years.

“My parents (LeVon and Wilma) emphasized education, but they left the choice to me,” Powell said. “I feel education is real important. I know if I (signed and) made the big leagues, I wouldn’t have gone back to college and figured I wasn’t going to play baseball forever.

“With all the money big leaguers make, you really need maturity, and I feel that’s something I’ll get by going to college.”

With an eye on a potential professional baseball career, Powell said he’ll major in business.

“Hopefully I’ll make a lot of money and will know what to do with it,” he said. “I don’t want to leave it in the hands of other people.”

COLLEGE BASEBALL PREVIEW: C5