Casey Weathers loved to hit. So when Sacramento City College baseball coach Andy McKay suggested a move from outfielder to pitcher, the response was tepid.
Weathers kept hitting every day, did no extra pitching work and admits to getting by on the mound solely on a decent arm.
"Hitting was my life," he said. "It was kind of hard to let go."
But sometimes letting go means grabbing onto a different opportunity. Weathers eventually bought into the switch, developing into a top reliever at Vanderbilt and emerging as the No. 8 pick in the 2007 draft.
The bullpen standout for the Double-A Tulsa Drillers also is an Olympian, selected earlier this month to play for the U.S. team headed to Beijing for the Summer Games, set for Aug. 8-24.
"It's one of those once-in-a-lifetime things," said Weathers, who played shortstop and outfield at Laguna Creek High School.
McKay wonders what might have happened if Weathers had never stepped onto the mound.
"For a Sac City guy to be representing the country in the Olympics is great," McKay said. "It not only worked out, it worked out to everybody's wildest fantasy."
Weathers wonders, too.
"It's weird to think about," he said. "Obviously I'm fortunate pitching ended up working out for me."
McKay said moving a position player to the mound often doesn't work. With the 6-foot 1, 200-pound Weathers, though, everything eventually clicked.
"It was something that we all kind of thought would be the best thing for him," McKay said. "You have a position player who really throws the ball well, you want them for their own sake to at least give it a shot."
Weathers, a right-hander, fine-tuned his pitching at Vanderbilt. After finishing with a 1-1 record, a 3.33 ERA, 38 strikeouts and 16 walks in 27 innings in 2006, he blossomed in 2007, posting a 12-2 record and a 2.37 ERA, striking out 75 and walking 21 in 49 1/3 innings.
"That's when I really started to get a hold of it and realized that was going to be my future," he said. "I can't say one negative thing about that program and coaching staff.
"I really grew up as a person and a player there. … Vanderbilt was such a great part of my life."
Todd Melton, Weathers' coach at Laguna Creek, said his former shortstop and left fielder had the athleticism and work ethic to go far.
"He kind of had the whole package," Melton said. "He had everything going for him. He had his head on straight. He was kind of driven.
"He really disliked it when we moved him from infield to outfield in high school. He took it as, 'You can't do this.' When they moved him from the outfield to the mound, same thing."
The Colorado Rockies selected Weathers with the No. 8 pick in 2007. El Camino's Butch Edge (No. 6 in 1974) and Grant's Leron Lee (No. 7 in 1966) are the only locals chosen higher.
Weathers, 23, is 2-1 with a 2.82 ERA, 45 strikeouts and 24 walks in 38 1/3 innings at Tulsa, which he hopes is another stop on the road to the major leagues.
"As a baseball player, that is your goal," Weathers said. "Once you get drafted, how am I going to better myself and compete every day so I can possibly prove I'm major league caliber.
"You don't really think about this (Olympic) opportunity. When it comes, it's such an honor. … It ranks right up there as one of the greatest things that can happen to you."
Weathers pitched well in the All-Star Futures Game at Yankee Stadium earlier this month, prompting U.S. team manager Davey Johnson to include him on the final roster.
"I saw Casey throw in the Futures Game, and he threw the ball outstanding," Johnson said in a conference call. "He has been having a great year. I like his arm and like his makeup. He can set up or close."
Tulsa teammate Dexter Fowler, a switch-hitting outfielder, joins Weathers on the Olympic team.
"It makes the transition easier," said Weathers, who is scheduled to head to Beijing on Aug. 5. "You go there, there's a lot of guys you maybe don't know. It's a brand-new team. You've got to jell right away. It's good to have someone there you can talk to."
Weathers said he'll have plenty of support in Beijing, with his parents and his girlfriend among those planning to make the trip.
Back home, his old coach will pull for a former Panther who has made him proud.
"He's kind of carrying the torch for everybody," McKay said. "I like to think he's representing Sac City on an international level right now."
Call The Bee's John Schumacher, (916) 326-5523.
