By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
As the Hawaii Stars worked out during spring training on Maui, the bright sun soaked second-year manager Garry Templeton II with a full tank’s worth of optimism.
“We’re looking good,” said G2, who spent his offseason in San Diego coaching travel ball teams. “We tried to upgrade at every position, get more experience on the team to get better. I always expect to pitch well and play defense. Those are two things teams need to do every single day.
“Hitting comes in streaks, but we’ve got guys who swing consistently. I know it’s hard to hit the ball out in Hilo and Maui, but we’ve definitely got guys who can swing the bat.”
The last part is so true — that hitting comes in streaks, at least in the case of the Stars. The way it played out last season was sometimes Hawaii swung the bat, made contact and base hits fell, but for the most part there was a long, cold offensive drought.
That explains the ballclub’s 25-29 record in the return of pro ball to the Big Island, after the Hilo Stars and Hawaii Winter Baseball League (1993-97) closed shop. It also explains the 0-7 record of Crash Davis-like starter Dallas Mahan, who had nothing but hard luck, no luck or tough luck, despite a 3.53 ERA and six quality starts in 10 games.
Keoni Manago, a former UH-Hilo outfielder, led the Stars with a .333 batting average in 31 games. He was traded to the Normal Cornbelters of the Frontier League, based in Illinois. Catcher Brendan Davis is back, and he batted .309 and knocked in 13 RBIs in 28 games.
But the book is closed on last season, which also saw the demise of the North American Baseball League. Out with the old and in with the new. The Stars are now part of the private golf club-sounding Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs. They’re also undefeated, too.
Onan Masaoka, Ronnie Loeffler, Mahan, John Holley and Matt Stropoli are Hawaii’s starting pitchers and will march to the mound in that order. Masaoka, who pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1999 and 2000, is a newcomer. Stropoli is making his pro debut after pitching last year for Concordia University, an NAIA team in Irvine, Calif.
“Onan is looking good,” said Templeton, who goes by G2. “He brings a lot of experience to the team. He knows what he’s doing. He knows how to set up hitters, throw strikes, challenge hitters and how to get guys out. I’m looking for him to be the leader of the staff. I’m not sure how hard he threw with the Dodgers.”
Back in the day, Masaoka could rear back, grab a rocket and throw 94-mph gas. Strikeouts have always been his signature. From his Single-A pro ball debut in 1995 to his first independent season in 2009 at age 31, he has averaged nearly a strikeout per inning.
“But I tell the young guys it’s not how hard you throw,” G2 said. “You have to keep the ball down and hit your spots. When I first saw him throw, he looked good. Onan kept everything down and spotted his fastball.”
As for the two other local pitchers, Loeffler and Holley, G2 also saved his favorite description for both. Last season, Loeffler was 6-3 with a 4.39 ERA in 69 2/3 innings while Holley went 0-3 with a 5.27 ERA and three quality starts (at least six innings and three earned runs or less) in six games.
“Ronnie is looking good. He’s in a lot better shape because last year he didn’t know he was going to pitch. He came off the couch,” G2 said. “This time, he’s trained his body and has gained a couple of miles on his fastball and tightened up his offspeed pitches. Last year, he threw 82 to 84 mph. He should be somewhere in the 85 to 87 mph range.
“John is looking good. The whole thing with him is consistently throwing strikes. The kid can throw 150 pitches and still be good. His velocity has always been there, topping out at 93 mph. But if he can come out and consistently challenge hitters he’ll surprise a lot of people and win a lot of games.”
Following the tradition of “Bull Durham,” there needs to be an old guy on the minor league team, a role filled by the 35-year-old Mahan, who was drafted way back in 1996 by the Seattle Mariners in the 35th round, when he was a young pup.
Kevin Costner’s character, grizzled catcher Crash Davis, chases and breaks the minor league record for career home runs in the movie. Following script, Mahan has a 49-44 record with a 4.49 ERA in 12 seasons of independent ball.
Mahan was out of baseball from 2010 to ’11, until the lure of standing on a mound 10 inches high, throwing a ball 60 feet, 6 inches and trying extract the last scraps of magic from his left arm brought him back as the Hawaii pitching coach and No. 3 starter.
“I’m hoping we can score runs for him. He’s been sitting on 49 career wins. Hopefully, we’ll get him that 50 this year,” G2 said. “Last year, he faced the other team’s No. 1 pitcher a lot. He faced Maui’s Jesse Smith four times and Smith was the pitcher of the year.
“He’s the same old guy. Dallas is a crafty veteran left-hander. He gets hitters off-balanced and out in front, works fast and keeps the game pace going. He knows how to get guys out.”
G2 didn’t need to drop his favorite “looking good” description on Mahan. Like sharp memories with elephants and wisdom with old owls, it’s implied. And the same “looking good” line holds true for the Stars, who at the moment, are full of optimism and still undefeated.
Independent pro baseball
What: Hawaii Stars home opener
When: 5:35 p.m. today
Where: Wong Stadium
Opponent: Shinano Grandserows, Japan
Tickets: $2 children; $5 students and seniors; $7 general; $8 reserved, blue section
Local players: Onan Masaoka, Ronnie Loeffler, John Holley, Cortney Arruda, Michael Kenui, Reece Alnas, Dane Sardinha (Honolulu)