Sunday, June 1, 1997
Drew's game is serious business
By Bob Thomas
Times-Union sports writer

TALLAHASSEE - David Drew and his son, Jonathon, sat quietly in Florida State baseball coach Mike Martin's office four years ago, listening as Martin explained how scholarships were apportioned.

In short, Martin told the elder Drew that the largest scholarship portions went toward pitchers and defensive players, not sluggers.

What Martin didn't know at that time was the young man seated in his office - a hard-hitting outfielder from Hahira, Ga., and San Francisco's 20th-round 1994 draft choice - would prove to be a bargain at almost any price.

David Drew spoke up on behalf of his son, nicknamed J.D. by his mother, Libbie: ''Inside my heart, we knew [J.D.] was special before he ever walked in the door [at FSU]. I said, 'I've got a kid that can carry a team on his shoulders.' ''

Martin was taken aback by the father's frankness.

''I've never had a father tell me that,'' Martin said. ''I've heard a lot of things come out of fathers' mouths campaigning for their sons. I'll have to admit I didn't go for it; but he [David Drew] was right on and he [J.D.] did just that.''

After he turned down a $100,000 signing bonus from the Giants - ''a lot of money for a guy coming out of Hahira,'' he said - Drew put together three sensational seasons as the Seminoles' center fielder. A two-time first-team All-American, Drew, 21, holds 17 Florida State or Atlantic Coast Conference records and was recently named college baseball's Player of the Year by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball.

Whatever Martin invested in Drew's scholarship over the past three seasons pales in comparison to the amount he will command after Tuesday's major league draft. The Philadelphia Phillies are expected to make Drew the second pick overall, which will give them the right to negotiate with his representative, sports agent Scott Boras, for what could be the largest signing bonus for a draft pick in baseball history.

Drew's likely price tag? In excess of $10 million, dwarfing the $169,000 the Seattle Mariners spent on Ken Griffey Jr. in 1987.

Boras set the bar last season, when he negotiated a $10.2 million deal with the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays for high school pitcher Matt White, a first-round pick who became a free agent after the Montreal Expos failed to offer him a contract within 15 days of the draft. White was one of four first-rounders declared free agents who collectively shopped their services for a staggering sum of $28.2 million.

Conversely, Clemson pitcher Kris Benson, the No. 1 pick of the draft by Pittsburgh last season, settled for a $2 million bonus.

The threat of seven-figure signing bonuses has forced some major league clubs, including the Detroit Tigers, to focus their attention more on ''sign-ability'' than playing ability. The Tigers are expected to select high school pitcher Ryan Anderson, a 6-foot-10 lefthander from nearby Dearborn, Mich., with their first pick.

''With Matt White and those guys signing last year, they basically set the price at $10 million,'' said Steve Boros, Detroit's minor league field coordinator. ''Would you rather spend $10 million on one player or would you rather put $10 million back into scouting?''

Martin believes the Tigers could be making a grave mistake.

''If somebody passes on J.D. Drew, they're going to regret it,'' he said. ''I don't care what it costs.''

Philadelphia General Manager Lee Thomas won't be swayed by Drew's representation, nor the price tag: ''I don't think any agent is going to frighten us off on what we're going to do.''

Thomas and Phillies' Scouting Director Mike Arbuckle met with Drew last month in Tallahassee.

''He [Drew] is a good-looking young player who physically does a lot of things well,'' Arbuckle said. ''He's a quality kid. I don't think there's such a thing as a sure thing out of draft; I don't care who it is. Experience has shown me . . . that guys painted to be sure things sometimes don't turn out. You're trying to make an educated guess, and you like what you see, but I can't paint J.D. or any other player in this year's draft as a sure thing.''

Rival college coaches, like Maryland's Tom Bradley, offer a different view.

''I think he's going to have a tremendous professional career, and I'm glad he's going to be out of the league,'' said Bradley, a former major league pitcher and Jacksonville University coach. ''I think one of the balls he hit they served as a triple feature, not a double feature, on an outgoing flight.

''I think he's the most outstanding player Coach Martin has had in a long, long time, if not the best.''

Georgia Tech coach Danny Hall offered this assessment: ''He's a five-tool player and he can beat you a lot of ways. He's the best player in our league, and certainly if he's not the best player in the country, he's in the top five. He plays the game the way it's supposed to be played.''

Neither Bradley nor Hall have had the pleasure of enjoying Martin's seat adjacent to the batting cage the past three seasons. Martin marvels at the left-handed hitter's power stroke:

''He gets unbelievable extension through the ball . . . tremendous bat speed,'' Martin said. ''Sometimes it appears that he literally holds the ball on the bat and just throws it.

''Nobody in the history of Florida State baseball has hit with more power than that young man. Nobody. I've seen him take 14 cuts and hit 12 out.''

Hitting baseballs is far more enjoyable for Drew that speculating on his draft status and future.

''I really haven't thought much about it,'' he said. ''I'm really looking forward to see what happens and we'll go from there. After the draft I plan on going up to Alaska and playing this summer, staying in shape, getting used to wood [bats] and getting some at-bats.''

Considering Boras' reputation for protracted negotiations, Drew figures to have plenty of time before he collects his first paycheck.

''There is a business side of baseball, but there's also a side where you go out on the field and have fun,'' Drew said. ''That's what I'm looking forward to.''