For many college baseball players, hitting. .300 would seem like the peak of their career.
But .300 is virtually a slump for SF State Gator Marc Nadale.
Nadale is hitting .492 in league play this season and appears to have a lock on the National Collegiate Athletic Conference batting title.
The Gator's designated hitter and occasional third baseman, Nadale attributes his higher batting average to his change in attitude.
He said he is more confident and relaxed this season.
If he strikes out or is called out he said he just thanks about his next turn at the plate.
Nadale said he was hitting the ball hard last season, "but, it seems it was right at them.
"The ball isn't getting anywhere near the other team this year, though, At Friday's game Nadale broke the Gator record of 64 hits in a season.
Nadale has 70 hits so far this season.
His on base percentage is .516.
Raised on a Petaluma dairy farm, Nadale said he played catch a lot with his brother but was not encouraged by his father to participate in athletics.
"My dad is also a dairy farmer," said Nadale.
"He didn't want me to play sports, he wanted me to take over the ranch.
"Nadale played T-ball (baseballs are hit off a tee instead of being pitched to the batter) when he was six years old.
In high school he played baseball, football and basketball.
Realizing he didn't have the size to play football or enough skills for basketball, he played baseball in junior college.
A senior at SF State, Nadale is co-captain of the team, a responsibility head coach Greg Warzecka said the Gator earned because of his ability to deal with people.
According to Warzecka, Nadale is well-respected and so unassuming that Nadale didn't even know he was close to breaking the Gator's batting record that the coach told him.
Batting in the clean-up position, Nadale said having hitters who bat over .300 on either said of him in the line-up helps keep opposing pitchers Still, Nadale said some pitchers have tried to compensate by throwing away from his batting strengths.
"I am a dead-fastball hitter and I haven't been seeing a lot of fastballs,"he said.
Gator pitcher Neal Griggs said Nadale is almost impossible to strike out.
Griggs said Nadale has gotten 12 hits off him out of 13 at bats in intrasquad games.
"I can't get him out," said Griggs. "He just owns me."
He said the team is always rooting for Nadale, especially when he is on a hitting streak. "When Marc is up at bat, he's going to get a hit" and things are going to happen, said Griggs.
Nadale pitched during winter league and was made designated hitter after the regular season opener against the University of San Francisco.
"I got two hits against USF and Warzeeka let me be designated hitter ever since," said Nadale.
Nadale said professional league scouts watched him play in high school but none have seen him play college baseball.
He said he would like to play professional baseball but is concerned about his age. "I'll be 24 in December," he said "Some people think I might be too old."
For now he is just enjoying what he is doing.
He said he is laughing a lot more and getting angry at himself a lot less than he did last season, But Nadale is taking one thing very seriously this season: his superstition.
Every time at bat he grabs a handful of dirt and steps out of the batter's box the same way.
And at every game he wears the "same holy socks where my toe sticks out," he said. "If things are going well, you don't change anything."
[ back to Golden Gater Online May 2, 1986 ]
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