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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Back Home Again Workman Leaves Surf Behind For Chance To Be Own Man

What would drive a person to give up the beach, palm trees and a starting position on a one-time national championship team?

Insanity? Maybe.

But for former North Central prep standout Kevin Workman, it was home-cooked meals and family and friends that made him trade in the surf and sand at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., for the family values of Gonzaga and Spokane.

Workman returned to Spokane last week after completing his freshman year at Pepperdine. He plans to enroll at GU in the fall and will play baseball for the Zags next year.

It turned out that the perceived glamour of high-profile collegiate baseball wasn’t enough to satisfy the former first-team, all-Greater Spokane League shortstop.

“I’ll never forget my first trip to Pepperdine,” he said. “The campus is right there on the beach with the palm trees. The first question I asked was, ‘Can I go to the beach anytime I want?’ I didn’t know to ask practical questions like, ‘Am I going to be stuck sitting in my dorm room all semester?”’

But before Workman could even purchase a surf board, the reality of life after Spokane preps hit him in the face even before he left town.

“The world of college and professional baseball - I didn’t give it enough credit. It’s so big, the size of it, the seriousness, I learned the hard way. I trusted too many people.”

Workman was drafted in the 51st round of the 1994 major-league draft by the San Diego Padres. He would have gone higher, but he repeatedly told scouts that he wanted to get his education first.

He was recruited by former Pepperdine head coach Andy Lopez.

Just before the draft, the pro scouts kept telling Workman that Lopez was going to leave Pepperdine. Lopez kept telling Workman otherwise.

At first Workman thought it was just a ploy on the part of the scouts to get him to forego college for the draft.

But on Father’s Day last year, a month before leaving for Pepperdine, Lopez called Workman at his parents’ home and told him he had accepted the head coaching job at the University of Florida.

“I was sweating BBs through that entire time because I didn’t know who to believe,” Workman said. “I went back and forth wondering, ‘who do I trust?’ I was devastated. Coach Lopez had given me his word.”

Workman said he doesn’t hold any grudges against Lopez because: “It was a great career opportunity for him. I still hold him in high esteem, but it was a great learning experience for me.”

Pat Harrison, the former head assistant at the University of Oklahoma, replaced Lopez. Workman said the two got along just fine.

He was platooned with a couple of other players at shortstop, and started against No. 1-ranked Cal-State Fullerton and former No. 2 USC.

But something still wasn’t right.

“Had Kevin stayed, he would have been the starting shortstop,” Harrison said.

“He has tremendous talent, and we were willing to let him adjust to the new surroundings. But he had trouble adjusting and he felt the best thing for him to do was to go back home.

“It got a little tough for him at the end of the first semester, and I told him I wasn’t going to hold anybody hostage in a place where they didn’t want to be,” Harrison said.

But now, even though he’s back in Spokane - and happy to be back - Workman said he is somewhat concerned about how his return will be perceived.

Workman received a lot of attention in high school. Rated one of the 25 best high school players in the country last year, he snared ground balls and hit home runs on the same field used by former NC and Chicago Cubs shortstop Ryne Sandberg.

There are those who expect Workman to stop screaming liners at Wrigley Field or some other major-league park one day.

“I went to Pepperdine with quite a splash, and I never intended it to be that way,” he said. “I think that’s one of the things that makes it difficult to come back. When I got on the plane, I felt like there were certain expectations of me.

“People are struggling to look for role models,” Workman added. “Certain people are elevated to positions of attention and are expected to do certain things. I’m not complaining because I’ve been incredibly blessed.

“But I just wonder if the people who sent me off at the airport waving Pepperdine banners are willing to welcome me back after things didn’t go the way they might have expected them to.”

One of the most significant lessons Workman learned was that he’s the one to do what’s best for him. He now understands that he can’t chase Spokane’s desire for him to be the next Sandberg, John Stockton or Mark Rypien.

“This last year has been priceless. I’m still the same Kevin, I’m not selfish, but I now know I have to do what I want to do,” he said. “I finally realized I went to Pepperdine because of Coach Lopez. He was Pepperdine baseball.

“This year has been a growing-up process for me. I’ve learned a lot.”