Padres gain one fan from the draft but lose another

06-19-2007

By Tom Shanahan, San Diego Hall of Champions

One grew up a staunch Padres fan, watching the 1998 Yankees-Padres World Series from his family’s season ticket seats behind the third baseline at Qualcomm Stadium.

The other was raised in the Bay Area with divided loyalties between the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s.

But Nick Noonan, the Francis Parker School shortstop drafted in the first round as the 32nd pick overall by the Giants, has been converted by his first pro contract that includes a reported $1 million bonus. Can you blame him?

“I was never a Giants fan growing up, but I am now,” said Noonan, a shortstop who was an Aflac All-American last summer with a scholarship commitment to Clemson.

Meanwhile, Shane Buschini, the University of San Diego senior first baseman from San Ramon’s California High, began converting before he was drafted in the 11th round this year by the Padres.

Four years of playing for the Toreros while living in San Diego, a time period that included back-to-back National League West titles in 2005 and 2006 by the Padres, won him over.

“It’s a great feeling to be drafted by the Padres,” said Buschini, who also recently signed his first pro contract. “I like the Padres as an organization. I followed by the Giants and the A’s, but I never liked the Dodgers. But since I’ve been living here, I’ve admired the Padres as an organization. I couldn’t imagine a better situation than to be drafted by the Padres.”

Noonan growing up a Padres fan and Buschini changing his allegiance upon living in San Diego is an example of the credibility gained by franchise under John Moores' ownership since 1994. For many previous years, the Padres lacked that element among homegrown and transplanted fans while playing in the shadow of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Noonan is coming off a season that saw him named the CIF San Diego Section Player of the Year on the Breitbard All-CIF team.

“It was a great honor for the past school year, and I worked so hard all four years,” Noonan said. “I knew halfway through the year I was having a good year, and it all worked out.” The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder led the Lancers to the CIF Division IV title with a 29-6 record and the Lancers were ranked No. 7 in the final San Diego Section poll, an unusually high ranking in baseball for a Division IV school. The Lancers also were No. 7 in the final CalHiSports.com state poll for Division IV.

Noonan batted .540 for the year (67-of-124) to rank third in the section. But he led the section in runs scored with 64, RBIs with 55, stolen bases with 42 and shared the section lead in home runs with 15.

In all, he broke or tied five San Diego Section records with a .505 career batting average, 10 triples this season, 20 triples for a career, 54 doubles for a career and 156 RBIs for a career.

But numbers alone don’t get a player drafted 32nd overall. Noonan has been polishing his game throughout his high school career.

“I think I really balanced out all my skills,” he said. “If there was something I was lacking, I tried to improve those skills. The most important thing is consistency. I was in the gym getting stronger and improving my agility. I think I improved my speed and arm strength.”

Buschini, who was coming off a disappointing junior season, rebounded as a senior to become the West Coast Conference Player of Year and earn third-team All-American honors while leading the Toreros to the WCC regular season and tournament titles.

The 6-4, 225-pounder was second on the team with a .348 average (79-of-227), second in RBIs with 58 and led the team with 13 home runs.

He started believing he had a realistic chance to be drafted by the Padres when he and teammate Jordan Abruzzo – later drafted by the New York Mets in the 13th round – were invited for a personal workout at Petco Park on June 4, three days before the draft.

“It was a great feeling to be out there at Petco Park,” Buschini said. “We got there early and ran. We did some 60-yard times, threw from the outfield and hit three rounds of batting practice. I hit a few out – one 406 to the Cox sign – so maybe that helped me a little.”

It will definitely help a lot if he can hit with that power as a big-leaguer, when Buschini would still be playing with an SD on his uniform.

Noonan said he wasn’t ready to think about what it would be like to play in a Giants uniform at Petco Park.

“I’ve got to get there first,” he said, “but I’m sure there will be mixed feelings.”

Tom Shanahan can be contacted at 619-699-2334 or toms@sdhoc.com.