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June 16, 2006
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The Friday Flyer Assistant Editor
Steve Lokus has been wearing the same Pepperdine University shirt to his grandson Paul Coleman’s baseball games for the past four years. It’s so worn it finally developed a hole under the arm but he wouldn’t give it up for the same reason Michael Jordan always wore his blue North Carolina shorts under his Bulls uniform for good luck – superstition, of course.
Whether the good luck charm played a role in Paul’s outstanding success pitching for the Waves the last four years can’t be measured. But one thing is certain: on Tuesday, June 6, Steve finally gave up the worn-out T-shirt and donned a new one proclaiming his allegiance to Paul’s new team, the LA Dodgers. Steve and his wife, Linda, couldn’t be happier.
The Canyon Lake couple raised Paul and were his constant supporters throughout his Canyon Lake Little League and Temescal Canyon High School baseball career. That support continued in college, where they never missed a home game and even went to as many of his away games as possible while Paul played at Pepperdine. In fact, Linda only missed one game all season.
Last year, Paul was named the West Coast Conference’s (WCC) 2005 Pitcher of the Year, going 9-3 with a 3.35 ERA. He was also named to the 2006 Brooks Wallace Award Watch List, and was a ninth-round draft pick by the Detroit Tigers.
That opportunity wasn’t enough to lure the Canyon Laker away from using up the remainder of his full-ride scholarship this year to the prestigious Pepperdine University in Malibu – a value of over $42,000 his senior year alone. He graduated April 29 with a BA degree in Sports Administration.
This season, the left-hander posted an 8-5 record and 2.59 ERA while making 17 appearances as a starter. Steve referred to his role as the “Friday Starter.” In a career-high 114.2 innings, Paul allowed 89 hits, 33 earned runs, walked 37 and struck out a career-high 97 batters.
He concluded his four-year career with an overall 20-13 record and 3.92 ERA while making 90 appearances. He tied for second in appearances, fifth in strikeouts and 10th in innings pitched. He holds the Pepperdine single-game strikeout record after fanning 16 New Orleans batters during the 2005 Dairy Queen Tournament in Minnesota.
While Paul and the rest of his teammates watched last week’s draft on the Internet from a condo in Malibu, Steve and Linda kept close tabs on it at home. One of Paul’s teammates, Catcher Chad Tracy, was a third-round pick earlier in the day by the Texas Rangers. In the 12th round, everyone heard the voice of Tommy Lasorda as he announced Paul’s name. It was a moment of elation and relief for both Paul and his grandparents.
Three other Waves players were picked in later rounds, making this the 15th consecutive year Pepperdine has had at least one player chosen in the annual draft. This is the third year in a row the team has won the WCC Championship. The Waves came within one game of winning the NCAA Regional Championship, in part due to Paul holding UCLA to 7.2 scoreless innings in a 6-0 victory during his last game on June 3.
With his glory days behind him, Paul is once again prepared to start over, earning his way to the top for a chance to wear Dodger Blue at Chavez Ravine. At a meeting with the Dodgers this past Monday, he learned he will play with the instructional Rookie League this summer in Ogden, Utah and earn about $1,100 a month. He'll report to the team this Sunday.
He knows and his grandparents know it’s a long, hard road to get to the Major Leagues. But Steve and Linda are already calculating which games they’ll be able to attend – certainly his opener. And Steve will be wearing what he hopes to be the new good luck charm.
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