KURT EHMAN

Richard Dunn

The anticipation of his first child is more exciting than any

baseball thrill for former shortstop Kurt Ehmann, which is saying a

lot considering how much he relished not only playing the game, but

preparing for it.

“I loved it,” Ehmann said of playing in the San Francisco Giants’

organization from 1992 to ‘97, reaching the triple-A level and once

playing in the preseason Bay Bridge Series between the Giants and

Oakland A’s at Candlestick Park.

“I loved the camaraderie. That was fun and that’s what I miss the

most. I just loved putting on that jockstrap and taking ground balls

and batting practice. Just the preparation I enjoyed, as well as the

game, and that’s at any level. Whether you’re playing at Candlestick

Park in front of 40,000 people on Easter Sunday, [the preparation] is

the same as playing in front of 1,000 people in Everett, Wash. [where

Ehmann started his pro baseball career in ‘92, after the Giants

drafted him in the fourth round and signed him]. It didn’t matter to

me. You just mark your territory at shortstop and get in the box and

face the (pitcher). I loved playing.”

A former Corona del Mar High football and baseball star (Class of

1988), Ehmann attended Golden West College with the idea of playing

both sports. But, after playing football for the Rustlers in the fall

of ‘88, a series of events caused Ehmann to transfer to Mendocino

College in Northern California, where his father, Carl, was the

college’s president.

Ehmann’s grades improved and, apparently, so did his baseball.

“Football was great,” Ehmann said. “I think I liked that sport much

more than baseball. Just putting on that helmet [was a thrill] ... I

played safety at Golden West and had a good experience there and was

looking forward to my sophomore year. But I had to get focused. There

were a lot of distractions ... [transferring to Mendocino] worked out

to be a fantastic move on my part.”

As Ehmann’s grades shot up, so did his stock in baseball. After

one season at Mendocino, Ehmann was drafted by the Dodgers, but

instead accepted a scholarship to NCAA powerhouse Arizona State and

played under legendary former Sun Devils Coach Jim Brock for three

years (1990-92). The Angels selected Ehmann after his junior year in

the June 1991 free-agent amateur draft, but he returned to ASU and

played his senior year, then was drafted for the third time.

Earlier, Ehmann tried out for the U.S. Olympic baseball team in

‘92, but was beat out by a Georgia Tech shortstop named Nomar

Garciaparra.

After playing in the short-season Northwest League in the summer

of ’92 at Everett, Ehmann was promoted by the Giants to high single-A

San Jose in the California League. “That was my best year,” said

Ehmann, a Cal League All-Star that season.

Ehmann played in Hawaii in 1994, then triple-A Phoenix in ‘95,

when he almost made the big club after spring training, but the

Giants kept another utility player instead. Ehmann suffered a knee

injury that season and was never the same, battling the problem for

the next couple of years in the minor leagues. “I tried to fake it a

lot,” Ehmann said of playing with a bad knee.

Later, the Giants converted Ehmann into a catcher, but the pain in

his knee escalated and, eventually, he was forced to retire and go

back to school. That turned out to be a great thing, he said, because

he met his future wife, Sarah, with whom he has been married five

years. Their first child is due in October.

Ehmann retired from baseball in the middle of the 1997 season. He

simply couldn’t take any more long bus rides. “There were just too

many other good things going on in life,” he said.

Ehmann wasn’t a big slugger, but knew how to play the game and did

all the little things well, in addition to his slick fielding. Even

in the heat of July and dog days of August, Ehmann would always take

50 to 70 ground balls before each game.

“I just loved the game,” said Ehmann, the latest honoree in the

Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Fame. “I loved to be there early and take

hundreds of ground balls. To this day, I’ve been told that taking too

many ground balls is what killed you.”

Ehmann, an independent contractor for a home inspection business,

lives with his wife in Naples, where they bought a house about 18

months ago. He’s also an avid golfer.