Baseball can wait for Cornell's Handke

MOUNT VERNON - You're really not certain if Chris Handke would prefer to be on the mound or on the block. If he'd rather swat away shots or prevent guys from swatting his pitches.

Considering everything, you think you know what he likes best. But he displays some hesitancy when he's asked.

“That's a great question,” Handke said. “It's always been sort of an equal. I mean, I love playing both. I will say that because of my height, people have always seen me as a basketball player. That's sort of been my identity. But I think I've always enjoyed baseball more.”

That's what the Los Angeles Dodgers want to hear, Chris. The Bellevue native was a 41st-round draft pick of the Dodgers in 2009 and pitched for them last summer in the Gulf Coast (Rookie) League.

But while most L.A. farmhands have spent their winters working out and getting ready for spring training in a month, Handke has been terrorizing Iowa Conference opponents on the basketball floor.

The 6-foot-11 senior leads the IIAC by a wide margin in rebounding and is sixth in scoring. He has helped Cornell College to an 11-4 season thus far, 5-1 in conference play.

“There have been games where he has flat-out dominated,” said first-year Cornell basketball coach Chad Murray. “Against Coe, he had eight blocks and altered about another eight shots. He has been our most dependable offensive and defensive player.”

“I told the Dodgers I wouldn't sign unless I was able to come back here and finish up my degree, finish up my basketball career,” Handke said. “I felt I owed it to my (basketball) teammates. Having been with them for three years and having a successful year last year, I wanted to see what we could do this year. So I felt I had to come back.”

You've got to credit Handke for mature thinking, something you'd expect from a kid who has a 3.9 GPA majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology. If baseball doesn't work out, he's thinking about medical school or dental school.

Handke has two classes to complete, as well as a basketball season. Only then will it be time to concentrate solely on baseball.

“I do try and get in here and throw as much as possible,” said Handke, after a recent home game at Cornell's Small Multi-Sport Center. “It's tough with my class schedule and basketball and everything else. But I do get in here and throw at least two or three times a week.”

That he's even getting an opportunity at professional baseball is sort of amazing. He struggled in three seasons at Cornell, posting a 15.19 earned run average last season.

But he got some instruction at Perfect Game USA baseball club in Cedar Rapids last spring that improved his velocity considerably. His size and other attributes intrigued the Dodgers enough to draft him.

“I've always heard that I've had the talent,” said Handke, who threw in only two games for the GCL Dodgers before being shut down with a shoulder injury. “My stats didn't necessarily back that up, but I had the physical attributes. With taller pitchers, it takes awhile to develop, takes awhile to get everything in order.”

Yes, Handke seems to have everything in order: on the court, on the mound and in the classroom.