`LIGHTNING IN HIS HANDS'; MARTINEZ'S HRS DEFIED ALL ODDS.

Byline: Patrick Hipes Daily News Staff Writer

It's become a bit of lore, really, this uncanny day in the life of a smallish high school baseball player with nothing better to do than hit home runs and defy odds.

Babe Ruth calling his shot against the Cubs in 1932? Willie Mays' sprint-and-catch off Vic Wertz in '54? Mr. October doing his thing in, well, October?

Yeah, those are all well and good. But Chaminade High's Chris Martinez playing in Saturday's Bernie Milligan All-Star Game isn't as far away as one might think.

It happened a couple of weeks ago at Big Bear High. OK, so it's the Coors Field of Southern Section baseball, but even that doesn't cheapen the result.

Martinez, standing 5-foot-8, went absolutely bonkers in a nonleague doubleheader against the Bears, elevating the art of the power game at elevation and turning a great season into an eye-popping one.

Three pitches, three home runs. Two of the homers were grand slams. The surge accounted for 15 RBI and gave him seven homers and 21 RBI over three games in less than a 24-hour span.

``That was probably the most awesome display I've seen in high school baseball,'' Chaminade coach Scott Drootin said. ``And each home run went farther than the last one.

``I've said it before. He's a freak of nature.''

Though Martinez appears more Mark Lemke than Mark McGwire, the second baseman went on to break the state record for home runs in a season, hitting 20 (breaking now-San Francisco Giant catcher Brian Johnson's 1988 mark of 17) to go along with 53 RBI and a .396 average.

It was among the most successful seasons in California history, yet Martinez has received little fanfare. No wonder - the numbers shocked all, not to mention, at times, the player himself.

``There were a couple times this year,'' Martinez admitted, ``I'd come back to the dugout after a home run, saying to myself `You know what, I shouldn't be doing this.' ''

No, he shouldn't. At his size, Martinez should be riding in the fourth race at Hollywood Park.

Instead, he's decided to challenge the theory that today's college-bound baseball players should be tall and muscle-bound. It's a pursuit that landed him a full-ride scholarship to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the fall.

``He's always been the smallest one out there,'' his mother Jean said. ``But he doesn't know that. So don't tell him. Shhh, it's a secret.''

Martinez has been overcoming obstacles his whole baseball career, to the point where he can be a secret no longer. The power, however, has come more recently, after an offseason weight program helped him, er, bulk up to his current 165 pounds.

Solid both at the plate and with a glove, Martinez began his assault after helping his Drootin-led Palomino team to a World Series berth last summer. It was there that Martinez first began to increase his voltage.

``I always used to tease him about his strength,'' Drootin said. ``But he has lightning in his hands, and he's got those special ingredients. If I was an opposing coach, I certainly wouldn't want to face him.''

This spring the stats continued their exponential journey, and people were forced to change their opinion.

``I think people like a certain build, a certain size,'' Martinez said. ``They think that what has happened has been a fluke. I may be small, but I think people are starting to say, `Hey, this guy can play.' ''

Obviously, he awoke people at Big Bear. After he hit two of his five homers in the first game, Drootin said, fans flooded to the phones to call home, telling whoever was there to get to the park and watch the small guy hit in Game 2.

``Home runs aren't really my game,'' Martinez said. ``But occasionally I'll get a pitch. . . .''

It's what he does with them that is no small feat.

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2 Photos

Photo: (1) MARTINEZ

(2) At 5-foot-8, Chaminade's Chris Martinez doesn't strike an awesome pose, but his record 20 home runs promise to stand tall for a long time.

Gus Ruelas/Daily News