ALL CAUGHT UP CAMARILLO PRODUCT BORCHARD FINDS HIS WAY IN MAJORS.

Byline: ROMONA SHELBURNE LOCAL

When you hit the ball as far as Joe Borchard, nicknames tend to pile up as fast as the expectations ... and don't even get started on the comparisons.

Coming out of Stanford as the 12th overall pick by the Chicago White Sox in the 2000 MLB Draft, the former Camarillo High standout was compared to everyone from Mark McGwire to Mickey Mantle.

Chicago paid him like he'd already hit 50 homers his first season, too, inking the powerful switch-hitter to a record $5.3 million signing bonus.

Fans on White Sox message boards all but wrote him into the starting lineup within a year. LTP, they called him. As in ... Light Tower Power.

Borchard even looked the part. He's 6-foot-4, 230 pounds with lumberjack forearms and movie-star looks. He even had the aw-shucks humility to win over the most jaded cynics.

You know where this is going, right?

You know there's no way anyone could live up to that, right?

C'mon, Mickey Mantle?

``I wasn't around during that time ... but to compare a player to Mickey Mantle? There might be one or two players a century who live up to that,'' said ex-Marlins manager Joe Girardi. ``It was quite unfair for him, but that's what people do.''

After five middling seasons in the White Sox organization, Borchard had 13 major league home runs and 89 strikeouts. His swing was too long, the White Sox outfield was too crowded and his average was below his playing weight.

This spring, the White Sox cut ties. He landed in Seattle, then Florida.

But here's where the story gets good. If it was a movie, our strapping young hero with the $5.3 million- albatross around his neck would fall flat on his face, never to be heard from again. Casey would strike out and there'd be no joy in Mudville.

Instead, Borchard threw in a plot twist. What do you expect from a guy who has spent the last six years learning that you can't script anything?

After spending most of the season as a pinch-hitter, Borchard got a chance to start when Marlins' right fielder Jeremy Hermida was lost for the season. He seized the opportunity, batting 14 of 48 (.292) with three home runs and seven RBIs in September.

``It was a great way to finish the year,'' he said. ``I was happy to take advantage of the opportunity to start. ... It's funny the way things go sometimes. It's much different than you expect. But it's all part of learning to be a major-league player.''

Work ethic has never been Borchard's problem. If anything, he gripped the bat too tightly. He aimed for perfection, to fix every hole in his game.

There's nothing wrong with this path. Frankly, that's what you're supposed to do in the minor leagues: Learn your craft, fix your weak spots, build your confidence.

Doesn't everyone have to pay their dues?

``We're just regular people trying to work our way up just like everybody else,'' Borchard said. ``We just have to do it in front of everyone.''

This is not an uncommon path for a power hitter. Paul Konerko put up similar numbers to Borchard in his first three years: seven home runs, 42 strikeouts with a batting average below .220. Sammy Sosa took five seasons to hit more than 15 home runs or higher than .260.

As much as it might seem that Borchard has been around a while, this was his first full season in the major leagues. He finished with a .230 average and 10 home runs in 239 at-bats.

But that's not the only reason he's happy.

You hear a different quality in Borchard's voice these days. He's more relaxed and confident. He laughs more and smiles broadly.

``It's tough when you go from No. 1 draft pick to `Gee, I wonder where I'm going to end up tommorrow?''' said his father, Joe Borchard Sr. ``But I think he finally, actually believes that he's a good major league baseball player now, that he belongs in the big leagues.

``He's on his way now.''

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