ALL JETHAWKS DID WAS OVERACHIEVE TEAM MISSES PLAYOFFS BUT WAS A WINNER IN DEVELOPMENT.

Byline: Gideon Rubin Staff Writer

LANCASTER - They were for the most part a collection of misfits who'd either struggled at lower levels of the parent Arizona Diamondbacks system or had worn out their welcomes elsewhere; a clubhouse the JetHawks coaching staff jokingly called the ``halfway house.''

But all they did was overachieve, coming within one game of winning a first-half title and remaining in contention for a wild-card berth until the second to last day of their season.

In the end, the 2003 JetHawks had no playoff berth to show for their efforts. But in terms of player development, which after all is the stated purpose of minor-league ball, the JetHawks had a great run.

Despite significant injuries, untimely promotions, and a grueling schedule exacerbated by a seemingly unprecedented number of extra-inning games, they compiled a 73-67 record, It was their first winning season since beginning their affiliation with the Diamondbacks three years ago, and it was somewhat remarkable.

On the 2003 JetHawks, players had no pasts. Nearly everyone fit in, and nearly everyone got better.

Outfielder Jaime Jones, the sixth overall pick in the 1995 draft but out of baseball after being released by the Florida Marlins in 2001, resurrected his career in Lancaster. At age 26 and despite missing three weeks after his foot was run over at a gas station, he eventually earned a promotion to Double-A El Paso (Texas).

Infielders Dan Uggla and Kyle Nichols and outfielders Jay Garthwaite and Marland Williams, all thought to be overmatched by the advanced Single-A California League, proved otherwise.

Nichols batted .312 and set a franchise record with 31 homers. Uggla batted .290 with 23 homers, Garthwaite batted .297 with 22 homers, including several tape-measure shots, and Williams batted .287 and set a franchise record with 57 stolen bases.

``Coming into this year, the organization was very skeptical about whether they should be here or not,'' JetHawks manager Mike Aldrete said. ``All four of those guys are guys that for all intensive purposes might not have belonged here, or done enough to warrant being on this team, but I don't think you can say that now. They've proven that they can play at this level and they've earned a chance to show that they can play at the next level.''

Left-handed pitcher Cliff McMachen, a release candidate out of spring training who joined the team in early May, typified the JetHawks season. After struggling in the early part of the year, he emerged as one of the league's hottest pitchers in the last few weeks, going 2-1 with a 2.80 ERA in his last four starts. He was the winning pitcher in Sunday's season finale, a 10-7 victory over Stockton.

And although Aldrete, nor anyone else on the JetHawks coaching staff, wants to take credit for the amazing number of turnarounds the 2003 team produced, players are all to eager to give it to them.

``You can't attribute that to anything but the coaching staff,'' McMachen said. ``They work their butts off to try to make us better, as a player you can hope for a coaching staff like that, but that's almost something you can't expect, and when you do get it it's something special.''

If a single moment can alter a team's identity, if not its legacy, the Aug. 18 brawl precipitated by Inland Empire's Evel Bastida striking JetHawks pitcher Josh Kranawetter with a bat, was that moment.

The JetHawks went 5-6 the rest of the way after that game, and for better and for worse, it was never the same team.

``I think the brawl was pretty much the turning point of the season for us,'' Nichols said. ``We were half a game out (in the wild-card race) going into the brawl, and then after the brawl everything starting falling apart for us. We had our suspensions, we had big bats out of our lineup; we had big pitchers out of our bullpen.''

Nevertheless, while it took its toll on physical and psychological levels, the brawl accelerated players' development as teammates, in a way only an event such as that could.

``If you were arguing and bickering with a guy or two guys on the team before that date, you're not doing that any more,'' Kranawetter said. ``I wasn't seeing eye to eye with a couple of guys on the team, but after that happened, I've seen that even though we weren't seeing eye to eye, they were the first guys out there helping me out, so that changes your whole perspective on people. You know you've good teammates when that happens.''

Gideon Rubin [phone]

gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1) Former first-round draft pick Jaime Jones, once out of baseball, resurrected his career in Lancaster and earned promotion to Double-A El Paso (Texas).

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer

(2 -- ran in AV edition only) Manager Mike Aldrete, above, and his staff drew praise from the team after the overachieving JetHawks nearly made the playoffs.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

(3 -- ran in SAC edition only) Infielder Dan Uggla, above, batted .290 with 23 home runs to help the lightly regarded JetHawks nearly qualify for playoffs in a season of overachievement.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer