IT'S ALL IN THE TED KELLY TIPS CAP TO WILLIAMS.

Byline: Chris Cocoles Staff Writer

LONG BEACH - Ted Williams might have been the greatest hitter to ever play baseball, but to many college-aged players, Williams is just a name from the distant past.

Ted Williams? Played with Socrates and Plato in the outfield, right?

But Williams isn't all Greek to Chris Kelly. The Pepperdine first baseman has dedicated his career to swinging the bat the way his hero did.

``Best hitter ever,'' Kelly declared. ``There was an article that talked about him and Ty Cobb going to a hotel room somewhere with a bottle of whiskey and talking hitting and getting into arguments all night. I would give anything to talk for an hour with that guy. Just ask him about hitting. I'm sure one question would set it off for three hours.''

Williams' book ``The Science of Hitting'' is Kelly's favorite. Kelly, a junior who enters tonight's NCAA Tournament opener at Long Beach State leading the Waves in average, homers and RBI, has read it cover to cover at least 10 times.

``If you're going to idolize somebody, and everybody has somebody like your McGwires and Sosas, how about going to the guys who really did something for this game,'' Pepperdine assistant coach Steve Rodriguez said. ``It's impressive that he has that knowledge to think that's the guy who he wants to be like. He was a guy who could just flat-out hit.''

At his Las Vegas home, Kelly's room is a virtual time capsule of baseball greats. But his pictures of Jackie Robinson and Yankee Stadium were dwarfed by eight 8x10 snapshots of Williams. A photo of the last man to bat .400 in the big leagues also is taped to his locker at Eddy D. Field Stadium in Malibu.

``That's his idol. I remember on his cleats he'd write No. 9 on the swoosh,'' said Danny Kelly, Chris' younger brother and a freshman infielder for the Waves. ``He broke down in tears when the guy passed away. He was heartbroken.''

Last July 5, Kelly had just played a Great Lakes League summer game when his Northern Ohio coach called to tell him Williams had died of cardiac arrest. Kelly, one of the Waves' most laid-back characters, sat in his room alone and stared with glassy eyes at the television reports for four hours.

``I just felt like I knew him,'' he said. ``I've always wanted to be Ted Williams.''

In a few months, Kelly might get the chance to follow Williams' path to the big Leagues. Kelly is expected to be drafted reasonably high in the draft that begins Tuesday, and he figures to sign a pro contract rather than return to Pepperdine for his senior year.

Kelly always has dreamed of playing professional baseball even though a coach at his hometown Nevada Las Vegas once told him he'd never be a Division I player.

Despite producing gaudy power numbers in the desert air at Las Vegas' Durango High, major college programs stayed away. In fact, only Nevada appeared serious about recruiting him.

But one day before signing with the Wolf Pack, Rodriguez made a call from Pepperdine and Kelly was immediately hooked on the Waves upon his visit to Malibu.

He smacked 18 home runs in 2002 as a sophomore but hit an ordinary .254. This season, a more selective swing and better consistency has resulted in a .338 average with 15 homers and 54 RBI.

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes

Photo:

Pepperdine slugger Chris Kelly, a lifelong fan of former baseball great Ted Williams, leads the Waves in batting average, home runs and RBI.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) TODAY'S GAMES

(2) NCAA BASEBALL: LONG BEACH REGIONAL