Landing On His Feet -- Marriage Helps Lift Erik Hanson To A New Level

Everyone who knows Erik Hanson seems to wonder about his early-season turnaround from last year.

"My insurance lady was asking me what is different about me," the Mariner pitcher said. "I'm not sure there is any big change in me."

There is a big change somewhere. When it comes to turns, Hanson's is no Renton S curve. His is a Cascade Mountain switchback. When he goes to the mound in Oakland tonight, the man who had a 2-7 record in April and May last season will look to go 6-0.

There are many theories why.

One is an improved curveball.

"Erik used to buckle right-handed batters' knees with that breaking ball," said Oakland scout Mike Paul, who coached Hanson for three years here. "Last year, no one gave way to it. This year, the buckle is back."

Another is better control of his fastball. Yet another is more frequent use of his changeup.

"He's got a really good one," Seattle Manager Lou Piniella said of his changeup. "From what I've seen he's a hell of a pitcher now, no matter what he went through last year."

Hanson talks gingerly of last year, the hurt and confusion of a literally lost season still with him. Part of the pain he will not discuss were his mother's near-fatal health problems through most of the summer.

One significant change in Hanson's life came in November. He married Laura Georgetti after a three-year courtship.

"Laura has helped me a lot. She's a positive, confident person and she shares that with me," he said. "She has a lot of faith in me, so much that she put her own career on hold for me."

She managed a hair salon at the Four Seasons Olympic Hotel in Seattle, working her way up the business side for eight years. She brings an element of grit to a husband who works hard, but whose talent came naturally while growing up in a well-off family that provided what Hanson admits was "a sheltered existence."

Hanson learned a lot about himself through his rough start, then an improved stretch in which he won six of 11 decisions to come back to 8-11 on July 17. Then came a terrible second half that included three weeks on the disabled list with a bad back. He finished 8-17.

Through it all, Hanson's teammates were supportive. But talking with them inevitably led to "try this, try that." Laura's focus was the person in the muddle, not the pitcher on the mound.

Talking to her was different. "Laura has given me someone to bare my soul to," Hanson said. "You're never alone on a team with the guys all around, but sometimes you need to talk to someone else, who cares for you as an individual away from the field. She's pretty much my best friend. Laura is someone I can relate to."

Not that all of this relating was easy. "She played the heavy a lot last year," Hanson said. "She also kept me upbeat and a lot of times that wasn't easy."

She allows that at times she was tough on him.

"I tried different approaches," she said, "always trying to sharpen his self-image.

"Sometimes I didn't say anything and let him express himself. Sometimes I got a bit strong . . . Yeah, I even cussed.

"When it was all over, last year, I looked back and said to myself `Wow, that was really bad. I think it was worse than I let myself believe, just so I could stay positive for Erik.

"People just look at pro athletes and see the adulation and attention and the money, of course. They wouldn't believe the daily stress, the emotional toll it takes when things don't go right."

For all her support, Hanson is still on the mound by himself. His mind may be at rest, but his pitches had better move.

"It's not that I feel I have anything to prove after last year," he said. "I've had good years, bad years, mediocre years."

He does want to prove something, however, after losing in salary arbitration last winter. He pitches for the club's offer of $1.25 million, a cut from his $1.35 million of last year. He had sought $2.3 million.

"To be honest I think of losing that arbitration from time to time," the pitcher said. "It is somewhat of an injustice, a landmark case. I'm the only starting pitcher to get a pay cut in arbitration as we know it. Todd Stottlemyre did not have a good year for a world championship team in Toronto and he won a raise."

Hanson is willing to wonder if his low-key nature worked against him in the past. "I've always tried to be even-keeled. Maybe I was too much so. Coming into this year I tried to put a few extra logs on the fire.

"Last year was so frustrating it was almost maddening. I've tried not to look back on it to help get over it. But now that I do I've got to say it was flat-out maddening."

Hanson does not use the black hole the entire club fell into as his alibi. He says only that one bad pitch too often cost him a chance to win.

"Overall I was not throwing the ball the way I had before. My arm feels better. I feel better. I am more confident this year. As a result I'm throwing the ball better."

Hanson is much more into the game this year. So much so that he volunteered to play outfield in the blowout Monday night, and was turned down. "Maybe an inning or two to give Junior (Griffey) or Jay (Buhner) a rest," he said. "It won't do anything for that one game, but that rest for them may mean something in another game."

This involvement at home and at the park has made the days between starts as different as the games he pitches.

"It takes four days for the arm to recover," Hanson said, "and you're always impatient to get back out there, only when you're going bad it feels a lot longer.

"It's tough waiting five days to atone."

Or a season.

----------------------------------------. Erik the great.

Erik Hanson of Seattle ranks among the top five in the American League in four major pitching categories: . VICTORIES. . . 1. McDowell Chi. 6-1. . 2. Hanson Sea. 5-0. .

Sanderson Cal. 5-1. .

Clemens Bos. 5-2. .

Johnson Sea. 5-2. . . WINNING PERCENTAGE. . . 1. Hanson Sea. 1.000. .

Alvarez Chi. 1.000. . 3. McDowell Chi. .857. . 4. Sanderson Cal. .833. . . EARNED-RUN AVERAGE. . . 1. Brown Tex. 1.27. . 2. Hanson Sea. 1.41. . 3. Wells Detroit 1.54. . 4. Clemens Bos. 1.73. . 5. Key N.Y. 1.79. . . STRIKEOUTS. . . 1. Johnson Sea. 63. . 2. Clemens Bos. 59. . 3. Appier K.C. 44. . 4. Finley Cal. 43. .

Langston Cal. 43. . 6. Cone K.C. 40. . 7. Hanson Sea. 39.