Male Athlete Of The Year / Brian Falkenborg, Redmond High School -- Falkenborg Passes All Tests For Redmond -- 6-6 Mustang A Standout In Two Sports

REDMOND - The radar guns beeping in the background every time he pitches are fine.

The constant sizing up, checking out and staring down by professional scouts don't bother him.

And he doesn't even mind the endless string of phone calls from scouts as next week's major-league draft draws near.

But those damned personality tests they keep sending in the mail . . .

"Those are the worst," said Redmond High senior Brian Falkenborg, a 6-foot-6 right-handed pitcher with a 91-mph fastball. "They've got all these questions where there's no right answers and no wrong answers. And it takes an hour and a half to fill out."

Example: You see two kids fighting on the street. Would you:

a) Approach them and try to stop them?

b) Yell at them to stop?

c) Let them keep fighting? or

d) None of the above.

"I picked `c,' " he said. "I'd let them keep fighting."

Which probably means:

a) He's too passive;

b) He's too aggressive;

c) He's too passive-aggressive;

d) The scout who sent him the test hasn't seen this guy pitch.

Throw away the psychobabble, and Falkenborg is simply one of the top pro prospects in the state. With room to fill out physically, he has command of four pitches, including a fastball that consistently runs in the high 80s and has reached 91 mph.

He was 7-3 - losing three one-run games - with a 1.02 earned-run average and 86 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched for the

Mustangs, who advanced to the Class AAA state tournament. Along the way, he pitched a no-hitter and five innings of a combined no-hitter.

This despite a late start because of the state basketball tournament and a sore back that sidelined him for at least two starts in the middle of the season.

"Basically, he was awesome all year," Redmond baseball Coach Bob Currie said. "He was tremendous."

He was also the KingCo Conference Player of the Year in basketball as the center who led Redmond to a KingCo title, the state quarterfinals and a fourth-place AAA finish.

All of which means:

a) Falkenborg ate a lot of Quarter Pounders this spring;

b) He doesn't plan to play another basketball game for at least 10 or 15 years;

c) He's The Seattle Times' high-school male athlete of the year for the Eastside; or

d) All of the above.

There's no wrong answer to this one. Falkenborg is all of the above.

Quarter Pounders? That's Falkenborg's ritual pregame meal on days he pitches.

No more basketball? With a baseball future that appears so bright - whether he signs a pro contract or uses his Oklahoma State baseball scholarship - the potentially hazardous basketball is likely off limits.

Falkenborg, who averaged 17.2 points and nine rebounds per game last season, played in a Special Olympics benefit basketball game last week - what he figures is his last hoops game.

"I know I'll miss it," he said. "That was a lot of fun. Basketball's a great sport."

Especially great during Redmond's run through KingCo, district and the state tournament. The Mustangs lost only to unbeaten and eventual champion Sehome in the quarterfinals before rallying to place fourth.

"It was one of the greatest experiences I've ever had," he said, "probably my fondest memory of high school - playing basketball with those guys. Walking on the court at KeyArena with 1,000 of your fans on your side, and looking over at the other side, and they have about 50 - it just shows what kind of basketball school you have."

Although he played both basketball and baseball from the start - dabbling only a season or two in soccer - he said he knew baseball, if anything, would be his lasting sport.

"If you'd asked me my freshman year if I would have been all-league in any sport, it might have been baseball," he said. "I never would have even considered I'd be all-league in basketball."

Or even as a sophomore.

"I was too busy getting beat up by (varsity big men) Pat Pintar, Colin Martin and Rustin Beck," he said. "Those guys were awesome."

Good thing for Falkenborg that somebody had the sense to let them fight.

What emerged in the varsity player - in both sports - was a competitive nature unleashed on all-comers.

"It's mental. . . . He's just a tough competitor," Currie said. "He had the physical ability as a sophomore, but as he got older, he got mentally tough and competitive. That's hard to teach. It's something you have."

And, regardless what any personality test says, it's why the scouts keep calling. Every night.

"They ask you how your arm's feeling, when you're going to pitch (for summer team Chaffey), ask you if there's a cutoff round where you wouldn't even consider signing," he said. "They want to know if they draft you they can sign you."

Most major-league teams would like a shot at him. But who will get him - if anyone can sign him?

On the other hand, who cares? It's not like Falkenborg's going to try to influence them.

He's already got draft day planned. He'll take the day off school, wait for a call. . . .

And let them fight.

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Brian Falkenborg / bio.

High School: Redmond.

Sports: Basketball, baseball.

Year: Senior.

Honors/highlights: KingCo Conference's Player of the Year in basketball and a Star Times all-area selection. The 6-foot-6 center tied for fifth in KingCo scoring with 17.2 average and averaged nine rebounds and two blocked shots per game. . . . In baseball, was first-team All-Crown Division pitcher with a 7-3 record, 1.02 earned-run average, 86 strikeouts and 16 walks in 62 innings. Threw a no-hitter and five innings of another combined no-hitter and had three shutouts.

Academic honors: 3.4 GPA.

Hobbies: Hack golf.

Personal: Born Jan. 18, 1978, in Newport Beach, Calif.; family moved to Eastside when he was 5. . . . Oldest of two brothers. Younger brother Wes, a Redmond sophomore, was a teammate for first time this spring. . . . Father, Tom, is a Bellevue police officer. Mother, Jane, is a Bellevue City Hall employee.

College: Oklahoma State (baseball scholarship).