San Bruno native cruises in professional debut

Evening-time in Sarasota, Fla. is a new frontier for Chris Petrini. But, the left-handed pitcher -- recently signing a minor-league contract with the Baltimore Orioles out of Cal -- has swiftly discovered a way to spend that time. Petrini's got his routine down pat. He walks to the local Target from his hotel room on a near nightly basis, making phone calls to family and friends while en route. Once there, besides doing some necessary grocery shopping, he stops by the pet store where the store policy allows patrons to take dogs out of the cages and play with them. One puppy in particular has made a fast friends, an English Bulldog which Petrini has affectionately named Lefty. The pup may very well be Petrini's best friend in Sarasota, where the San Bruno native was assigned to the Orioles' rookie-class squad in the Gulf Coast League. "I'm actually doing a lot better than I thought I'd be," Petrini said. "It kind of hit me when I got out here -- everybody's in the same spot and everybody is far from home. But, I'm literally bringing my baseball glove to work every day." Petrini started his first work week in style, making his debut in Monday's season opener with the GCL Orioles. In an 8-4 loss to the GCL Twins, Petrini worked one shutout inning in the ninth. The first batter he faced was Twins cleanup hitter Kennys Vargas -- currently hitting .400 (6 for 15) on the year -- who struck out on three pitches. Petrini didn't allow a ball to leave the infield. A swinging bunt single was the only blemish on his debut. "I had a lot of adrenaline. I was really pumped up to get out there and throw," Petrini said. "I was a little nervous, but once I got out on the mound, I realized this is something I've done my whole life." Going pro was no sure thing for Petrini. As a fifth-year senior at Cal, he was bypassed in the Major League Baseball draft held June 7-9, making him a free agent to sign with whichever team would have him. At 23, the 6-foot, 225-pound Petrini didn't come without red flags, however. He missed the 2007 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He worked his way back to post a solid redshirt-junior year in 2009, going 4-3 with a 3.98 ERA. At the start of the 2010 campaign, however, the southpaw suffered another setback when he sustained a ligament injury in the ankle of his stride foot. After a late start, Petrini rebounded with solid work out of the bullpen, and eventually worked into the Golden Bears rotation. He finished the season with 16 appearances -- eight of which were starts -- posting a 1-1 record with a 5.44 ERA over 49 2/3 innings. "Everyone said I was going to get drafted, then I started getting texts the morning of the draft that said I was having trouble getting my physical passed," Petrini said. Since his name didn't get called in the draft, Petrini stayed in the game by helping coach the San Mateo American Legion summer team. The gig turned out to be very temporary. On June 12, while driving to a game, Petrini received a call from Orioles area scout James Keller with a minor-league contract offer. "He said: 'Forget about coaching the game and let's get your glove and go out to Florida and play," Petrini said. Interestingly, the Giants -- the team for which Petrini grew up rooting -- were hosting the Orioles in a three-game interleague series starting June 14, the day Petrini was due at training camp in Sarasota. Petrini had tickets to the game that night, in the mezzanine level behind the Giants dugout no less. He had to give up the tickets, but upon touching down in Florida, one of his first orders of business was to subscribe to MLB Network so he could keep up with the Giants. Petrini was hesitant to comment about his allegiances throughout the Giants-Orioles series, though in response to some journalistic pestering, he did give some insight once the series ended. "Oh, you're killing me," Petrini said. "I'm saying since it was my first day here, I was rooting for the Giants." Petrini is the third oldest player on the GCL Orioles' roster, less than four months younger than the oldest player, right-handed pitcher Andy Deain. The GCL plays a 60-game schedule. The Orioles are currently 2-2 in a four-team division, in which they play only day games, and only with the GCL affiliates of the Twins, Rays, and Red Sox. The regular season ends Aug. 28, at which time Petrini could well adopt Lefty the pup. "I told my parents I was going to bring it home," Petrini said.