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It was an effort Sawaia's father encouraged, The Daily Press wrote.
"I told him, you won't be happy until you try it (turning pro)," Sawaia's father Wade Sawaia told The Daily Press. "You're 21 years old, you have a lot of time ahead of you and if you want to give it a try, go ahead.
"He's doing what he wants to do so his life can go on," Wade Sawaia added.
Sawaia ultimately won a contract - with the independent rookie Salt Lake Trappers. But he soon did have to move on with life. His stay in Salt Lake City proved brief. He saw just two outings.
Sawaia's pro career began and ended that summer with Salt Lake City, signed out of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
In April 1989, The Daily Press noted UNLV's 24-7 start and that Sawaia was a big part of it. Sawaia won his previous five starts and saved three games.
With Salt Lake City, Sawaia saw those two outings. Together, he went just 1.1 innings and gave up six earned runs, for an official ERA of 40.50. Those two outings proved the extent of his pro baseball career.
In his life since, Sawaia has stayed in sports, he just turned to a different one: Golf.
Sawaia settled in Nevada, where he's become a high school golf coach. He even earned state preps coach of the year, taking his Coronado High School to its third-consecutive state championship as he coached his final season in 2024.
"Coronado's strong point was just the team concept and playing for each other and the name on the bag and shirt," Sawaia told The Las Vegas Review-Journal after his Coach of the Year award. "You hear that a lot in other sports, but it’s really rare to have that kind of mindset with golf."
He's also continued playing. In 2024, he participated in the 69th U.S. Senior Amateur.
- Victorville Daily Press, June 29, 1990: Minor leagues fulfill VV alum Sawaia's major fantasy, Part 2
- Las Vegas Review-Journal, June 19, 2024: Meet the Nevada Preps Coach of the Year
Made the Majors:1,424-31.9
Never Made Majors:3,037-68.1%-X
More 1990 Minor Leaguers:
- James Sass, Probably Not, 11/3/15
- Hiroyuki Satoh, Stopped Him, 12/21/13
- Jason Satre, Fresh Start, 8/2/11
- Jeff Satzinger, Errant Pitch, 1/3/12
- Jim Saul, Every Opportunity, 1/26/14
- Jim Savage, Tie Breaker, 6/13/13
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