Near the end of his 1999 baseball season with the Fargo Redhawks of the independent Northern League, Dave Meyer was told by the Pittsburgh Pirates that they liked what they saw of him.

Friday, May 26, 2000

Near the end of his 1999 baseball season with the Fargo Redhawks of the independent Northern League, Dave Meyer was told by the Pittsburgh Pirates that they liked what they saw of him.

But, they told the righthanded starter they’d like to see him do it again in 2000 (Meyer was 5-2 in ’99) before they would consider signing him.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, on the other hand, saw all they needed to see of Meyer, an Austin graduate, on May 18.

On that day, Meyer pitched three scoreless innings of an exhibition game against the St. Paul Saints in their Midway Stadium.

Less than a week later, the Dodgers contacted Fargo manager Doug Simunic, who then delivered the news to Meyer.

"My manager said ‘Meyer, get in my office,’ " recalled Meyer. "I thought, ‘Oh, no. I did something wrong.’ "

In fact, Meyer did nothing wrong – unless impressing the Dodgers is wrong.

Simunic asked Meyer if he’d like to play for L.A., then told him the Dodgers called and wanted to sign him.

"I was shocked," said Meyer, who was told to keep a lid on the news until an announcement at a team meeting could be made. But, before Meyer left the clubhouse to go running with a teammate, he was running off at the mouth.

"Do you know how hard it is not to tell anybody something like that?" Meyer said. "This is a dream.

"Just to play pro ball with the Redhawks is a dream. But you can’t stop once a dream happens; you keep going. My ultimate dream is to play Major League Baseball."

Sometime between today and Sunday, Meyer will fly to California, where he will sign a minor league contract with the Dodgers, who will buy out the remainder of his deal with the Redhawks.

Then, Meyer will be assigned to San Bernardino of the Class A California League. If he succeeds there early – he’ll begin pitching next week – Meyer, 24, will be promoted to San Antonio of the Double A Texas League in no time.

"The Northern League is considered the equivalent of Double A or low Triple A," Meyer said. "They figure I should be able to pitch at Double A."

Meyer is primed for the move to organized baseball. This offseason, while working out at his alma matter, Mayville St. (N.D.), he put on 25 pounds of muscle.

"I’m in great shape, the best shape of my life," he said. "I did a lot of lifting with my legs."

Meyer utilizes a hard 85 mph slider that scouts have told him is Major League ready, a 92-94 mph fastball and two offspeed pitches – a curveball and changeup.

He’ll throw any pitch at any count.

"I don’t have a problem throwing a curveball on a 3-2 count," he said. "In fact, I like it, because the batters don’t expect it."

Meyer is the latest Northern Leaguer to make the jump to organized ball, joining such players as Atlanta’s Kerry Lightenberg and Ranger Jeff Zimmerman.

Meyer’s catcher for the Redhawks last season, Chris Coste, is now playing in the Cleveland Indians’ minor leagues.