Although the University of Hawai'i officially became a Division I baseball program in 1971, it really didn't reach the big time until it got The Franchise.

That was Derek Tatsuno's moniker when he pitched for the Rainbows from 1977 to 1979. It was fitting.

"Derek was the Pied Piper because before he came, we used to draw about a 100 people, 200 people," retired UH baseball coach Les Murakami said. "Then when he came, we started drawing. All sellout crowds when he pitched. When you come down to it, he was the one that changed the whole scenario."

It began at 'Aiea High, where Tatsuno compiled a 27-1 record in his four seasons of varsity ball. He was drafted in the 12th round by the Cincinnati Reds. But he had no desire to turn pro at this juncture. He wanted to play at a Division I school. He chose UH.

"I was planning on going to either Arizona or Oregon," Tatsuno said. "I was kind of planning on going abroad. At that time, the UH program had a pretty competitive schedule. We had BYU, Florida State, Arizona, USC, Arizona State, Oklahoma.

"My intent was to attend a D-1 school. That was my goal."

Tatsuno helped put the Rainbows on the collegiate baseball map. He beat some of the best teams in the country. He became college baseball's first 20-game winner in 1979. That season capped an amazing career that would land him in the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.

Tatsuno went 40-6 with a 2.04 earned run average in his three seasons at UH. He amassed 541 strikeouts, 34 complete games and 10 shutouts.

But baseball as professional turned out different for the power-throwing left-hander. Perhaps in a different era, he might have prospered. The increase of foreigners entering Major League Baseball in recent years has led to talk of a worldwide draft. Such a concept might have helped Tatsuno.

An agreement between Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball prevents each from drafting amateur players from their respective countries. But back in the day, Tatsuno was sought after by each. The only way he could play in Japan was not to play in NPB, but in a semi-pro league for a company affiliated with one of the pro teams.

The San Diego Padres, then the parent of club of the Triple-A Hawai'i Islanders, drafted Tatsuno in the second round in 1979. But he ended up signing with Prince Hotels, an affiliate of the NPB Seibu Lions.

"Finding a loophole of going overseas to Japan was like a bargaining thing for me," Tatsuno said. "I wasn't only stuck with the U.S. (teams)."

With leverage, MLB teams were cautious, Tatsuno recalled. Scouts quizzed Tatsuno on how much it would take to sign him. Of course, bonuses weren't close to what they are today.

"They found out I may possibly go to Japan," Tatsuno said. "That kind of scared them off during the draft. That's why I was drafted in the second round. But since the Padres, being (the Islanders') Triple-A affiliate and I guess the way we were drawing (large crowds) at UH, they felt they'd take a risk and drafted me."

Tatsuno said he was seeking a bonus in "six figures" from MLB teams, but the prevailing rate for the top pick in the draft was about $200,000.

Because the Prince Hotels team was like a club team in an organized industrial league, Tatsuno technically wasn't a pro, even though he was being paid as an employee of the company. The only way he could join the Seibu Lions was if no major league team drafted him in subsequent seasons, thus making him an undrafted free agent.

But the Chicago White Sox (1980, second round of the winter secondary phase), New York Mets (1980, third round, summer secondary phase), Cincinnati Reds (1981, second round, winter secondary phase) and finally the Milwaukee Brewers (1982, first round winter regular phase) all continued to select Tatsuno, essentially blocking him from signing with an NPB team.

After 2 1/2 seasons in Japan, Tatsuno returned to the U.S. and signed with the Brewers because they were the last team with his signing rights.

What prompted Tatsuno to leave Japan was that catchers could not handle the movement of his 90-plus-mph fastballs, so the club adjusted his pitching motion and he lost some of his effectiveness. The irony is the movement is what makes pitches tough to hit, not so much the velocity.

Tatsuno would make it as high as Triple-A, ending his pro career in Hawai'i, while he was with the Islanders in what turned out to be their final season here.

Over the years, Tatsuno often has been asked about his decision to play in Japan. But to this day, he has "no regrets." At the time, the Japanese offer was better.

Today, Tatsuno works for the state's Department of Transportation airports division. He's involved with the game as an assistant coach with Punahou's varsity team, and is still revered in Hawai'i baseball lore.