one play before leaving with an injured right thumb. In the season finale 21–20 win against the University of California, he completed 21 out of 25 passes for 194 yards and one touchdown. In July 1998, he left school with two seasons of eligibility remaining, in order to play professional baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals. In two seasons he threw for 4,235 yards, 20 touchdowns and 22 interceptions in 23 starts. At the time he ranked seventh All-time in the school's career passing list, fifth in career completion percentage, seventh in career completions, eighth in career attempts, ninth in total offense and eleventh in career touchdown passes. Scouts considered him to be a potential first-round draft choice in the NFL Draft. His development in football came without the benefit of spring practice, because he also was a starting pitcher for the Stanford Cardinal baseball team. In the spring of 1996, he played as a true freshman and was named the number two starter in the pitching rotation. He compiled a 7–2 record, 70 strikeouts (tied for sixth in the Pac-10) and a 3.51 ERA (fourth in the Pac-10). He also ranked among the league leaders in complete games (4), innings pitched (842) and strikeouts per-nine-innings (7.5). He helped the team finish with a 41–19 record, a second place in the Pac-10 and an appearance in the NCAA West Regional. He received first-team freshman All-American and honorable-mention All-Pac-10 honors. As a sophomore, his 8–3 record and 110 strikeouts, helped the team reach the 1997 College World Series. As a junior, he had a 10–5 record, making 115 strikeouts in 99.1 innings. He compiled a career record of 25–11 and ranked eighth all-time in school history in wins and sixth in strikeouts with 299. His career ERA was 4.80. He contributed to the team winning the Pac-10 Southern Division championship in 1997 and 1998. Baseball career Although Hutchinson had signed a letter of intent to attend Stanford University and was asking for a $1.5 million signing bonus (at the time one of the biggest bonus ever by a draftee), he was still selected 26th overall in the first round because of his potential, after being drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft. He decided to attend college, even after the Braves met most of his demands. He was selected in the second round (48th overall) of