Story Photos
 Photo by Greg Ebersole R.A. Long's Jonah Hobson takes batting practice before the All-State Feeder Series baseball doubleheader Wednesday at Lower Columbia College. |
Covering All the bases
Thursday, June 3, 2004 8:03 AM PDT
By Ben Zimmerman
Printable version
E-mail this articleThere is no secret to Jonah Hobson's sweet baseball stroke, nor is there any way to teach it.
Hobson is a natural at the plate, smooth and fluid with the bat. If the soon-to-be R.A. Long graduate and future Lower Columbia Red Devil had LEARNED the mechanics, grip, timing and balance that helped him tear up Greater St. Helens 3A League pitching -- and draw comparisons to Will Clark, John Olerud and Rafael Palmeiro -- perhaps his technique could be transferred to others.
But Hobson was just born with a beautiful swing.
"You can't teach it," said Donegal Fergus, an LCC assistant coach and Hobson's senior legion coach last summer. "You can refine it. You can tinker with it. But you can't teach it."
Credit goes to Hobson's father, Joe, for teaching Jonah to bat left-handed when he was four years old.
After that, Jonah took over.
"None of my coaches have ever really messed with my swing since then," said Hobson. "I'm naturally a righty. I golf left-handed and bat left-handed. Everything else, I'm a righty."
With batting mastered at an early age, Hobson was able to focus on the rest of his game, and blossomed into one of the area's best five-tool players.
"Jonah is a very tough out," said Joe Bair, who coached Hobson as an R.A. Long assistant two years ago and against Hobson as the Mark Morris head coach this spring. "He is multi-faceted. If you play him back, he can drop down a drag bunt. And he has great gap power. His speed can hurt you on the basepaths, he covers a lot of ground in the outfield, and he has a good arm."
"He's got all the tools," Fergus added. "He can run. He can hit for average. He can hit for power. He can play almost anywhere defensively. And he can throw."
Hobson's versatility is a boon to the LCC baseball program, which reloaded this spring -- again -- with a stellar recruiting class. Hobson is part of an incoming 2004 Red Devil contingent that includes Castle Rock pitcher Kyle Foster, Kelso pitcher Mac Pietsch, Columbia River pitcher Kyle Beitey, and several other standouts from Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
Hobson just hopes to find playing time.
"Hopefully I can find a spot and fit in," he said. "We have three great pitchers from the area and a tradition to uphold."
At any other local high school, Hobson would have been THE star athlete. But his Lumberjack career happened to coincide with Adam Perry, the most prolific passer (quarterback) and scorer (guard) in the state -- and Hobson's best friend. Their camaraderie started when the pair were nine-year-old little league foes and has been cemented by almost 10 years of rivalry and teamwork.
"Without sports, I wouldn't have got to know Jonah," said Perry. "On the field, we understand each other. Off the field, we go at it."
As football teammates, Perry and Hobson formed one of the state's most lethal pass-and-catch combinations. Hobson accounted for 129 of Perry's school-record 410 completions while setting records of his own for receptions in a season (68) and receiving yardage (836).
In basketball, Hobson made opponents pay for overloading defensively against Perry, who said the only reason he turned out for baseball senior season was to play alongside his pal. Playing in the constant shade of Perry's shadow did not bother Hobson; playing together made them both better.
"Without Jonah in football, I wouldn't have been half the player I was," said Perry. "He was our other go-to guy in basketball. He was the main reason I played baseball."
"If anything, playing with Adam made me better," Hobson added. "Teams keyed so much on him, I sort of slipped under the radar and did my thing. Besides, I get my fair share of attention and accolades. He's my friend, so I don't mind."
Their friendship was borne of rivalry, and Hobson said he enjoys competing against Perry as much as collaborating on touchdowns or fast breaks. Whether it's video games or dunk hoops in Marc Hewitt's driveway, the stakes are higher when it's mano-a-mano.
"We're real competitive," said Perry, "in pretty much everything we do."
Hobson concedes an edge to Perry in football and basketball, but on the diamond, Hobson and his aluminum eloquence are king. As a senior, Hobson batted .454 with an on-base percentage of .501, with eight doubles and four triples. He was an all-league selection as a junior right fielder and again as a shortstop/center fielder this season. Part of what makes Hobson's achievements stand out is that he often appears to track down fly balls on the warning track, or smack line drives in the alley, without effort.
"It just comes so easy to Jonah," Fergus said. "His swing can look lazy, almost half-assed. But he generates tremendous bat-head speed. There is not a pitch he can't reach."
"When Jonah swings, it doesn't seem like he'll have much power," added Bair. "Then all of a sudden, the ball is over the fence."
Can't teach that.
Notes: Hobson, Perry, Foster, Pietsch and other senior baseball players from Ilwaco, Naselle, Wahkiakum, Mark Morris, Kelso, Woodland, Castle Rock and Toutle Lake played a nine-inning game at David Story Field on Wednesday as part of the All-State Feeder Series. The game, organized by Bair, saw the Cougars crush the Huskies 13-2 thanks to a 7-run seventh inning.
Coaches and reporters nominated players to the All-State Series; rosters for that game will be announced June 7 and the games will be played June 12-13 in Wenatchee. Nominees included Foster (three innings pitched, seven strikeouts), Toutle Lake's Matt Hanna (4-for-5, double), Kelso's David Morgan (three no-hit, shutout innings pitched, five strikeouts), Wahkiakum's David McNally (two innings pitched, three strikeouts), and Kelso's Craig Lemmons (1-for-3, two walks).
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