Fox isn’t sly about his goals, confidence
On a gorgeous, cloudless morning earlier this week, Jordan Fox, dressed in shorts and wearing a dark blue La Puente Bishop Amat T-shirt, jogged onto the baseball field for a workout even though puddles of water were still standing in the infield from Sunday’s storm.
With baseball practice officially beginning Monday and the opening pitch for the season only three weeks away, Fox is gearing up for a senior season that could influence his future for years to come.
“Words can’t describe how excited I am,” he said.
Last season, he set a school record with 56 hits. In June the left-hander suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder, underwent surgery then spent five months in rehabilitation. As if being a 5-foot-9, 150-pound first baseman isn’t enough to make college coaches skeptical, Fox now has to show he’s healthy and can repeat his record-setting junior season.
“I want to silence that in the first tournament,” he said of the skepticism.
With a 4.3 grade-point average and the ability to hit almost any pitch, Fox might be the most appealing unsigned senior in the Southland. At least his coach, former USC assistant Andy Nieto, thinks so.
“He’s arguably one of the best hitters in Southern California,” Nieto said.
Then how come only Loyola Marymount has made him a scholarship offer?
“He doesn’t fit the profile,” Nieto explained. “Those kind of guys have to grow on you. The guy can get out of bed and get two hits.”
As a first baseman, he’s skilled at scooping balls thrown to him in the dirt. It’s also entertaining to see what he can do if the ball comes in a little too high.
“I have to hope and pray and jump and stretch as high as I can,” he said.
Fox also starts for Bishop Amat’s playoff-bound soccer team, so he’s athletic, smart, a hard worker and a proven hitter. If only college recruiters can get over the size factor, they might discover he’s a bona fide NCAA Division I prospect.
Of course, there’s others who think last year’s 56 hits might be a fluke. But that’s part of sports. You have your doubters and your believers, and at Bishop Amat, they can’t wait for the baseball season to begin so Fox can again prove he can perform with the best.
The baseball season should produce lots of top players and teams. Here are some things to think about:
Anyone trying to figure out the Southland’s No. 1 shortstop might want to seek guidance from UCLA Coach John Savage, who has either signed or received commitments from five senior shortstops: Tyler Rahmatulla of Santa Ana Mater Dei, Cutter Dykstra of Westlake Village Westlake, Chris Amezquita of Anaheim Servite, Tyler Chatwood of Redlands East Valley and Adrian Williams of Moreno Valley Canyon Springs.
There are three schools -- Orange Lutheran, Cypress and Encino Crespi -- whose pitching staffs are so deep they could play back-to-back doubleheaders with no sweat.
Orange Lutheran’s three standout pitchers, Gerrit Cole, Aaron Gates and Brandon Maurer, have signed with UCLA, Pepperdine and Long Beach State, respectively. Cypress has Hawaii-bound Matt Sisto, who was 11-2 last season, junior Dennis Waites, who was 8-2, plus sophomore Cameron Cox.
And Crespi is so loaded with pitching that Coach Scott Muckey is contemplating running his staff as if he were a major-league manager. He’s going to have a starter throw five innings, come in with Loyola Marymount-bound left-hander Ryan Hawthorne to pitch the sixth as a setup man, then finish with Florida State-bound Sean Gilmartin, who had 10 saves last season.
There’s already a much-desired coaching position open. It’s at five-time City Section champion Woodland Hills El Camino Real, where second-year Coach Billy Ramirez was removed Wednesday and replaced with interim Coach Vince Orlando. It’s the second-best job in the City behind Chatsworth, and Orlando is not a candidate for the position in 2009.
Dodger Stadium is going to get a workout the last weekend of May. The Southern Section Divisions II and III championship games will be played there May 29, followed by Divisions I and IV on May 30, and the City Section final May 31.
Anyone who successfully picks the winners of the Foothill and Marmonte leagues deserves a free trip to Las Vegas to apply his skills. Saugus, Valencia and Newhall Hart could take turns beating each other. Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley Royal, Simi Valley and Westlake have rosters filled with outstanding players.
Good luck to those attempting to predict the Southern Section Division I champion. It could be Mater Dei, Long Beach Wilson, Orange Lutheran, Thousand Oaks, Saugus, Lakewood, Hart, Placentia El Dorado or Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley . . .
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