Baseball: Hobgood’s decision appears to paying off

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This story on Matt Hobgood of Norco caught my eye. He gave up football after his freshman year to focus on baseball.

Hobgood, a junior, said he enjoyed football and the pageantry that surrounds the program, he just didn’t want to live in Norco’s smelly weight room and grow into a big, sweaty lineman.

Not when he could be taking BP and catching rays on the less noxious ball field (if you’re not familiar with the area, they have lots of livestock on campus, but I’d take the smell of manure over sweat, by a nose).

Hobgood’s decision appears to be paying off, as he slammed eight home runs in his first 11 games this season and has a 1.46 earned-run average in four starts. Not only that, he has committed to Cal State Fullerton.

Normally, I’d never recommend an athlete quit a sport they enjoy, even for the sake of improving in another, but I’ve seen some of these Norco linemen up close, and I think they really do live in the weight room.

--Dan Arritt

-- Image from www.correctmindforweightloss.com