Babkowski gets hot to help Hibernians reach playoffs

By Rich Fisher

Chris Babkowski may have stopped hitting at one point this year, but he never stopped learning. Which is why he began hitting again.

“I don’t think I ever know enough about the game,” the North Hamilton Hibernians catcher said. “I always try to be a student of the game and learn anything I can from anybody. Whether it’s (Nottingham) coach (Charlie) Iacono or travel coaches or college coaches at prospect camps.”

And through his learning process, Babkowski figured out how to turn a sub-par high school season into an impressive Mercer County American Legion League campaign.

During his junior year with Nottingham, Babkowski hit just .222 batting in the third and fourth holes. He led the team with 21 walks, but figured part of his problem was watching too many offerings go by.

“I was taking a lot more pitches earlier in the count and then getting down two strikes,” he said. “I feel like I’m a great two-strike hitter but sometimes guys just make good pitches. I was just being too selective of a hitter instead of trusting my natural instincts and abilities.”

He also began to climb into his own head.

“Going into the season I was hoping for a really good season and that’s not how it turned out,” Babkowski said. “After the first five games, I got really down on myself and kind of started pressing about it a lot more than I should have. Instead of taking deep breaths and relaxing and saying ‘I’m a great ballplayer, I can do anything.’”

Iacono felt that, “He just got unlucky for us and put too much pressure on himself. I had him in the meat of the lineup, I think he just needed to adjust a little more within the count and learn the game.”

North Hamilton manager Eric Struble was an Iacono assistant and watched Babkowski’s struggles first hand.

“Honestly, I think he was hitting the ball just as hard,” Struble said. “There were a few more strikeouts, and we kind of worked on that. But I just think he struggled early and it got in his head a little bit. The mental part of the game is something where he was feeling the pressure. I know he’d been getting interest from different schools. It’s a lot of pressure for a high school kid. I think he just got into a funk.”

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Once the season ended, Babkowski went into a reflection period to un-funkify himself. He took the final few weeks of May to figure things out with that sharp baseball mind.

“I kind of just sat there after the last game of the season and said ‘Something’s gotta change,’” Babkowski said. “My whole goal is to play college baseball, and you can’t play college baseball if you can’t hit the fastball early in the count. So I spent a lot of time in that period we had off between high school and legion, and I just went away and worked on myself and my approach and swinging a lot earlier in the count.”

It worked.

“This was probably the most comfortable I’ve felt playing the game in a long time,” he said.

His statistics would reinforce that statement. Babkowski hoisted his average to .434 with a .556 OBP and .566 slugging percentage for a 1.122 OPS. He had five doubles, a triple and 20 RBI, including 10 two-out RBI hits. His efforts helped North Hamilton to a 14-8 regular-season record and a berth in the state district playoffs.

It was the kind of season Struble was expecting.

“I don’t think that was him during high school,” the manager said. “Last year he hit .400 for us in legion. The kid just lives, eats and breathes baseball. He’s on those CenterCourt travel teams (in Lawrence). He’s going to games during the weekend and coming back and playing for us.

“He’s just a hard worker. I know in the winter he’s at CenterCourt working on his craft. The kid can hit the ball to all fields, which is great. And he has power as well. He put some balls out to the scoreboard in right center that have one-hopped the fence. He hit the ball to all fields.”

Iacono kept tabs on the Hibos during the summer and noticed a more laid back player.

“I think now he’s a little looser,” he said. “He made some adjustments from the high school season. We talked a lot about shortening the swing a little, hitting all fields, he looks like he’s doing that.”

It’s not surprising Babkowski figured things out. He is an honors student in the classroom and “as smart as they come” according to Struble. “He has a quiet confidence. He’s not someone out there saying ‘Look at me, look at me.’ But he’s as confident as anyone.”

That confidence stays with him behind the plate, as Babkowski is also a talented defensive catcher.

“He’s great,” Struble said. “He calls a great game. He’s thrown a lot of guys out for us this season. In high school it seemed like anyone who tried to steal was getting thrown out. He hasn’t had as many opportunities in the summer but he’s a brick wall back there usually.”

Babkowski has been a catcher for as long as he has played baseball. While playing for the HTRBA 7-year-old AllStars, the coaches asked who wanted to put on the gear, and Babkowski didn’t hesitate.

“I said, ‘Well I’ll do it,’ and from there I kind of fell in love with it right away,” he said. “I fell in love with every aspect of the game.”

He continues to work on his defensive skills as well as his hitting, putting long hours into being a better catcher.

“I take a lot of care for my arm, and in the off season I work on my arm and footwork and stuff like that,” he said. “I don’t believe it’s truly just my arm, I feel like my legs are also a very key part with how I throw the baseball.”

Although he plays a natural leadership position as catcher, Babkowski is more of a lead-by-example guy according to Struble.

“He’s not our most outspoken guy,” the skipper said. “But the kid knows baseball better than anyone. His baseball IQ is off the charts.”

That intelligence stems from a pure passion for the game.

“Baseball is all I can think about most of the time. I love everything about it. The competition. The game within the game. Each pitch is a competition for me.”

And when spring turned to summer, he competed quite successfully.