It was a Ted Williams moment.
Class 4A state championship game at Safeco Field. Bottom of the fifth inning. The Snohomish Panthers already led Kentlake 8-1 when star senior Derek Jones stepped to the plate.
Jones took a mighty swing and blasted a shot into the seats beyond the right-field wall for a two-run home run, putting an exclamation point on Snohomish’s victory.
Jones didn’t know it at the time, but that would be his final high school at bat. And much like the legendary Williams ended his major-league career with a homer, so too did Jones end his storied prep career with a longball.
“I didn’t think about that until someone told me after the game, but it is kind of a storybook ending,” Jones recalled. “Somebody went and got the ball for me. Usually I don’t keep home run balls, but down the road I think I’ll appreciate this one.”
It was yet another clutch moment for Jones, who made clutch moments a trademark during his time at Snohomish. His ability to deliver when it mattered most helped make Jones The Herald’s 2008 Baseball Player of the Year, the second straight year he’s earned the honor.
“He’s as good as anybody who’s come through our program,” Snohomish coach Kim Hammons said of the four-year letterman. “You don’t get too many Adam Eatons throwing 95 mph. Other than Adam, Derek is as good if not better than anyone else.”
This season Jones, a pitcher/center fielder, put up impressive numbers across the board.
As a hitter Jones batted .369 with 26 runs, eight home runs and 23 RBI. With 15 career home runs he shattered the school record, and he also set a school mark with 81 career RBI.
As a pitcher the left-hander went 7-2 with a 1.75 ERA, striking out 48 in 562/3 innings. His 17 career wins were just two shy of the school record held by a certain pitcher named Eaton, who currently plies his trade for the Philadelphia Phillies.
But for Jones, the numbers are just part of the story. Through the regular season Jones batted just over .300, so in Snohomish’s eight playoff games he raised his batting average more than 50 points. He also belted five of his eight home runs during Snohomish’s run to the state title.
And this was nothing new for Jones. Last year his season followed a similar path, raising his game during the postseason to lead the Panthers to a second-place finish at state.
“At playoff time, for any player you know you have to step it up,” said Jones, who also credited extra hitting practice with his summer coach, Guy Keller of the Seattle Stars, for his postseason improvement. “I take it upon myself to go the extra effort and make sure I play the best baseball I can for my team. I don’t want to look back and say, ‘I wish I had done this or I wish I had done that.’
“I’ve been pretty lucky with what I’ve been able to do in the playoffs, but I’m pleased with it.”
Jones’ postseason explosion wasn’t lost on his coach. When talking about Jones’ season, the first thing Hammons mentioned was Jones’ dominance in the playoffs.
“I think Derek said it best,” Hammons said. “You have to step up in the playoffs, and he’s such a good player that he can do it.
“Throughout the year teams were pitching around Derek and there were times when he got himself out,” Hammons added. “But over the course of the season he learned from that, and he’s so tough mentally that he was able to make the little adjustments. He was never in a total slump, and once the playoffs began he just took off.”
Jones’ will and determination to step up during the playoffs couldn’t help but wear off on his teammates, who joined Jones in bringing Snohomish its second state title in school history.
“He’s a great leader,” Hammons said of Jones. “He showed leadership just about every day the last two years. He’ll get the guys together and motivate them, challenge them to get better, talk about work ethic and what it takes to get it done.”
Next up for Jones is college baseball at Washington State. There’s the outside possibility that the upcoming Major League Baseball draft could curtail those plans, but Jones has indicated to scouts his intention to play collegiately, so it’s unlikely he will be drafted high enough to change his mind.
Once he arrives in Pullman, Jones will have a decision to make. He was recruited both to pitch and play the outfield, and he expects to do both to some degree during his college career.
But where does Jones see his long-term future?
“Whatever they want me to do the most is up to them,” Jones said. “But I’ll probably be more of an outfielder.
“I enjoy pitching, I like being in control of the game,” Jones added. “But being able to hit the ball in the gap, run the bases, slide head-first into the bag and get dirty, that’s kind of what I’m all about.”
That and coming through in the clutch.
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