Baseball: Hampshire grad Jake Goebbert starts anew with Arizona Diamondbacks

Jake Goebbert described his 2016 baseball season as “tumultuous.”

Goebbert went through spring training with Pittsburgh but was cut before the season and spent Opening Day at home for the first time since 2010.

He was picked up shortly thereafter by Tampa Bay and hit .218 with Triple-A Durham, his lowest average in seven minor league seasons.

It led to soul searching, analysis and more offseason work. When Goebbert heads to his eighth spring training Sunday, it will be with a sense of newness – a new team (Arizona), new ideas on hitting and a new daughter, 4-month-old Evelyn, their first child.

“The game kind of beat me last year,” said Goebbert, a 2006 Hampshire graduate. “There’s no excuse for it. That’s just the way it is. That’s why I’m looking forward to a fresh start, another chance to make the most of this opportunity.”

Goebbert felt he hit the ball hard in April with the Bulls but had little to show for it. After a while, he thought it became a mental thing. His lowest previous average was .262 in 2013 in Double-A and Triple-A, but that also was his best power year with 22 home runs and 81 RBIs.

After Goebbert finished in Durham, he flew to Los Angeles for a few days to get some new ideas on hitting. He also played a month of winter baseball in the Dominican Republic.

“It was good for me,” he said. “I have a fresh outlook on hitting right now. I feel like I’m back to where I want to be.”

Goebbert signed recently with Arizona. He planned to leave Sunday for Phoenix with his father, Lloyd, the first time they will go to spring training together. Heather and Evelyn will join him soon.

Goebbert reached the major leagues with San Diego in June 2014, playing in 51 games and hitting .218. His first major-league at-bat was a pinch-hit single off the Dodgers’ Dan Haren with his family in the stands at Petco Park.

“My expectations and my drive is to get to the big leagues as fast as I can,” said Goebbert, the 2006 Northwest Herald Male Athlete of the Year. “Anything less than that, I won’t say it’s failure, but I have to continue to pursue the goals and dreams. I’ve been to the big leagues and my main focus is to get back.”

Goebbert, who hits and bats left-handed and plays outfield and first base, realizes time is not on his side at 29 years old. Even as a seasoned veteran, he wants to learn from last season.

“There were a lot of different things I wasn’t prepared for. That’s life and that’s baseball,” Goebbert said. “But you know what? I can look back on that year because I learned a lot and, hey, everybody has a bad year in their career.”

Goebbert came back to Hampshire and worked at his family’s farm, Goebbert’s Pumpkin Patch, on Route 47, like he does every offseason. He worked out with his same strength coach and hit with former Barrington baseball coach Kirby Smith, Lloyd’s former high school coach. On most days, Goebbert worked with Smith at FattFro Zone in Lake Barrington, with current Barrington hitting coach Nate Gray tossing batting practice.

Goebbert is excited about a new start and thrilled that his girls will soon be with him in Phoenix.

“It will be fun to have them down there and have a little family time,” Goebbert said. “I have a beautiful daughter and a wonderful wife who’s been supporting for many years. When baseball is done, it’ll be done and I won’t have any regrets because I gave it may all every day.”

Jake Goebbert

By The Numbers

A look at Hampshire graduate Jake Goebbert’s statistics through his professional baseball career:

Season Levels Avg. HR RBIs OBP

2010 A .291 10 98 .808

2011 A, AA, AAA .290 12 67 .790

2012 AA, AAA .291 9 54 .838

2013 AA, AAA .262 22 81 .828

2014 AAA .296 14 60 .949

2014 MLB .218 1 10 .630

2015 AAA .294 10 62 .844

2016 AAA .218 10 35 .661