Mike Jacobs

I was all set to dislike Mike Jacobs when I saw his name on the B-Mets roster once again.

He was here before, pushing out the catcher I was rooting for that season, so I didn't cotton to him. And I overheard him make some arrogant remarks that struck me the wrong way.

Now he's back, starting again, as a first baseman, which means I'm in close proximity to him, and I wasn't going to be happy about it.

In the first place, I don't have much respect for first basemen. Everyone knows this is where poor fielders are hidden, at first or in right field, and many of them look like doorstops, barely moving when a ball comes near them, hit or thrown.

But....

Mike Jacobs used to be a catcher, and I have more respect for catchers than I do for any other postion, maybe more than for all other positions rolled together. And Mike Jacobs is still, in some ways, a catcher.

When a hitter tries to check his bat, Mike Jacobs is calling for the first base umpire to confirm the swing, yelling "Check!" as loud as, and more quickly, than the man squatting behind the plate.

He has movement around first that most doorstops, er, first basmen don't. Or at least that they don't display. A quality defensive first baseman is a delight to watch, a luxury one rarely gets to indulge in.

He also takes time to meet and greet the fans at the fence railing before the game with a friendliness not apparent the last time he was here.

Then there was the afternoon he helped that day's young fan in the pre-game "Mascot Race". The 4-year-old seemed shy, tucked in to himself, head down, slowly walking toward first base while the mascot ran toward third in reverse direction (ideally they cross paths at second). Chatting with fans near the dugout, Mike Jacobs watched the youngster's difficulty for just a moment before moving away from the fans, toward the first base line, calling the boy's name, waving him toward first base. The little boy trudged along, peeking from under his cap's bill. Mike moved closer, crouched down behind first base as if it were the plate and continued to encourage the boy. When he finally got close enough, Mike reached out to touch his arm, then put his arms about him, picked him up, chatting away, a smile on Mike's face all the while. Winning some sort of answer from the boy, Mike carried him into the home team dugout where they sat for several minutes.

Mike Jacobs understands what baseball is really about.