All work and all play

Jacob's Ben Albano has been named Northwest Herald Baseball Player of the Year. This season, Albano batted .533 with 16 homers and 67 RBIs. (Lauren M. Anderson – landerson@nwherald.com)

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Former Jacobs baseball coach Eric Sanders identified Ben Albano’s attribute that led to the left fielder putting up otherworldly numbers this season.

“A lot of kids like to practice what they do well,” Sanders said. “We recognized his weakness was off-speed pitches and plate discipline. He took it upon himself to work on that.”

The results were staggering. Armed with his new hitting philosophy of seeing pitches deeper into the strike zone and looking to go to the opposite field, Albano produced the most prolific offensive season ever in the McHenry County area.

Albano’s .533 average, 16 home runs and 67 RBIs all put him in the IHSA’s top 20 for a single season. Despite the Golden Eagles’ early postseason exit, Albano is the Northwest Herald Baseball Player of the Year, selected by the sports staff with input from local coaches. He is the first Jacobs player to be named Player of the Year, which has been awarded since 1987.

Most coaches simply replied that the Player of the Year had to be Albano after the staggering numbers he posted. Albano, a right-handed-hitting senior, was gratified that his offseason work paid off.

“It all reflects how much time I put in,” Albano said. “I put in more time than I ever had. I wanted to make a statement. I hit some homers my junior year, but I didn’t have a very good average. I was way ahead of everything off-speed. I worked hard on letting the ball travel and took everything to right field. In batting practice in the offseason, I tried to hit everything to right field. Off-speed’s all about waiting back.”

Sanders said at least half of Albano’s 16 homers came to right or center field.

“Because of that adjustment, he just feasted on those [off-speed] pitches,” Sanders said.

And most other pitches, for that matter.

“He has almost like savant power,” said Sanders, who resigned after the season. “His hands from load to contact are as quick as I’ve seen. He really didn’t have any cheap hits.”

There were times when Albano hit balls so high and hard that outfielders lost them.

Once, a reporter spoke to him after he had hit his 13th homer, but Albano tried to take one back, saying he’d really hit only 12. Sanders confirmed that it was indeed a home run, an inside-the-parker that two outfielders simply lost because it was hit so high. Albano, hustling all the way, legged that one out.

“It was straight up,” second baseman Josh Kranz said. “It landed about 35 feet from two of them. It was a phenomenal season. Ben definitely put in a ton of work. He always hit the ball hard, but never this consistently.”

Albano finished with 64 hits, 127 total bases, 11 doubles and a slugging percentage of 1.058. Albano’s .533 average would rank seventh on the state’s list according to ihsa.org. His homers tie for 17th and his RBIs tie for 16th. Albano had surgery to clean out debris around his left patella tendon in December, then suffered a slight tear of the ulna collateral ligament to his right (throwing) elbow in the second practice. He was used as designated hitter early in the season before eventually returning to left field.

Albano said confidence was critical in his remarkable season as he helped Jacobs to a 19-16 record.

“I told myself to ‘Stay relaxed and don’t get cocky. Do what you’ve been doing,’ ” said Albano, who is 5-foot-9, 195 pounds.

Albano is playing this summer for the Crystal Lake Blue Jays and is set to play football and baseball at NCAA Division III Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, although that situation could change. Sanders is talking with D-I schools, trying to find a fit somewhere for Albano.

“I’m preparing for football and going to Luther,” Albano said. “If something pops up, that could change.”