Matt Hobgood
| Matt Hobgood | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Hobgood during Orioles Spring Training | |||
| Free agent | |||
| Pitcher | |||
|
Born: August 3, 1990 Glendale, Arizona | |||
| |||
Matthew Micah Hobgood (born August 3, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.
Amateur career
Hobgood attended Norco High School in Norco, California.[1] He was a three-sport athlete (baseball, football and basketball), and a four-year varsity baseball player, and he led his team to back-to-back playoff appearances in the CIF Southern Section Division I baseball playoffs against Long Beach Poly in 2008 and Santa Ana Mater Dei in 2009. He played center and power forward in basketball and offensive line in football, and was both a baseball and football teammate of former Stanford University running back and current Jacksonville Jaguars tailback, Toby Gerhart. Despite missing nearly his entire freshman baseball season after fracturing his ankle in basketball, he set 14 season and career records at Norco, including Victories, Won-Loss Percentage, Games Pitched, Innings Pitched, Shut-outs, Runs Scored, Homeruns, RBIs, and Slugging Average. He also broke the Riverside County single season high school home run record hitting 21 home runs his senior year.
Hobgood was named the 2009 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year after being chosen as the California State Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year following a junior and senior season in which he amassed a 21-1 record on the mound and 40 home runs.[2]
Professional career
Going into the 2009 draft, many professional scouts were excited about Hobgood. Hobgood was the first round pick by the Baltimore Orioles and the 5th overall selection in the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft out of Norco High School in Norco, California. He signed his first professional contract on Saturday, June 27, 2009, and began his career with the Bluefield Orioles of the Appalachian League the following day.
Initially, Hobgood drew comparisons to Orioles ace Sidney Ponson in terms of pitching repertoire, composure, and physique. In 2009, he had a 1-2 record with a 4.72 ERA in eight games started. He played for the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds during the 2010 season. Hobgood missed the 2012 season due to surgery to repair a loose shoulder capsule, which was performed by noted shoulder specialist, Dr. Craig Morgan, of the Morgan-Kalman Clinic in Wilmington, Delaware.[3] In 2013, he became a relief pitcher.[4][5][6] He began the 2015 season with the Bowie Baysox of the Class AA Eastern League, but his season ended after six games when he required arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder to remove a bone spur.[7] Hobgood elected for Free Agency in November 2015.[8] He was subsequently not signed and did not play during the 2016 season.
References
- ↑ "Norco (Calif.) ace Matt Hobgood thrives under pressure". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ↑ "Hobgood is Gatorade's National Baseball Player of the Year". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ↑ "Baltimore Orioles prospect Matt Hobgood expected to miss all of 2012 season". tribunedigital-baltimoresun. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ↑ "After long rehab, Matt Hobgood humbled and still hoping to contribute". tribunedigital-baltimoresun. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ↑ "ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Now healthy, Hobgood back on track". Press Enterprise. July 20, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ↑ "Former first-round pick Matt Hobgood becoming bullpen force in Frederick". tribunedigital-baltimoresun. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ↑ "Steve Melewski: O's 2009 top draft pick Matt Hobgood to have season-ending shoulder surgery". MASNsports. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ↑ Kyle Glaser (November 10, 2015). "BASEBALL: Hobgood (Norco) hits minor league free agency". Press Enterprise. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)