By Jack Ankony
K.C. Hobson felt like he was in a rut over the last week, so he turned to the man who has seen him swing the lumber more than anyone: his father, and Dogs manager, Butch Hobson.
K.C. sensed his swing was becoming too long, which led to timing issues and not seeing the ball well. So after the Dogs 5-0 win over Milwaukee on Wednesday, it was straight to the batting cage for K.C. and Butch.
“It helps to have someone that I have known forever that can help iron it out and maybe help turn it around a little quicker,” K.C. said.
The father-son duo thinks on the same wavelength when it comes to baseball, so they were able to talk things through. K.C. is a believer in the natural feel for the game when he’s hitting, and his biggest goal was to get back to the comfort he feels when his bat is quick to the plate.
Thursday’s rubber match with the Milkmen was a stepping stone for K.C. as he blasted two home runs to fuel the Dogs offense. The game was suspended and will be finished at a later date, but it was K.C. who powered the Dogs to a 10-6 lead entering the eighth inning.
A promising sign from K.C. in Thursday’s game was his ability to hang tough against offspeed pitches. In his second at-bat of the game in the third inning, K.C. faced off against Milwaukee starter Misael Siverio.
In this lefty versus lefty matchup, K.C. said his approach is to look for a pitch in one specific spot. Siverio flipped a curveball to the spot K.C. was looking, but the Dogs first baseman was a tick early and pulled it foul.
K.C. saw the same curveball on the next pitch and pummeled the ball over the right field wall. K.C said barreling up breaking balls is a sign he is moving in the right direction. And his following at-bat in the fourth inning was reassurance that he is starting to find his rhythm again.
K.C. fell behind in a 1-2 count, but Siverio went back to the curveball K.C. had just seen inning earlier. K.C. stayed through the pitch and drove it deep to right-center field for his second long ball of the game, giving the Dogs a 7-6 lead.
“I think it helped to just take something that I did yesterday into the game tonight,” K.C. said. “Just tiny tweaks here and there just to get more of a flow and more of a rhythm.”
K.C. said after striking out in his other two at-bats on Thursday, he knows there is still more work to be done. But with the sage advice from his father Butch, noticing each detail of K.C.’s swing, Thursday’s game showed that K.C. is on his way to bringing power back to the middle of the Dogs order.
“I love it,” K.C. said. “It’s just nice to have someone like my dad who treats all of us like we’re his sons.”