Greg Jacobs

Greg Jacobs took the mound with Mark Langston's glove on his right hand and Michelle Carew's initials written in his cap. The glove was a link to his childhood hero. The initials honored his high school friend. For the 4,069 fans at Boise's Memorial Stadium, it was the third game of the season. For Jacobs, it was a momentous occasion--his professional debut. Jacobs had just joined the Class-A Boise Hawks, the starting point for many Angel players--a notch above Butte, Mont.

It has been a season of junk cars and mechanics for pitcher Greg Jacobs, though the two haven't been related. The journey from draft day to the major leagues is long, but Jacobs never dreamed it would involve a summer tooling around Cedar Rapids in a 1984 Ford Tempo. Jacobs and his roommate, Will Croud, bought the beast for $100 each, and Jacobs customized it by painting flames on the tire wells and the Angel logo on the hood. He could dress it up, and sometimes he could take it out.

It was the first day of his first spring training and Greg Jacobs wanted to make an impression. With 141 players in the Angels' minor league camp being shuttled around like cattle, getting some time in the spotlight can be a challenge. Jacobs, though, managed to pull it off without even trying. "The first morning we had physicals and I have a thing about needles. When we got to the blood test, I didn't handle that too well," said Jacobs, a left-handed relief pitcher from Cal State Fullerton.

Canyon receiver Greg Jacobs could miss Thursday's Century League game against Villa Park because of an ankle injury. Jacobs, the county's leading receiver, also was knocked unconscious and suffered a dislocated left shoulder in the third quarter of Friday night's 31-0 victory over El Modena. Comanche Coach Bob Hughes said the extent of the ankle injury probably will be known Monday night. "The ankle might be the worst," Hughes said. "It's up in the air if there is a bone chip or not.

Greg Jacobs Cypress, Sophomore Baseball Jacobs, a utility player from Canyon High, hasn't pitched that much this season, but he came up with an impressive performance Saturday. He gave up one run and struck out 13 in 7 1/3 innings as Cypress beat Hancock, 5-1. He also had a double, a single and scored a run. Jacobs hit two home runs and drove in four runs when Cypress beat Hancock, 15-4, Friday. Baseball Michael Palumbo * Saddleback, sophomore.

It wasn't one of Cal State Fullerton's better efforts, but the Titans came up with a ninth-inning rally for the winning run Sunday at home against Nevada. Greg Jacobs lined a one-out double to right for the Titans' 6-5 victory in a Big West Conference game that had been suspended after a half-inning a day earlier because of rain. The victory gave Fullerton the series, two games to one, and left the 17th-ranked Titans (28-12, 14-4) two games behind No.

Receivers don't normally lead the county in interceptions in their first year of playing defense. And 5-foot-10 receivers don't normally catch balls intended for players half a foot taller than them. But Canyon quarterback Adam Hoover has been watching Greg Jacobs do the unexpected since their Pop Warner days. And Hoover has come to understand that nothing Jacobs does on the football field is normal. "He has something you can't coach--something that makes up for his size," Hoover said.

Greg Jacobs is the first to admit he has a backward approach to hitting, but none of his Cypress teammates are about to complain. Jacobs hit two home runs Friday as host Cypress beat Hancock, 15-4, in the Southern California baseball playoffs. Jacobs' first home run came after Craig Kuzmic's 14th homer of the season, which tied the Cypress single-season record. It was his fourth home run in the last three games.

Greg Jacobs was feeding bears long before the Angels drafted him. He perches on a rock outside his family's vacation home in Colorado, holds out food, usually bread or pancakes, with his right hand--he is, after all, a left-handed pitcher--and waits for the bear to approach. For seven years, Jacobs has been demonstrating true poise. Yet, this daredevil, cool enough to dangle a limb before hungry bears, cowered in the presence of Angel pitcher Troy Percival.

Greg Jacobs took the mound with Mark Langston's glove on his right hand and Michelle Carew's initials written in his cap. The glove was a link to his childhood hero. The initials honored his high school friend. For the 4,069 fans at Boise's Memorial Stadium, it was the third game of the season. For Jacobs, it was a momentous occasion--his professional debut. Jacobs had just joined the Class-A Boise Hawks, the starting point for many Angel players--a notch above Butte, Mont.

It wasn't one of Cal State Fullerton's better efforts, but the Titans came up with a ninth-inning rally for the winning run Sunday at home against Nevada. Greg Jacobs lined a one-out double to right for the Titans' 6-5 victory in a Big West Conference game that had been suspended after a half-inning a day earlier because of rain. The victory gave Fullerton the series, two games to one, and left the 17th-ranked Titans (28-12, 14-4) two games behind No.

Greg Jacobs has the same No. 7 on his back that Mark Kotsay wore at Cal State Fullerton. He has the same kind of smooth left-handed swing. Jacobs also is a part-time relief pitcher. But it's much too early in the season for any comparisons beyond that between Jacobs and anyone else, particularly Kotsay, who led Fullerton to the 1995 College World Series championship and won the Golden Spikes Award as player of the year.

Greg Jacobs Cypress, Sophomore Baseball Jacobs, a utility player from Canyon High, hasn't pitched that much this season, but he came up with an impressive performance Saturday. He gave up one run and struck out 13 in 7 1/3 innings as Cypress beat Hancock, 5-1. He also had a double, a single and scored a run. Jacobs hit two home runs and drove in four runs when Cypress beat Hancock, 15-4, Friday. Baseball Michael Palumbo * Saddleback, sophomore.

Greg Jacobs is the first to admit he has a backward approach to hitting, but none of his Cypress teammates are about to complain. Jacobs hit two home runs Friday as host Cypress beat Hancock, 15-4, in the Southern California baseball playoffs. Jacobs' first home run came after Craig Kuzmic's 14th homer of the season, which tied the Cypress single-season record. It was his fourth home run in the last three games.

Greg Jacobs has the same No. 7 on his back that Mark Kotsay wore at Cal State Fullerton. He has the same kind of smooth left-handed swing. Jacobs also is a part-time relief pitcher. But it's much too early in the season for any comparisons beyond that between Jacobs and anyone else, particularly Kotsay, who led Fullerton to the 1995 College World Series championship and won the Golden Spikes Award as player of the year.

Greg Jacobs was feeding bears long before the Angels drafted him. He perches on a rock outside his family's vacation home in Colorado, holds out food, usually bread or pancakes, with his right hand--he is, after all, a left-handed pitcher--and waits for the bear to approach. For seven years, Jacobs has been demonstrating true poise. Yet, this daredevil, cool enough to dangle a limb before hungry bears, cowered in the presence of Angel pitcher Troy Percival.

Canyon receiver Greg Jacobs could miss Thursday's Century League game against Villa Park because of an ankle injury. Jacobs, the county's leading receiver, also was knocked unconscious and suffered a dislocated left shoulder in the third quarter of Friday night's 31-0 victory over El Modena. Comanche Coach Bob Hughes said the extent of the ankle injury probably will be known Monday night. "The ankle might be the worst," Hughes said. "It's up in the air if there is a bone chip or not.