Sports

San Leandro's Jeff Kobernus Aims At Major League Baseball Slot

The Bishop O'Dowd graduate who played college ball for the UC Berkeley Bears now has a shot at the Detroit Tigers lineup. Root him on!

 

Local sports fans may remember Jeff Kobernus, a baseball star at Bishop O'Dowd High School before he played college ball for the UC Berkeley Bears.

Now the 24-year-old hometown boy has a shot at the roster of the Detroit Tigers, according to a newspaper account.

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Kobernus, who played shortstop at O'Dowd, is apparently a chip off the old bat -- his dad, Jeffrey Kobernus, played minor league baseball for the Seattle Mariners, according to Jeff's bio on the Cal Bears website.

Cal says the younger Kobernus had a .415 career high school batting average. In three seasons at Cal he batted .324 career and played outfield, second base and third base.

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Cal touted is "outstanding speed on the base paths with 44 (college) career stolen bases."

The Washington Nationals made him their first pick in the second round of the 2009 Major League Amateur Draft.

According to a Sunday article in the Detroit Free Press:

"The Tigers arranged for Boston to draft Kobernus in the Rule 5 draft in December, then traded a minor leaguer to the Red Sox for him. Kobernus has appeared in 18 games this spring. He is hitting .222 (10-for-45) with two triples, six runs scored and no stolen bases . . . If Kobernus doesn't make the Opening Day roster, he likely will go back to the Nationals, the team that lost him in the draft."

The Detroit newspaper article focuses on Kobernus's tattoos -- which seem to resemble those of another K-athlete, the San Francisco 49ers Colin Kaepernick.

Let's wish Jeff Kobernus similar success!

Do you remember playing with or watching Jeff Kobernus during his high school career?


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