During a 15-minute conversation with Jordan Raba to discuss the outstanding season he is having for the Nottingham HIgh baseball team, the only mention of a health issue was when he hurt his lower leg during the middle of basketball season. Raba said when baseball started, he was 100 percent ready to go.
Nottingham coach Charlie Iacono had a different story.
“He had some back issues starting the season,” Iacono said. “He didn’t have them in basketball but he had them the year before in baseball too. Through the first half of this season he was gutting it out for us. He was stretching at practice and doing as much as you can. In games, he was doing it for the team and the coaching staff. We give him credit for that. He’s gotten better, he’s going to the chiropractor, he just gutted it out. He’s a team player for sure.”
Perhaps Raba did not bring up his back because he’s probably sick of talking about physical woes after having to sit out the second half of hoops season and watch his team reach the NJSIAA Group III state finals.
“Around the last week of basketball season, I felt 100 percent, but my dad (Stars hoops coach Chris Raba) was like, ‘Let’s not do anything, let’s just make sure you’re 100 percent so you’re ready for the baseball season,’ since it’s my main sport,” Raba said. “I was happy because we were winning, but it did hurt not to be able to play.”
Thus, he was not about to let some back pain bench him when baseball started. In watching Raba, no one would ever suspect it. From opening day against Hamilton West, when he collected a hit, three walks, two runs, an RBI and three stolen bases, Jordan set the tone for another big season.
Entering the state tournament, Raba was hitting .472 (34-for-72) with five doubles, two triples, 17 walks, 25 runs scored and 19 RBI through Nottingham’s 12-10 start. With his long (6-foot-3), lean build, and legs that can take gigantic strides, he had also stolen an amazing 27 bases in 28 attempts. Defensively he played a slick shortstop and captained the Northstars infield.
Bad back? Ha!
“I was ready for the season to start,” Raba said. “I was eager to get out and play.”
What’s interesting is that, although Jordan plays hoops, his first love is hardball. This despite the fact his father has won two state titles in basketball and older brother Brandon was a two-time CVC Player of the year in that sport.
Iacono has the late “Pop Pop” Jacob Blanche to thank for getting a diamond on the diamond.
“At a young age, my pop pop taught me baseball, showed me the game,” Raba said. “He was like my best friend. We’d watch all the Yankee games and he would tell me ‘Even though your dad’s a basketball coach I could see you playing baseball at a high level.’ That’s really where it came from. And my dad was fine with it.”
Jacob wasn’t what you would call a great player. But he was a great follower of the sport.
“He loved baseball,” Jordan said. “He was like, crazy in the head when it came to baseball. He didn’t play in high school but he just loved the game.”
His love rubbed off on his grandson. Raba played for Sunnybrae Little League and won a district championship with the Hamilton Little Lads. He played travel ball in elementary school with the Yardville Skiers and Hamilton A’s/Mercer Aces, but gave that up after sixth grade and played Hamilton-Northern Burlington Babe Ruth.
As a Nottingham freshman, Raba won the battle for the starting third base job. He had a so-so year, hitting .216 without a stolen base. But the Northstar coaches liked what they saw.
“Going into that season I didn’t know what to expect,” Raba said. “I’ve always been around high school sports because my dad coaches high school. But I didn’t know if I was gonna make varsity or play JV. I didn’t do great but I didn’t think I did too bad as a freshman. Everybody was telling me it’s good, you’re a freshman, we like what we see. I was always confident in myself.”
That confidence showed last year and it started during basketball season. Jordan not only made varsity, he was one of the Northstars top players.
“That helped a lot,” he said. “Basketball is a high paced game, a lot of athleticism. Being able to do that, I knew my athleticism would transfer over to baseball. It was just the mental aspect that could be my downfall. I think I’ve been pretty good at that.”
Uh, yeah. Not bad.
All Raba did as a sophomore was hit .362 with 25 hits, five doubles, 16 walks, 24 runs, 17 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. He earned All-Area honors after leading Nottingham in four offensive categories.
This season, the junior has taken it to a new level. He enjoyed a 12-game hitting streak and, after going hitless for two games, carried a four-game streak into the states. He hit safely in 18 of the Stars first 22 games, had 12 multi-hit games and seven multi-stolen base games.
Iacono, who was a base stealing whiz for Nottingham and The College of New Jersey, is impressed with Raba’s base running abilities.
“His style reminds me a lot of myself, minus a foot in height,” Iacono said with a laugh. “He’s got a lot of natural ability. We’ve talked a lot about dirty ball reads and his ability to communicate with me and be able to steal second and third.
“Sometimes it’s easier to steal third when you see the trajectory of the baseball, you can see the dirty ball, you can see the pitcher, the catcher. A lot of those things come into play in base running. He does a great job of reading the pitcher and reading the defense and understanding how to take any base on the field. Sometimes he’s asking me to steal home.”
When Raba is on the basepaths, the little kid in him comes out.
“That’s probably my most confident thing out there; it’s my favorite thing to do,” he said. “I feel like when I’m on the bases I’m in control. The pitcher has to worry about me and worry about throwing a strike to the batter. I like to get into a pitcher’s head and get him out of a groove.”
He’s gotten a few pitchers out of their groove while at the plate. For the most part, Raba has been patient, waited for a pitch he could hit, and was fine with taking a walk knowing he would end up on second.
“As far as his approach at the plate and contact ability, he’s just looking to square the ball up and get on,” Iacono said. “He also walks a lot, takes a lot of pitches. He waits for his pitch in hitters counts. He’s on base probably 60 percent of the time, that helps us out huge.”
Raba got into a mini-slump after his hitting streak, but managed to pull out of it quickly.
“I tend to get antsy; I don’t try to look for my pitch and that’s when I swing and don’t do myself any good,” he said.
But for the most part, things have been going very good.
“It’s been great,” Raba said. “I’ve been looking for my pitch, trying to stay calm at the plate, not get too antsy, not jump and swing at every ball I see. Just know what pitches I’m getting in what counts and I’m just ready to swing. I’ve been finding holes and I’ve been using my speed to get on too.”
Raba has been smooth and steady at shortstop. He makes it look easy and sometimes it; but he also works at it.
“There’s no awkward motion, everything just happens,” he said. “I do a lot of stuff after practice. I’ll take extra ground balls. During legion I do extra defensive work after practices. Usually (Lawrence High/North Hamilton assistant) Michael Suosso will help me.”
Raba would love to play in college but is the first to admit he has to bring up his grades. For now he is thinking about junior college, but he and Iacono both feel Jordan can play at a four-year program.
“He’s a scout’s dream,” the coach said. “You compare him to other guys, the sky’s the limit. We had a lot of conversations about bringing up those academics. He’s been picking it up and improving.
“Whoever gets him , they’re gonna be very fortunate to have him as a freshman. I think he can play at the college level as soon as he gets there with his height and speed; his arm strength. The power’s gonna come down the road. His physical abilities are things you can’t teach and he’s got the baseball IQ and takes advantage of that on the field.”
About the only thing he doesn’t do is complain about a bad back.