Bulldog Baseball Legacy
7/30/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
By Dale Goodwin - Gonzaga Public Relations
Talk about pressure. Gonzaga third baseman John Gebbers faced some of the toughest college pitching in America this past year, and hit .301, .327 in league. Not bad for a man playing his first full season of college ball. (He's not counting spring 2000 because he missed the first 25 games while playing for the Bulldog basketball team on its run to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament.)
But if you really want to talk about pressure, try this: John is the son of Mac Gebbers, the only Gonzaga baseball player who's had his number (19) retired. When Mac completed his GU career in 1982 he held Gonzaga career records for hits, home runs, doubles, runs batted in, and at bats, and he was the single-season record holder for home runs.
"It is really special for me to play the same position on the same team as my dad," said John, who played shortstop as a prepster at Brewster (Wash.) High. "But it can be frustrating because he was such a great player. I expect to live up to the standards he set. At the same time, I hope people realize that I'm my own player."
Steve Hertz, about to begin his 25th year as a college head coach, recruited and coached both father and son. He understands the pressure John feels playing in the shadow of his father. But he's not concerned.
"Johnny had a very fine year," said Hertz, whose team won the Coast Division of the West Coast Conference and came one playoff game shy of earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament. "It's scary how similar their swings are. Defensively, they look alike, too. But Johnny is stronger, and has a much better arm. Mac had to nearly run the ball over to first base to get it there."
In fairness to Mac, he collided with a catcher as a junior at Wenatchee High and badly injured his throwing arm. But he still found a way to compete.
"Mac was a gruff, gritty competitor," Hertz said. "Johnny is every bit as competitive, but in a more civil kind of way. He gets that from his mom, Becky."
Hertz still remembers the road trip to Las Vegas in 1982 when Mac came to the park and proudly announced that Becky had given birth to the first of their four sons. It was John.
Mac finds his way to the park as often as he can, still very proud of his son. And he can't help but show it.
John's coach through his early years in baseball, Mac is quiet and unassuming. But he can occasionally be heard from the stands barking directions to his son.
"Because I've heard his voice for so many years, there could be thousands of people in the stands yelling and I could hear his voice," John said. "He never yells down unless he has something very important to say. It's usually very simple, like `Watch the ball'."
John enjoys hearing the stories of his father's glory days. Mac played on two teams that went to the NCAA Tournament, each one coming a game away from earning a spot in the College World Series.
"He tells me about the guys he used to play with and about the card games on the road. He also tells me about the home runs he hit . . . sometimes I get the impression he hit 4 or 500 home runs. He's hit one in every college park we've ever been to . . . at least by his account."
John is playing this summer with the Wenatchee Apple Sox in a semi-pro league.
"We've asked him to play a lot of ball and put on 15 or 20 pounds," Hertz said. "Mac has hung a little extra weight on, too, but his has dropped a little," Hertz chided.
"Coaching the son of a former player reminds me all the time that I'm getting old," Hertz said. "But it is wonderful to see this kind of legacy. A father and a son who have the utmost love and respect for each other. I'm very fortunate to be experiencing this."
Meanwhile, John is back in Brewster this summer, working in the family orchard business, and undoubtedly taking his daily whacks in the batting cage on the Gebbers' farm, perhaps getting a tip or two from his dad.
Somehow, you get the feeling that playing in the shadow of his father is not as ominous as it might be for a lesser balanced person. But for John, it's a blessing.
