Hood stays positive even when he’s not in the game plan

ROBINSON – Clinton Hood didn’t fit into the offensive game plan for Post 95 during the Sr. Legion District Tournament.

So, he trotted out to the first-base coaching box most innings to help guide his teammates once they reached base.

He didn’t fit into the starting pitching plans, either.

So, he waited patiently until called upon as a reliever in the championship game, tossing three innings of one-hit baseball.

“I know we have to put out the best team we can, and if I’m not a part of that, I’ll still do what I can do,” Hood said. “I don’t want to bring the team down in any way.

“If the game plan doesn’t call for me in the game, that’s perfectly fine with me, because I’ll be ready to do whatever I need to do when called upon.”

A noble stance from a player who was part of just about every game plan during his final three years at Patoka High School.

In the end, Hood was satisfied with his playing time, collecting almost 40 plate appearances in 15 games, and making 10 appearances from the mound – tossing 37 1/3 innings, the third-most among Post 95 pitchers. He picked up three wins and a save to go against just one loss.

“He never complained about anything,” said Jacob Behrends, a high school rival who was a fellow pitcher during the summer. “He knew his role, and when he was needed, he went out and did his job.”

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It’s a positive trait that has followed him since his high school days – the first shining example coming two years ago.

Hood took the mound against St. Anthony during his sophomore season, overmatched on paper against the Bulldogs, a veteran team which had made the state tournament in the previous season.

And when coach Joey Eddy told Hood he would be the starting pitcher that day, Hood felt no pressure – instead he remembers feeling “glad that (Eddy) had that confidence in me” to make a big start.

“He pitched a great one against St. Anthony, and that was his defining moment, even though we lost,” Eddy said of the 3-1 defeat. “They were coming off a year where they went to state, and they barely beat us.

“That’s when he decided to fully invest in pitching.”

Hood was one of nearly a dozen sophomores on that team, and several of them were in the starting lineup that day.

And in true fashion, he remembers the day as a good one for his teammates more so than for himself.

“It definitely helped gain confidence – not just for me but for everybody in our class,” Hood said. “We were sophomores playing against seniors at a great school like that, and played with them hard.

“Even though it was a loss on the scorecard, it was a moral win because we went out and showed what we could do.”

He continued establishing himself as one of the staff aces for Patoka during his junior year, and was having a strong fall for the Warriors as a senior before succumbing to a wrist injury he suffered during a game.

It was the second time he missed time during the fall season after missing the entire fall due to an injury as a freshman.

The sprained wrist forced him out of the second half as a senior and occurred just one day before the biggest conference game of the season – a game in which he was scheduled to start.

“It was bad,” Hood said. “I hated just sitting there and watching it, but I couldn’t do anything.

“I hurt my throwing wrist, so I couldn’t even get out there and throw a tennis ball,” he said. “I tried one practice throwing it back and forth, but it just hurt like heck.”

Hood wanted to make his final season as a Warrior one to remember, so he did a lot of weight lifting during the winter, packing on muscle in an attempt to lead Patoka to a regional championship.

“He made himself into a good offensive player his senior year by putting on 15-20 pounds of muscle, and started hitting leadoff,” Eddy said. “He got quicker as he got stronger.”

But the Warriors fell short of their goal, getting matched up in one of the state’s toughest Class 1A regional tournaments, and losing a tight game in the first round.

That loss made the Sr. Legion season a second chance for Hood, however, and he said winning the regular season and tournament titles in the District remedied the tough spring.

“After high school ball, when we didn’t quite achieve our goal of winning a regional, it was really good to come out and win the District,” Hood said. “It was similar to the goals we had in high school, and it kind of made up for not winning our regional in high school.”

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As class valedictorian, Hood has a bright future ahead of him, and he hopes the next few years include more baseball, too.

He will pursue an agricultural degree at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, and hopes to play club baseball there if he is unable to make the cut after a tryout with the Division I Salukis.

“I’m not having too high hopes on it, because I realize how good (the Salukis) are,” Hood said.

As a pitcher, Hood does not possess a commanding fastball, instead relying on control and – as Sr. Legion coach Rodney Mueller called it – “one of the biggest 9 to 6 curveballs you’ve ever seen.”

Add in a deceitful delivery that Hood developed by “messing around in the backyard” and the end result is a solid pitcher.

“I’ve never been a guy to overpower anybody with a fastball – I don’t have any huge speed,” Hood said. “So any way I can deceive hitters, I’ll do whatever I can, and I’ve been told that it does mess them up and throw them off.”

That’s a pretty good game plan.

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Coaching could be in Hood's future

Clinton Hood looked like a natural while coaching first base for Post 95 during the Sr. Legion District Tournament.

He chatted with the umpire between innings, collected batting gloves from players who reached base and helped teammates watch for a pickoff attempt.

Perhaps, it was a look into Hood’s future.

“I wouldn’t mind to coach somewhere,” Hood said. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot.

“I actually told (Patoka High School coach Joey Eddy) after the spring season was over that anytime he needed help with the team – I realize I won’t be around a lot for the seasons – that any time I am home to let me know and I’ll do anything I can.”

As a serious student of the game since his junior high years, Hood is perfect coaching material.

He is hoping to find a job in the area following college, so if he does get into coaching, he’ll be giving back to communities that have given him so much.

“I don’t want to be away from the game,” Hood said. “I want to stay in the game any way I can, and give back to the players who are younger than me.

“And hopefully, lead a successful team, too.”

Hood is no stranger to success on the baseball field, but he has also experienced the disheartening side of losing.

Having those experiences to draw from will help Hood in the future no matter what he does, but will be of paramount value in a coaching situation.

As will his personality.

“He’s a baseball junkie, so that was fun. He was an outgoing person and would talk about anything – no matter if he it was in school, at games or on the bus,” Eddy said. “He could lighten a mood, and could get anybody else going if they were in a bad mood.”