Jacob Berry had never been to Louisiana before. He knew a few things about the state’s relationship with baseball, but he had never experienced the passion and energy for himself.
So when there were nearly a dozen cameras filming his first interview on LSU baseball’s Media Day, along with numerous other recording devices, Berry looked overwhelmed. He had never seen anything like this.
“I didn’t even see them in [Nebraska],” Berry commented on the amount of media attention present. “So that’s a little bit new to me.”
He gave a shaky smile and continued. “Just trying to do the best I can right now.”
Berry grew up in a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona in a town called Queen Creek. The oldest of four, the Berry family loved baseball and softball. Arizona is a hotbed for the game, with the Cactus League taking place all over the state for some MLB spring training, and the Arizona Diamondbacks making their home in Phoenix as well. Perry Berry, Jacob’s father, was a massive influence on his children’s lives, and one of the easiest ways was taking Jacob and his family to Diamondbacks games.
“I remember watching Paul Goldschmidt growing up,” Jacob said. “Just the way he played the game was unbelievable. A great character guy, plays the game and just did everything the right way. That’s how I approach my game and how I want to play as a player.”
When he wasn’t watching games at Chase Field, Jacob was working with his seasoned veteran of a father. Perry played four stellar seasons in UL-Lafayette as an infielder and was drafted by the Houston Astros in the fourth round of the 1990 MLB draft. He spent four years in the minor leagues but never made a major league appearance.
Since then, he has served in the Arizona public school system as the Queen Creek County School Superintendent, where he got to be very involved in his son’s growth as a player and a person.
“He’s been my biggest supporter in everything: baseball, school, and life,” Jacob said fondly of his father.
The strength of their relationship was palpable with his words. One of the first things he taught his son on the field was to switch hit, something most players don’t develop into a legitimate skill until much later in their careers.
“I’ve been switch hitting as long as I can remember,” Jacob said. “My dad had me switch hit because I couldn’t hit a breaking ball. He was a pretty good player, I thought, and he taught me both ways. I’ve just been doing it for so long, and it’s been working out pretty good for me now.”
“Pretty good” might be an understatement. Berry led his Arizona team in home runs (17), RBIs (70), slugging percentage (.676) and OPS (1.115) and was second in batting average (.352) as a freshman. He was awarded numerous All-American accolades from multiple media outlets, as well as Collegiate Baseball’s National Co-Freshman of the Year and a Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist. Arizona made it to Omaha but lost in two consecutive games in an early exit. With Goldschmidt-like power and Chipper Jones-like versatility at the plate, Berry was spectacular last season.
Jay Johnson saw it firsthand; as the Wildcats’ coach last season, he was able to understand what made Berry so special as the most prolific switch hitter in the college game. What he observed played a large role in his effort to bring Berry to Baton Rouge.
“Hitting is hard, so to manage both sides is really hard,” Johnson said of Berry. “I think a couple things that helped him with that is he started at a young age and is very simple and has really sound fundamentals, and he’s incredibly strong. With an aluminum bat in his hands and all of those qualities, he sees the ball really well and has great plate discipline, so the pitches he swings at are usually ones he can impact.”
“I’ve had such a great relationship (with Johnson) for about five, six years,” Berry said. “He gave me the opportunity to finish my college career here, and I was really thankful for it. I’ve just had such a great relationship with him, and it’s the reason I’m here now.”
Following Johnson to Baton Rouge has not been easy for the 20 year old. Berry was an Arizona kid after all, and to pick everything up and move 1,000 miles away at that age to pursue as specific a goal as getting LSU back to Omaha and building a strong scouting report as the MLB draft approaches is a difficult thing to process. Berry mentioned how amazing it was to see 4,000 people show up for LSU’s fall scrimmage against UL-Lafayette.
Yet, despite all the cameras and growing popularity, Berry is staying true to himself while meshing his interests with what Louisiana has to offer. The humble sophomore must have inherited some of his father’s love for the state. The result: A young man who is confident in who he is in spite of the culture shock.
“The food’s amazing, and one of the things that I love to do is hunt and fish,” Berry smiled and said. “I’ve actually gotten to go duck hunting a few times, and I went bass fishing.”
Berry’s relationships with his teammates have bloomed quickly. Before even arriving on campus, he met the only player on LSU’s team with a higher OPS (by 0.001) last season while playing on Team USA—Dylan Crews. Together, the two built their friendship and hitting prowess, putting the SEC on notice before Berry even reached to Baton Rouge for the fall. Crews was very impressed with Berry’s consistent dedication to his craft, and the duo love to compete and push each other to get better.
“As soon as I saw him pull his name out of Arizona, I had a good feeling that he was coming over here,” Crews said. “It was awesome. Hitting in front of him, hitting behind him, it’s just been great. Having a guy like that, it rarely happens.”
Cade Beloso has been at LSU for four years now. He has the privilege to play with hit king Antoine Duplantis, dynamic hitter Daniel Cabrera, and just last year the astounding season Dylan Crews had. It takes a lot for him to see something new and noteworthy—Jacob Berry fit the bill.
“I’ve never actually gotten to see a switch hitter before, so that was pretty cool,” Beloso laughed. “He rakes from both sides. He’s always just so focused on the moment.”
For his pitchers, Berry gives a phenomenal opportunity to improve in practice. It is challenging to find better hitters to practice against than what projects to be one of the best offenses in the SEC this year. Vice versa, the pitchers help Berry stay true to himself and never relent in his pursuit of his goals. The drive Berry and his wingman Crews bring to the team has been noticed by another driven draft prospect, fifth-year hurler Devin Fontenot.
“(Berry) and Crews are those natural athletes,” Fontenot said. “They’re really strong, but they’re really hard workers. They’re up here hours and hours out of each day trying to perfect their craft. Getting behind them and seeing what they do makes you want to do the same thing.”
It is a perfect recipe for success when the best players are the hard workers, and Berry is a key contributor to that. The switch-hitting kid from Arizona, son of a Louisiana baseball father, who works hard and hits the ball harder is going to be a player LSU fans will fall in love with this year. There was no reason for Berry to be overwhelmed on Friday; this is a perfect match.
Bryce Collins saw Berry play for a full season together at Arizona as freshmen. His reaction to Berry’s abilities is probably the most fitting conclusion on who Jacob Berry is: Watch what I do, not what I say.
“You guys just need to see what he’s going to be able to do,” Collins said with a knowing grin.