West’s Cohen Settling Into a Comfortable Position

It was as mystifying as it was distressing.

As a freshman catcher four years ago at El Camino Real High, Jason Cohen was the victim of a numbers conspiracy. The 60-foot 6-inch span from home plate to the pitcher’s mound might as well have been the Grand Canyon, yet Cohen admits that the problem stemmed from a much smaller region--the six inches between his ears.

“It’s a one-in-a-million thing,” Cohen said. “I can’t explain it, but I got it.”

Whatever the odds, it was odd, and it remains something that Cohen does not fully understand.

Cohen, who started catching as a 13-year-old, was afflicted by what might be termed the Sax Syndrome or the Murphy Malaise. Former Dodger second baseman Steve Sax had trouble throwing to first. Dale Murphy, who came to the Atlanta Braves as a catcher, couldn’t accurately throw the ball back to the mound.

As did Murphy, Cohen found an antidote--a healthy dose of left field. It eventually led to a move this summer to first base, which rekindled Cohen’s zeal for the game and helped him earn an invitation to play college baseball at the Division I level next season.

Additionally, there are the benefits that come with playing for defending American Legion World Series champion Woodland Hills West, which will open play against Utah today at 4:35 p.m. in the Legion Southwest regional in Union City, Calif.

Painful as it is to try to explain, Cohen (6-foot-1, 185 pounds) said he was unable to perform the simplest of catching chores: lobbing the ball back to the pitcher. He vividly recalls the first flare-up, during a junior varsity game in his freshman season, when the ball seemed like a yo-yo on a very short string.

It was in a game against Poly that this quirk first drove him crackers.

“It just wouldn’t go,” Cohen said, shrugging. “I’d catch it, go to throw, and it just wouldn’t go. It was the most unique thing you’ll ever see.”

Cohen double- and triple-pumped, then started over again. He had more pumps than Imelda Marcos. The patience of his pitcher, Donny Chelius, understandably wore thin.

“I double-clutched about six times and Donny finally called me out there and said, ‘What’s the matter?’ ” Cohen said. “I said, ‘Whoa, I don’t know, what is the matter?’

“It built up to the point that I completely lost it as a catcher,” he said. “The outfield was an escape, it was a confidence builder--a three-year confidence builder.”

Not that Cohen’s offensive productivity was bulldozed. As an outfielder, Cohen posted superlative numbers in high school. He finished his junior season ranked fourth among area City Section batters with a .406 average. Two of the players ahead of him were Cleveland High’s Pat Bryant (now with a Cleveland Indians rookie-league affiliate) and Chatsworth’s Rich Aude (playing for Augusta, Ga., the Pittsburgh Pirates’ affiliate in the Class-A South Atlantic League).

Cohen batted .367 and drove in 23 runs last season at El Camino Real but drew interest from only local junior colleges. It was the switch to first, Cohen believes, that helped attract the attention of USC Coach Mike Gillespie, who invited Cohen to try out with the Trojans next season as a non-scholarship player.

Cohen, puzzled that he had not been contacted by a single Division I recruiter before Gillespie’s call two weeks ago, jumped at the chance and applied at USC last Thursday.

Learning a new position took some application, too. Cohen had played but a handful of innings at the position when he took over for teammate Chris Teich, who injured an ankle a few games into the Legion regular season.

His education continued in the state tournament last week. Cohen, attempting to backhand a one-hop throw from third baseman Del Marine, literally used his head while futilely trying to make the play. The ball took a wicked hop and hit Cohen between the eyes with such velocity that it caromed well into right field.

Having turned a double play or two, dug out dozens of low throws and knocked down his share of line shots in the hole, Cohen--bloodied and bleary-eyed--realized his transition was complete.

“When that ball got me I thought, ‘All right, now I don’t have to worry about it jumping up and hitting me anymore. My nose is already broken.’ ”

In the early stages of the Legion season, West’s spirit seemed broken as well. Many of the starters had played for El Camino Real, which fell to Chatsworth, 3-2, in the City Section 4-A Division final at Dodger Stadium in May. The loss threw West (35-6) into a funk and, defending Legion champion or not, the numbness didn’t soon wear off.

“I still don’t like to hear about it,” Cohen said. “I haven’t been to a Dodger game since, I don’t think any of our guys have.”

Legion play began the following weekend, and while many of West’s players were less than enthusiastic--the team lost three of its first four games--Cohen came out smoking. He drove in six runs while batting in the cleanup position in the first game. Later in the season he helped engineer a West streak that saw the team win 29 of 30 games en route to the state title last week in Yountville.

“That first game definitely put me on the right track,” said Cohen, who tied for third among District 20 players with 30 regular-season runs batted in. In 14 postseason games he has an additional 17 RBIs and is batting .376 overall.

Cohen’s productivity is perhaps more attributable to his consistency than his power. Although he has hit just two home runs in 117 at-bats this summer, he has struck out a mere four times (3.4%).

“He just doesn’t strike out,” West Coach Don Hornback said. “He almost always hits it hard, somewhere.”

Yet, had it been left to Cohen, the RBI totals might have been halved. First and foremost, Cohen wanted to bat first and foremost, and he informed Hornback of his previous success hitting from the leadoff position.

“I considered it about as long as I considered myself as the leadoff guy,” Hornback said with a laugh. “There was no way--he’s an RBI man.”

And after the West opener, Cohen had to admit he was wrong.

“The first game, I had six RBIs with, like, two triples,” Cohen said. “I’m standing on third base and Don says, ‘And you wanted to lead off?’

“I said, ‘Uh, sorry.’ ”

Apology accepted. So what if batting first didn’t work out. First base turned out just fine.

“First base is a lot of fun,” Cohen said. “I love it. It’s like catching all over again.”

Thankfully, whatever he had three years ago isn’t.