This Thief Jumps at Chance to Steal

Jason Giovannettone takes a furtive lead off first base. He darts for second. He slides, he’s safe.

Giovannettone, as any good base-stealer will tell you, says it’s all in the jump.

“The times I do get thrown out it’s because I get an awful jump,” Giovannettone said.

Fortunately for Giovannettone, leadoff batter for Chaminade High, such instances are rare.

Giovannettone leads regional players with 14 stolen bases in as many attempts, a familiar position for the fleet-footed senior, who starred at tailback last fall. Last season, Giovannettone had 28 steals in 29 attempts to tie Josh Miranda of Monroe for the lead among players from the region. He had 24 steals as a sophomore.

Giovannettone, in his fourth varsity season, has a school-record 73 career steals--far short of the Southern Section record of 157 set by Jimmy Hoffman of Anza Hamilton from 1989-92, but more than enough to instill confidence in the most-conservative coach.

“He doesn’t have the ‘steal’ sign, he has the ‘stop’ sign,” Chaminade Coach Denny Barrett said. “He has the green light unless we tell him not to steal. His baseball instincts are incredible. He works on getting a good jump and he knows what to look for.”

Said Giovannettone: “I feel much better, knowing I don’t need the sign. After playing varsity for four years, you get a sense of when to go.”

At 5 feet 8, 160 pounds, Giovannettone has a build similar to that of his base-stealing idol, former Dodger Maury Wills. He even speaks of stealing the way great thieves of the game do, like it’s a science.

“It’s easy for me to pick up patterns of a pitcher,” Giovannettone said. “They’re taught to do the same thing over and over again and it’s something you can pick up on if you watch.”

Giovannettone’s baserunning has helped Chaminade (9-1-1, 4-0-1) lead the Mission League standings. He has scored 15 runs.

“I’m the spark plug,” he said.