Gobble chasing his own big league dreams

ELIZABETHTON – He barely remembers it, but Porter Gobble had a unique upbringing as a young child. He was there when his father, Jimmy Gobble, pitched for the Kansas City Royals. "Obviously when I was super young I went to his games. I have faint memories of them," said Porter, a 19-year-old pitcher for the Elizabethton River Riders. "I was a tiny thing, very little. I remember going to Arizona, living in Arizona, living in Kansas City. I have faint memories of him actually pitching and me being in the locker room with some of the guys." That experience is paying off now as Porter has his own professional baseball dreams. "That is the dream, that is why I am here," said Porter, who will be a redshirt freshman at Walters State in the fall. "I am looking to go somewhere after Walters State and whatever happens happens." There are differences between the two. Jimmy, who is the head coach at John Battle in Bristol, Va., was a lefty and relied heavily on a slider while playing for seven seasons with the Royals and Chicago White Sox. Porter is a righty with an affinity for a two-seam fastball mixed with a curveball. "I have learned tons of things. He has taught me pretty much everything I know, how to sequence pitches, how to throw certain pitches, what to throw to certain batters, just all sorts of stuff," said Porter, who vaguely recalls attending the wedding of former Kansas City Royals' Cy Young Award winning pitcher Zack Greinke. "I would not be who I am today without his teaching." Porter, who pitched for the Bristol State Liners last season, has enjoyed a productive summer for the River Riders, posting a 3-0 record with a 2.41 ERA in five appearances for Elizabethton manager Jeremy Owens, a former pro baseball player himself, who has gotten to know Gobble as an assistant coach at Providence Academy. "I like Jimmy. He is a good teacher, a very good observer. His experience in the game, you can really tell he has poured into Porter," Owens said. "It is really exciting. I got to watch Porter for the last two or three years pitching in high school. Just seeing his growth has been amazing and that just tells you a lot about his dad and their relationship and how they work together." After four stellar seasons at John Battle, including one appearance in the state championship game, Porter redshirted last year while pitching to his teammates at Walters State. He is eager for the upcoming season with the Senators, which finished sixth in the JUCO College World Series in the spring. "I am super excited…Hopefully next year we are looking to go back and see if we can win it all," Porter said. "I got to travel a little bit in the fall, but other than that I just pitched to those guys. It was a lot of innings though so it was a really good developmental year for me. It is a little weird when you are facing the same guys over and over again because they will start to know your tendencies, but it makes you better." So does playing in the Appalachian League. Now a college wood-bat league, Porter likes the competitive nature of college players from across the nation, along with the analytical approach that is so important with today's evaluation process in pro baseball. "I think it is cool to get some feedback on what your pitches are doing and how much they are moving, how fast it is going, whatever," he said. "I think also it can get in the pitcher's minds or even the hitter's minds thinking that 'Oh, I need to hit this number, I need to do this and I need to do that'. I just try to keep a clean slate, don't let that bother me too much, but I think it is really cool to see all analytics and stuff." Owens, whose son, Josh, is currently playing for the Texas Rangers in the Arizona Complex League, likes the way Porter approaches his work on the mound. "He has been poured into by great knowledge. Porter understands the importance of working ahead. He pitches ahead, he pitches off his fastball and that big breaking ball of his is really good," Owens said. "He uses it well. He is a smart guy, he knows that he is not always going to overpower them, but he knows to attack the zone. He is not just throwing the ball, he can spot up when he needs it. It has been really fun to watch him grow. "What a great kid, what a good teammate he has been here for us the last couple of weeks. The guys really like him here, they really do." Like any competitor, Porter wants to win games, but the Appalachian League is about getting better. "Everyone wants to finish first, winning makes everything more fun, but at the end of the day this is a developmental league," said Porter, who's brother, Palmer, is a rising senior at John Battle. "It is summer ball, the guys here, they are coming to get looks maybe to go to other schools or just to develop what they have." All have the same dreams as Porter. Owens thinks the potential is there to reach those goals. "It is always early, but he has those signs that tells you he has got a high ceiling in him. He is willing to learn, he listens and has got really good work ethic," Owens said. "I do believe he will have opportunities and I think he is going to make the best out of all of them."