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PROVO--Judging by his imposing size and girth, BYU first baseman Kasey Ko appears to be quite the slugger.
However, while the 6-foot-2, 240-pound sophomore is a consistent and talented batter, he's rarely shown much power. For most of his young Cougar career, Ko has looked like a singles hitter trapped in a home run hitter's body.
"Kasey has great hand-eye coordination. He's a very good contact hitter," said coach Vance Law. "One of the things we're trying to help him get better at is driving the ball and being more of a run-producer rather than somebody who just slaps the ball. I don't need a 240-pound Ichiro that can't run."
Law has talked to Ko extensively about his role on the team.
"If he's going to be a contributor in the lineup in the way that we need, it's somebody who can drive runs in and take the kind of swings that will allow him to hit doubles," Law said.
Ko, a Kailua, Hawaii, native, and the team's only switch hitter, has been taking Law's advice to heart lately. "He told me not to just make contact but to drive the ball," Ko said. "That's what I'm looking to do."
In BYU's 18 Mountain West Conference games, Ko is batting .410 with a team-high 25 hits and 13 RBIs. He's recorded nine doubles in league play along with a home run and a .639 slugging percentage. Ko belted his first triple of the season last weekend at New Mexico and has helped guide the Cougars to second place in the MWC standings.
"He's gotten a lot of extra-base hits lately. He's adapted very well the last month or so," Law said. "He's really swung the bat well with a lot of RBIs. It's always nice to have somebody you can count on to make contact. He's a good combination of contact, plus he's developing a bit more of a power mentality."
When asked if he considers himself to be a power hitter now, Ko smiled and replied, "Kind of, I guess. I wouldn't say I'm a home run hitter. I'd rather have doubles in the gaps. That tells me that I'm doing good."
Prior to enrolling at BYU, Ko was the 2005 Gatorade player of the year in Hawaii, and he led Punahou High School to back-to-back state championships in 2004 and 2005. His team was ranked No. 10 by USA Today.
As a Cougar freshman in 2006, Ko hit .281 and earned second-team All-MWC honors.
Kasey's parents, Kendyl and Kelcey, have been supportive despite the distance between Hawaii and Provo. Kelcey works for American Airlines, enabling her and her husband to travel to the mainland to watch Kasey play on a fairly regular basis. Kendyl attended the Cougars' series at New Mexico a week ago.
What's most amazing about that is Kendyl is suffering from cancer.
"He's doing OK. It's been a battle," Kasey said of his father. "He likes to come to our games, and that's what he wants to do. That's fine with me. It's good to spend time with him."
Law said while it's a sad situation, the Ko family is maintaining a positive attitude.
"(Kendyl) has lost a lot of weight in the two years that I've known him," he said. "But he is very upbeat and he never talks about (the illness). He always talks about how he loves to watch Kasey play. I hope a miracle will happen for him. That's a driving force for Kasey, to have his dad there to watch him."
In the meantime, as the Cougars get set for the MWC Tournament later this month, Kasey Ko will look to double his pleasure by driving the ball into the gaps and driving in more runs.