AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL: BATTING FOR RESPECT : JACOBSEN AREA'S BEST-KEPT SECRET.

Byline: Heather Gripp Daily News Staff Writer

Bruce Beck realizes he has one of the best-kept secrets in region baseball. He doesn't want it to stay that way, though.

The Agoura High coach fills with excitement when he gets a chance to talk about Brian Jacobsen, a player whom Beck feels goes unrecognized because of the school for which he plays.

``He's as good as any kid that plays in this area and it almost goes unnoticed,'' Beck said. ``I guarantee you if he went to Chatsworth or El Camino Real, he'd be a name that everyone knows. People in baseball circles know him, but he doesn't get the recognition and the press that other players do. He's probably hurt by the fact that Agoura doesn't have the baseball-rich tradition, but that's changing, too. He's a major reason the program's turning around.''

It's hard for those who compete against him to not recognize Jacobsen, but even those who think they know him aren't always familiar with the first-team All-Southern Section player.

``At the Marmonte League meeting to select the all-league team, when the coaches found out he was a junior, they were aghast,'' Beck said. ``He was so good, they thought he was older and they weren't looking forward to having to face him again for another year.''

Jacobsen said he understands the lack of attention.

``That's just kind of the aspect of playing for Agoura,'' he said. ``It takes quite a lot to get some recognition.''

Which is exactly what he has done.

Jacobsen batted over .300 in each of his first three seasons on the Agoura High varsity team. During his recently completed junior year in which he hit .488, the infielder reached base in 13 consecutive plate appearances and had another string of 12 straight at-bats in which he reached base safely.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Jacobsen entered the week leading area American Legion players with a .604 average (down from .636 the week before) to go along with 25 RBI and four home runs. More than half of his 32 hits have been for extra bases.

``It's just a lot of extra hard work,'' the 17-year-old said. ``I'm always working on my hitting. Every day, if it's not hitting at the cage at school, it's down at the batting cages or off a tee. That's my game - hitting. Defense comes second.''

Jacobsen lists the area code games and the Team One Showcase in Arizona as some of the prestigious events he participates in when he's not tearing it up at the high school or American Legion level. He also played for the 1996 Thousand Oaks Little League Senior League team that reached the World Series final. Yet no matter where he goes, he's almost sure to be outshined by other local stars.

``That's just an example of an Agoura player not getting the recognition,'' Jacobsen said. ``I've been everywhere with the players like (Kevin) Howard that everyone knows. You just kind of get overlooked.''

Things appear to be changing, though, as the Chargers placed fourth this season for their best finish ever in the Marmonte League.

``It used to be all the good players would leave Agoura for other schools like Westlake,'' Jacobsen said. ``Now it's kind of different. The young players are seeing the talent we have here and are starting to leave other schools for Agoura.''

Jacobsen's stock is also on the rise.

After leading the team in strikeouts as a sophomore, he went to a shorter, more compact swing that has produced only one strikeout during this summer's Legion season.

``Last year, all he tried to do was pull the ball,'' Beck said. ``We told him to stop trying to pull the ball, go with the pitch and hit to all fields. He worked very hard on that last summer.''

The left-hander hit just one of his eight home runs to right field during this year's high school season.

``It says a lot about a kid, about him knowing what he has to change and being able to do it,'' Beck said. ``He's learned to become a more disciplined hitter.''

Jacobsen agreed.

``I just try to drive the ball to all fields,'' he said. ``I don't try to drive it over the fence, I'm just aiming to drive it through the fence. The home runs just come by accident sometimes.''

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PHOTO Agoura's Brian Jacobsen entered the week hitting a region-best .604 in American Legion baseball.

Phil McCarten/Daily News