Born to swing

Most baseball players chew bubble gum, sunflower seeds, or tobacco when they play baseball.

Noah Spencer chooses to suck on his pacifier as he awaits a pitch from his dad.

Spencer is one Port Orchard two-year-old who doesn’t waste his time with with such things as speaking. He lets the bat do the talking for him.

When Noah was asked to comment about his super stardom at such an early age, he merely stared at this reporter and went back to what he knows, swinging a bat — from both sides of the plate.

He holds the bat with authority and confidence, standing patiently as his dad tosses the ball from between 10 to 15 feet. If there is one flaw in his swing, it’s his inability to lay off his dad’s high cheese.

But when he connects, the swing is poetry in motion.

Because of the improbability of a 2-year-old playing baseball with skill, this is a fable that deserves a backstory.

Noah’s father, James Spencer, said Noah first started hitting balls at six months of age.

The consistency came when James bought a tee.

“He started by hitting the ball from a tee then when he was able to walk at one year old,” James said. “He would also walk around the house hitting the ball on the ground.”

Noah may be just as good a golfer as a baseball player. When Noah would swing and miss, he chose to hit the ball back to his dad by turning his bat into a a golf club and giving his best Tiger Woods impersonation.

Noah can also throw a football for a spiral.

Despite Noah’s athletic prowess at his age, James insists none of it is because he pushed baseball, or any other sport, on his son.

He and his wife, Lori, are Seattle Mariners fans, and Noah was a regular on James’ lap during baseball games on television.

“His first word was ‘home run,’ ” James said. “You have to play baseball with him or else he’ll go play it by himself.”

James said doctors are baffled at Noah’s advancement in coordination.

“I tell the doctors what he does and they are amazed at the coordination at his age,” James said. “The doctors said it’s his hand/eye coordination that is so good.”

What’s interesting is that Noah doesn’t just throw a ball and swing a bat.

“He will step aside and stretch when batting and he will do a wind-up when pitching,” James said.

Everything is thrown overhand. Underhand throws do not exist in Noah’s world of baseball.

And Noah’s hitting accuracy varies, James said.

Sometimes he hits two out of three pitches. Sometimes he’ll miss a few in a row and sometimes he’ll hit five in a row.

To show that his son’s talents aren’t hokey, James has videotaped his son and attempted to contact Seattle television stations.

It’s not so much he wants fame for his son. It’s because he wants to share with other people this extraordinary gift that isn’t supposed to exist in 2-year-olds.

Children aren’t supposed to be able to play baseball before they are potty trained. James said he’s not going to exploit his son. But he won’t repress his talents, either.

James said he’s enjoying his time with Noah and refuses to look into the future...except for one thing.

“I think it’s safe to say he’ll skip T-ball,” James said.

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