A conservative Christian, Hobgood was home-schooled by his mother until seventh grade. A "B" student, he is steadfast in his faith and adamant in his efforts to follow his father's wishes.
"Dad always called my right arm 'the golden arm' and my left arm 'the Jesus arm,' " Hobgood said. "My right arm is for pitching, and the other is for God because he gave me all of the talent. I'll use both as a tool for God."
He sipped his first brew in high school and spit it out.
"Didn't like it," he said. "I go to parties and guys say, 'Have a beer, man, you're going to the majors.' I say, 'Don't pressure me because I've got a real opportunity.' "
His peers respect that, he said.
"Matt doesn't drink or smoke, and he has no tattoos, earrings or piercings. In today's world, he's kind of boring," said his grandmother, Sylvia Madruga.
Until he takes the mound.
"Between the lines, there's an intensity in him that's not there in the everyday person," said Gary Parcell, Norco's baseball coach. "There were times when Matt was almost bored on the mound because it was so easy. Then someone got a hit off him and he took it to another level. In tough competition, Matt gets amped."
In the California state playoffs last year, Hobgood battled another hard-throwing pitcher, Gerrit Cole, whose 100 mph offerings had pro scouts drooling. Hobgood's best had been clocked between 92 to 95 mph.
"Everyone came to see Cole throw 100, and he did," Parcell said. "But Matt touched 98 that day."
His curve, a thing of beauty, was unhittable. Norco won the game, 1-0.
"Call it my alter ego," Hobgood said of his competitive streak. "I'm a nice guy off the field, but out there that'll get you run over. Nolan Ryan once said he was an SOB on the mound, and if it works for him ... "
Hobgood plans to sign with the Orioles on June 27 for about $2.5 million. Before the draft, when the Orioles asked his plans for the money, he replied, "Buy a new truck, take care of my mom and sisters and put the rest in the bank."
"Great answer," Jordan said.
Hobgood's mantra: "Stay consistent and you'll be good, both in life and in baseball. Just stay off the roller coasters - not too many ups or downs."
He has seen enough of them already.
Born in Glendale, Ariz., Hobgood weighed in at 11 1/4 pounds. He was very big and very sick with strep pneumonia. Doctors gave him a one-in-10 chance to live and whisked the infant by air to a children's hospital in Phoenix.
