“He’s so stubborn about wanting to play.”

Those were the first words Thomas Jefferson head baseball coach Joseph Townsend said when asked about his senior player Alec Chanes.

Chanes was a promising baseball prospect as a junior at Jefferson. He planned on attending and playing baseball at George Fox University in Oregon next year.

Those plans changed prior to his senior season when he learned he could not throw a baseball without causing harm to himself after being diagnosed with a degenerative elbow condition.

“I was heartbroken,” said Chanes on his reaction to the news. “That was my dream, to play baseball at the next level in college. It was my dad’s dream too. We’d go out and hit and work on stuff.”

Chanes elbow has very little cartilage left in it. Because of this, the bones could continually grind together and could cause further damage.

Were he to continue to throw a baseball, he would likely need elbow replacement surgery in the near future, a scenario he and his doctor have deemed undesirable.

Still, Chanes continues to be a member of the Raiders baseball team. He is a team captain and has found ways to still be on the field playing the game he loves for one last season.

“He’s figured out that he can still swing a bat even with his bad arm,” Townsend said. “So I’ve been using him to swing the bat. And he’s super fast, so obviously I still use him to run the bases.”

Townsend wasn’t expecting to use him to hit much, if at all, before the season began. But during the offseason, Chanes came up to him and told him he could still hit.

During Jefferson’s first game in Pasco, a trip the team takes every year as a team building experience, Townsend subbed in the senior to see what he could still bring to the table.

“I got him in the game. First pitch he line-drives the ball into the gap, double,” Townsend said. “I saw the look in his eyes after the at-bat and he came to me on the bus ride home and said, ‘Coach I can do this all year long. I can swing the bat.’”

“This whole past season I’ve been wanting to just help out my team win,” Chanes said. “Knowing that I could hit now a couple times, it actually made me feel better. Knowing that it’s my last season ever, I can still help my team win.”

Though he can still swing the bat without causing too much trouble with his elbow, Townsend says he’s been cautious with him to prevent further injury.

While Chanes will not be playing baseball at George Fox University, he still earned an academic scholarship to go to the school. Currently he has a 3.75 GPA. Coach Townsend says that he is about getting it done in the classroom first and foremost.

Baseball will still be a part of his life even after Jefferson’s season ends. Chanes is currently the head coach of his younger brother’s 13U youth select team. It’s his first year in the role. For now, Chanes remains focused on the rest of the Raiders’ season as they look to finish strong.

“I love these guys too much to not keep playing with them,” Chanes said. “I want to spend my last season with them. I do whatever I can to produce. I talk them up and help morally.”

Chanes has had at-bats in two of the Raiders last three games. Against Decatur on Friday, he went 1-2 at the plate and scored a run. He was also hit by a pitch during one of his three at-bats. He was 0-1 Monday against Federal Way.

“Our whole team goal was to make it to the postseason,” Chanes said. “We want to extend the season as much as we can. This group of seniors has been playing together since we were about eight. It’s been a fun journey and it’s gone by fast. I want to keep it going.”

Jefferson is sitting in fourth in the South Puget Sound League Northwest at the time of this publication. They have split the first two games with Federal Way as they lost 10-2 on Monday and won 3-2 Tuesday.

Their final game against the Eagles was rained out Thursday and rescheduled for Friday. It will determine third place in the league. Jefferson hopes to be one of the 11 South Puget Sound League teams to make the district tournament.

Alec Chanes takes a lead off third base during their game on April 17 against Decatur. Chanes would score shortly after in the second inning. TERRENCE HILL, the Mirror

Chanes hits for a single against Decatur during their 9-8 win on April 17. Chanes was 1-2 on the day with a run scored. TERRENCE HILL, the Mirror