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38 | July 18, 2019 | the tinley Junction sports tinleyjunction.com Plastiak struggles in spring, stars in the summer Note: Former Andrew baseball star Jake Plastiak hit a dramatic walkoff single on July 8 to lead the East Division to a 2-1 win in the Coastal Plain League All-Star Game to help highlight a year that so far has had its ups and downs. Here is his roller coaster story. JONATHAN BARLAS Freelance Reporter In early June, two days after returning home from his freshman year at Wichita State, former Andrew all-state third baseman Jake Plastiak drove alone to Wilmington, North Carolina, answering phone calls from junior colleges during his 15-hour drive. His first collegiate summer season with the Wilmington Sharks of the wooden bat Coastal Plain League came at the cost of an expedited vacation – spending only 36 hours with his family in Tinley Park. Announcing his transfer from Division I Wichita State to Wabash Valley Junior College in downstate Mount Carmel, Plastiak had plenty on his mind during his solo trek: a new team, a fresh season and starting over at a new school in the fall. “I was getting a lot of calls from junior colleges so I was talking to advisors, mentors, coaches you name it,” Plastiak said. “I was excited to get to Wilmington to play and meet all of the guys. I knew it was going to be tough, only being home for a day and a half, so I thought of [my family] a lot too.” To Plastiak, summer is not about soaking up the sun and letting the days go by like most people his age. To him, every day is another opportunity to get better in baseball. As a senior at Andrew, Plastiak achieved Southwest Suburban Red First Team All-Conference and Illinois High School Association All-State honors in 2018, marking a .430 batting average with 25 RBI and 39 runs with an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.207 to help Andrew to a 30-5-2 season and the Bolts’ first regional title in 10 years. His commitment to Wichita State last summer was met with a tougher choice than he originally thought. Plastiak, to his own surprise, was drafted 831st overall in the 2018 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres in the 28th round. “I didn’t know it was going to happen,” he said. He was among other notable 28th round picks in former Texas A&M quarterback and Heisman trophy winner Johnny Manziel and Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. Struggles and changes in Wichita Plastiak ultimately decided against the pros, saying that Wichita was where he was supposed to be at that time. But after his freshman season, in which he struggled at the plate hitting .209 in 18 games, he was faced with another choice that would reshape the landscape of his baseball career. Head coach Todd Butler was fired in May and Eric Wedge took over. “There’s going to be an all-new coaching staff at Wichita State,” he said. “Sophomore year is a really big year for baseball players and I wanted to be able to pick my coaches. I didn’t know who the coaches were going to be and I felt the junior college route was better for me. It’s a lot closer to home, so I’ll only be about four hours away, which is nice.” Minutes after Plastiak announced the transfer news via Twitter June 15, there was nothing but support from his family leading up to his decision. “They really thought junior college was the best route for me too,” he said. “They could come see me play and I could come home for holidays...I’m fortunate enough to be able to play at one of the best junior colleges in the country. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Wabash Valley and I can’t wait to get down there.” The Wabash Valley Warriors marked a 55-4 overall record in 2019, were undefeated in conference play at 27-0 and tout the current NJCAA Player of the Year in sophomore infielder Cael Baker. Another shot at the pros Transferring schools does not mean that he is taking his eye off the ball. In fact, Plastiak’s plan fuels his drive to chase his dream, even if it takes him back to where he has started. “I’ll be draft-eligible as a sophomore after this coming year and when that opportunity [to be drafted] comes up again, where I have the chance to be drafted higher, I’ll Jake Plastiak, getting ready to fist bump Andrew coach Dave DeHaan after hitting a triple in a game last year, has had an up-and-down 2019 so far but is hitting well in a collegiate summer league. JEFF VORVA/22ND CENTURY MEDIA be excited to start my professional career,” Plastiak said. “But if that doesn’t work out, I’d be looking for another Division I program to go to that following year.” Meanwhile, before he heads to Wabash Valley, Plastiak is a Shark that does not seem to bite at every borderline breaking ball. Plastiak, according to team statistics, is doing what he does best: rake. As of July 9 – midway through Coastal League play – he led Wilmington in batting average (.303), RBI (21), home runs (7) and was second with nine stolen bases. “He has torn the cover off the ball,” Sharks manager Tyler Jackson told Wilmington StarNews Online. “I’m hoping he kind of keeps it going and everyone else gets to where he is.” ‘Comfortable being uncomfortable’ Seemingly thriving everywhere he’s played, Plastiak does not shy away from the pressure of high expectations. “Being a Cubs fan, one of the things Joe Maddon talks about is that pressure is a good thing. It means you’ve done good things in the past and people expect you to do more good things,” Plastiak said. “I think with expectations...I don’t really worry about everyone else’s, I just worry about mine. I try to stay narrow-minded towards my goals. If you didn’t have pressure on you, you wouldn’t be a good player. “I’ve learned to be comfortable being uncomfortable. I go out every single day with a goal to not only get better, but to dominate. My confidence grows every single day, I play hard and I just want to get better every day I go out there.”
tinleyjunction.com sports the Tinley Junction | July 18, 2019 | 39 fastbreak THURSDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK A 92-year-old makes a darn good prediction the WILMINGTON SHARKS 1st and 3 ANDREW GRAD JAKE PLASTIAK (ABOVE) HAD A GAME-WINNING SINGLE TO HELP THE EAST DIVISION WIN THE COASTAL PLAIN LEAGUE ALL-STAR TITLE. A FEW BITS ABOUT THE GAME: 1. The prize The winning team won championship T-shirts courtesy of the hosts - the Savannah Bananas. 2. The name game Some of the other players in the All- Star game with cool names were Dusty Baker, David “Itchy” Burts, Michael Calamari, Deshawn Lookout and Landon Choboy. 3. The name game II Jake Plastiak may have been the hero in the All-Star game but the CPL recap of the game referred to him as “Jacon” Plastiak. Jeff Vorva Sports Editor I have often told people that in this business no two days are the same. You never know what you might see. A thrilling game-ending play? A controversial play that has fans up in arms? Doing an Athlete of the Week interview and having an athlete tell you that she survived cancer? (For those who missed issues of the paper in recent weeks, Andrew basketball player Abby Skarbek dropped that news on me during a seemingly routine interview.) The job also sends you to different places. Baseball diamonds. Football fields. Gyms. Tracks. But I darn well knew that an assignment on June 28 was not going to be routine. White Sox legend Bill Melton was to speak at the Evergreen Senior Living facility in Orland Park to talk a little baseball with some of the residents. I cannot recall ever going to a senior center for a sports story. I have been there back in the day for parents and grandparents back when they were known as “old-folks homes.” I’m not far away from old-folk status - maybe 20 or 30 years - so I will stay away from that phrase. I have also been to senior facilities for news stories over the years. But for a sports story? That’s a new one on me, Let’s go! Melton told stories about his days of growing up in California and playing with the White Sox. Nick Zizzo, a 92-yearold Tinley Park resident, decided he wanted the floor. Zizzo, just three days away from moving into the facility, visited his future home the day Beltin’ Melton gave his speech. Zizzo interrupted a part of Melton’s speech by shouting “The White Sox are going to win tonight!” He repeated it a few times. He proved to be right. The Sox went on to beat American League Central-leading Minnesota, 6-4, hours later. What was golden about that prediction is that Sox starting pitcher Ross Detwiler won his first major league game in close to three years. Also, the Sox had not beaten the Twins since 2018 and were outscored 26-5 in three losses White Sox legend Bill Melton shakes hands with 92-year-old Nick Zizzo, a former Tinley Park resident, on June 28. JEFF VORVA/22ND CENTURY MEDIA to them this season. The Sox should not have won that game. The smart money was on the Twins. Well, the smarter money was on Zizzo. No matter if it was a hunch, great knowledge or just luck, Zizzo nailed it. Zizzo had a few more comments about the state of the Sox when Melton opened the floor for questions and the former Sox third baseman was having so much fun with the give-and-take that he left his post in the front of the room to shake Zizzo’s hand toward the back of the room. Melton, who led the American League in home runs in 1971 (the first Sox player to ever do that), visited the Evergreen facility to talk with some of the residents about baseball in a program called Major League Memories, sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association Illinois Chapter. “I’m one of you!” the 73-year-old told the audience. Melton is still keeping his profile high with television analyst work before and after White Sox games. He showed some old White Sox uniform designs to the Evergreen residents and the group sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” I don’t know why I got such a kick out the Zizzo- Melton combo, but I did. No two days are ever the same with this job. And I don’t know if I will ever have another day like that. LISTEN UP “I’ll be draft-eligible as a sophomore after this coming year and when that opportunity comes up again, where I have the chance to be drafted higher, I’ll be excited to start my professional career.” Jake Plastiak - Former Andrew baseball player on transferring from Wichita State to a junior college WHAT2WATCH FOOTBALL 5 p.m., Wednesday, July 24 • Andrew and Tinley Park High School are in 7 on 7 drills at Andrew. Index 36 - Area sports roundup 36 - Athlete of the Week Compiled by Sports Editor Jeff Vorva, j.vorva@22ndcm.com
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