By Pete Cava

PBR Indiana Correspondent

Columbus Clippers catcher Jeremy Lucas came to Victory Field in Indianapolis three times this year, most recently for a one-game stand with the Indianapolis Indians on the Fourth of July. 

Eight years had passed since Lucas’s last visit to the ballpark, when the dark-haired, blue-eyed Terre Haute native said he came away “pretty bummed,” despite winning one of the Indiana High School Athletic Association’s top honors. 

The 26-year-old Lucas is a Terre Haute native who grew up rooting for the Cardinals.  At Terre Haute’s West Vigo High School he played for Steve DeGroote, a member of the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2016.  “It was awesome playing for him,” said Lucas.  “He probably taught me more about the game and about being a man than anyone, other than my dad.” 

Lucas also played basketball and tennis in high school, although he described himself as “probably the least athletic” member of his family.  His father Mike and his brother Jerod both played football for Olivet Nazarene University.  

The West Vigo Vikings swaggered into the 2009 baseball season with lofty ambitions.  “We knew starting the year that we had a special team,” Lucas recalled.  “We all came up playing together since we were 10 years old.  One of our dreams was to go to the state championship.” 

Jeremy and three other seniors – pitcher Jordan Pearson, third baseman Cameron Fagg and outfielder Landon Keith – had played together since Little League.  Lucas and Pearson had committed to Indiana State University, while Fagg had signed with Wright State.  Junior shortstop Tyler Wampler would eventually join Lucas and Pearson at ISU.      

West Vigo opened the campaign with a doubleheader sweep of Mattawan, Mich., winning 7-0 and 14-1.  Then they dropped a 2-1 decision to Connersville.  “I think that loss was kind of a punch in the face to us,” Lucas said.  “It humbled us.  From then on, we were the team that we knew we could be.” 

The Vikings bounced back with an 18-11 win over Indianapolis Pike.  They finished April with a 10-1 slate and racked up 18 wins in May and June, claiming sectional, regional and semi-state crowns.  “The support we got from the city and the fans, and they ride we had to get there, it was awesome,” Jeremy recalled.  “I’ll never forget that.”  

West Vigo was riding the crest of a 26-game winning streak on June 20, 2009, when they came to Indianapolis to play Andrean for the IHSAA Class 3A championship.  Catching and batting cleanup at Victory Field, Lucas went 2-for-3.  He ignited a fourth-inning rally that led to West Vigo’s first run, and picked off a runner at first base.  His heroics weren’t enough, however, as Andrean prevailed 6-3.  “The game itself felt like it went by in ten minutes,” Jeremy recalled.  “It didn’t turn out the way we wanted.”  

Lucas finished the season with eight home runs, 46 runs batted in, and a .490 average (49-for-100).  “I had the year that I wanted to have,” he said.  “A lot of people played really well around me.  It was team effort to get where we got.”  

Following the championship game, IHSAA executive committee officials presented Lucas with the L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award for Class 3A.  Named for a former IHSAA commissioner, the prize goes to an outstanding senior who demonstrates excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability in baseball.  “I was pretty bummed after the game, with the way it turned out,” said Jeremy.  “But I was proud to receive an honor like that.”  

Nine days earlier, Lucas had another surprise when the Baltimore Orioles selected him in the 35^th round of the Major League Baseball Draft.  “All my plans were around going to school,” he said.  “I really didn’t think I had a chance of getting drafted. There was one guy that was like, ‘You never know. Watch it!’ 

“It was kind of weird.  The second I turned on to it, I saw my name pop up on the computer.  I thought, ‘There’s got to be another Jeremy Lucas or something!’   And I saw West Terre Haute, and I saw West Vigo High School, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh!’  I had no clue that I was gonna go.  It was kind of a shock.  But it definitely was a pretty cool feeling, seeing my name on the screen.”      

After considering his options, Lucas decided to go to Indiana State.  “The Orioles didn’t have the sufficient offer that it would have taken for me to forego college,” he said.  “Looking back now, how young I was, I wouldn’t have been ready for this lifestyle.”  

Lucas spent three seasons playing for Sycamore coach Rick Heller while majoring in sport management.  He batted .326 as a freshman in 2010 and followed with a .333 average in 2011.  

In 2012 Indiana State finished first in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 41-19 record.  Lucas handled a Sycamore pitching staff that included Dakota Bacus (7-4, 2.70), Ryan Torgerson (8-3, 3.03), Kyle Rupe (6-1, 2.63) and Sean Manaea (5-3. 3.34, 115 strikeouts in 105 innings).  

With nine homers, 53 RBI and a .345 average, Lucas became the first Indiana State player to win MVC Player-of-the-Year honors.  He was named to the All-MVC team along with teammates Rob Ort, a junior outfielder, and Bacus, a junior college transfer who earned Newcomer of the Year honors. 

The Cleveland Indians took Lucas in the 12^th round of the 2012 draft, and this time he signed.  Reporting to the Mahoning Valley Scrappers of the short-season Class A New York-Penn League, he batted .250 in 29 contests.  

The transition from college to the professional ranks was “a big adjustment,” said Lucas.  “There’s a lot of things that people on the outside world don’t really get to see.  You’re trying to make it six months on the salary you’re getting.  There’s the travel, and not staying at the best places, and not eating the best food.  

“You really have to dig down and understand that there’s some stuff that you’ve got to go through if you want to make it.  You get to see the guys that really want it.  There’s a saying around the lockerroom whenever somebody’s complaining about something:  ‘If you don’t like it, play better!’”    

Working his way through the Cleveland system, Lucas played for the Lake County Captains (Class A Midwest) and Akron RubberDucks (AA Eastern) in 2013;  the Carolina Mudcats (high-A Carolina) in 2014;  and Akron again in 2015 and 2016. “At each level, there’s different things that you have to adjust to, on the field and off the field,” he explained.  “You just try to stay the same, and obviously understand that the talent might be a little better.” 

Along the way, Lucas occasionally crossed paths with old high school and college teammates.  “It’s always nice running into those guys,” he said.  “You come across them every now and then in spring training, maybe during the season.  I came across Sean Manaea a few times, Dakota Bacus, Tyler Wampler.” 

Manaea was the Kansas City Royals’ first-round draft pick in 2013 (34^th overall).  He’s currently a starter for the Oakland Athletics.  Bacus, drafted by the A’s in 2012, currently pitches in the Washington Nationals organization.  The Los Angeles Dodgers picked Wampler in the 2014 draft.  He retired after the 2015 season.  “I try to stay in contact with those guys,” Lucas said.  “Wampler’s still one of my best friends to this day.  He’s coaching summer ball in Terre Haute for the Rex right now.  I talk to him a lot.” 

When Lucas was named to the Eastern League All-Star team last season, Brad Bournival of the Akron Beacon Journal compared him to Crash Davis.  Jeremy “doesn’t have the 12 years of minor-league experience the fictional character from ‘Bull Durham’ did,” wrote Bournival, “but the former Indiana State standout knows how to handle a pitching staff.” 

Lucas modestly shrugged off the accolade.  “I just try to be myself,” he said. “That’s part of my game – to have good control of the staff, and to try to be a good teammate every day.”  

Before the 2016 season ended Lucas was playing for Columbus, just a step away from the majors in the AAA International League.  “It was awesome,” said Jeremy of the promotion.  “It’s cool to see how close you are to making it.  You see guys coming up and down all the time, so it makes it feel a little more real to you.” 

During the Cleveland Indians’ run to the World Series last autumn, Lucas watched the games closely.   “You see guys on the big screen you’ve played with.  I’ve been catching Ryan Merritt my whole career, and I watched him deal in Game Five of the ALCS.  It makes you feel like, ‘I’ll get my chance one day.  I’m right here on the cusp.’”  

Last February, Lucas wound up in Cleveland’s big-league spring training camp at Goodyear, Ariz., after catcher Tony Wolters was claimed by the Colorado Rockies.  In the Tribe’s endurance test – a series of 20-yard sprints – the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Lucas defeated the defending champion, shortstop Francisco Lindor.  Jeremy told reporters:  “It was a good way for me to stand out and make a name for myself a little bit.”       

Lucas opened this season in Columbus, sharing catching duties with major-league veterans Erik Kratz and Adam Moore.  The Clippers’ first visit to Indianapolis was April 10-12, and Jeremy was excited to make the trip.  “I hadn’t been here since the state championships,” he said.  “Coming back was a cool feeling.”  

Through early July, Lucas had seen limited action – 14 games, 39 at-bats and a .154 batting average, well below his career mark of .255.  “It’s been a challenging year for me, because I’m used to playing every day,” he said.  “I’ve learned a lot, though.  I’m trying to stay positive and wait on my opportunity.  I’ll be ready.”   

Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez handle Cleveland’s catching duties, and two of the Indians’ top prospects – Francisco Mejia and Logan Ice – are backstops.  “As of right now, I’m just kind of stuck in the middle of all that,” said Lucas.  “I just try to go out there every day and put all I’ve got out on the field.  Hopefully, somebody takes notice and I can get my opportunity – whether it’s in Cleveland or somewhere else.” 

There’s an old baseball axiom that catchers make the best managers.  Thirteen of the current 30 big-league skippers wore the tools of ignorance, including Joe Maddon (Cubs), Mike Scioscia (Angels), Bruce Bochy (Giants), Joe Girardi (Yankees), Mike Matheny (Cardinals), Brad Ausmus (Tigers), Ned Yost (Royals), A.J. Hinch (Astros), John Gibbons (Blue Jays), Clint Hurdle (Pirates), Bob Melvin (Athletics), Scott Servais (Mariners) and Kevin Cash (Rays).        

Since 2000, ten of the 17 World Series champions were managed by former catchers:  Joe Torre (2000), Bob Brenly (2001), Scioscia (2002), Jack McKeon (2003), Bochy (2010, 2012, 2014), Girardi (2009), Yost (2015) and Maddon (2016).  

Could Lucas wind up at the helm of a team some day?  Perhaps.  But for now Jeremy has another goal.  “I’ve thought a lot about it,” he said.  “After I’m done, hopefully I’ll still have a lot to offer to the game, and I want to give back.  

“But right now, I’ve got one plan, and that’s to make it to the big leagues.  I’m trying to focus on that.  And if that doesn’t work out, we’ll see where it goes.” 

Pete Cava is the author of “Tales From the Cubs Dugout” and “Indiana-Born Major League Baseball Players:  A Biographical Dictionary, 1871-2014.”