Other than a new scoreboard in center field, the ballpark in Indianapolis hadn’t changed much since Josh VanMeter last played there.  The biggest difference was VanMeter himself.  

The first time he took the field at Victory Field five years earlier, Josh was a 17-year-old high school senior.  Now he came to town one step away from the major leagues as a member of the Louisville Bats of the Class AAA International League.  

The Bats were in Indianapolis for a four-game series with the Indians, their division rivals, May 21-24.  “It's always exciting to come back,” said the Fort Wayne native.  “It'll be fun to play in front of some family again.” 

VanMeter’s pass list for the contests included his parents, Greg and Amy, who came in from the northeast Indiana town of Ossian.  Josh also left tickets for Tailur Szaresnki, his teammate when VanMeter tossed a three-hitter and scored both runs for Ossian’s Norwell High School when the Knights nipped Jasper 2-1 in the 2013 IHSAA Class 3A championship game.  

“To do that with my best friends, that was one of the greatest nights of my life,” VanMeter  said.  “Probably the best part was getting that last out and then the dog pile.  That was pretty awesome.” 

Paced by VanMeter’s 14-1 record that year, Norwell won its last 20 games to finish with a 33-3 slate.  Josh played shortstop when he wasn’t on the mound and hit .450 with nine home runs.  Illinois State University offered him a baseball scholarship, but after San Diego selected him as a shortstop in the fifth round of the June draft, he signed with the Padres.   

“My dream was always to play baseball for a living, and I got to do it pretty early,” said Josh, who embarked on a pro career that summer with San Diego’s team in the Arizona Rookie League.  VanMeter described that first year as “culture shock,” saying he had to “grow up a lot, real quick.”  In 44 games, he batted a respectable .278. 

The 2014 season saw VanMeter playing for the Fort Wayne TinCaps of the low-A Midwest League.  In 116 contests, he hit .254.  “It was great to play every home game in front of family,” he said.  “It was something I'll remember for the rest of my life.  It's an honor and a privilege that not many professional baseball players get to be a part of.  But with that came a lot of pressure I put on myself to do well.” 

An injury limited VanMeter to just 28 games in 2015, 25 with Fort Wayne and three more with the Padres’ rookie league squad.  “I broke my leg turning a double play at second base,” he explained.  “I missed pretty much the whole year.  It was kind of a road bump in my career, kind of an obstacle I had to get over.” 

Healthy again in 2016, VanMeter opened the campaign with San Antonio (AA Texas).  After 29 games he was batting .198 and was transferred to Lake Elsinore (high-A California).  He hit .267 with a dozen homers in 95 contests with the Storm and was named to the all-star team.   “I think that's where my career really started to take off,” he said.  “I figured out some things, and I was just excited to be able to play again after missing pretty much the whole year the year before.” 

In October 2016, VanMeter reported to Peoria in the Arizona Fall League.  The season concluded on November 16, and 23 days later Josh learned he’d been traded to the Cincinnati Reds.  “It's kind of like a state of shock,” he said, “because you come up with one organization and you get used to everybody.  And then at the snap of a finger, it changes and you're part of a new organization.” 

VanMeter reported to unfamiliar surroundings in the spring of 2017.  “I had to learn a lot – new faces, new names and everything along with that,” he said.  “I felt like I was an 18-year-old, getting started in professional baseball all over again.  Thankfully for me, I met a great group of guys and had a really great manager.” 

The Reds assigned VanMeter to Pensacola (AA Southern), where he played for Pat Kelly.  A former catcher, Kelly had played briefly the for Toronto Blue Jays in 1980 and had been managing in the minors since 1986.  “PK put me in the best position to succeed,” said VanMeter.  “We won the championship in Pensacola, and I had a good year.” 

By now VanMeter had developed into a valuable commodity – a player who could fill in adequately at three infield positions.  In Pensacola, Kelly talked him into playing left field.   “I was kind of wary at the start, because I'd grown up playing the infield,” Josh said.  “I was learning to play second base, and then last year, it as like:  ‘Hey, we want you to start to play some left field.'  And I was like, 'Oh man, I've changed positions three times in my first four years!'   

“Being able to play the outfield gave me a chance to stay in the lineup every day and a chance to hit every day, which is really my strong suit,” VanMeter added.  “You see it more in the big leagues now.  The Cubs started doing it with guys with Kris Bryant, Ben Zobrist, Ian Happ and (Kyle) Schwarber and all these guys that can play multiple positions.  So it really does add to my value as a player.” 

The 5-foot-11, 170-pound VanMeter even played one game last year at first base – a post usually manned by larger specimens like Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks (6-3, 225), Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera (6-4, 240) and Freddie Freeman of Atlanta (6-5, 220).  ”Our first baseman got hurt during batting practice,” explained Josh, “and Pat Kelly came up to me and said, ‘Hey, Meat!  You wanna play first base?'’  And I was like, “Does it mean I get to hit?'  And I said, ‘All right, I'll try it out.’  I don't think I had a play in the field.  But I had a putout from the second baseman and I had to pick it.  It was hilarious, because after I picked it, I looked over at the dugout and everyone was going nuts.” 

VanMeter averaged .255 for his first year in the Reds chain, but he found himself back in Pensacola at the outset of the 2018 campaign.  “It wasn’t my goal,” he admitted.  “I felt like I had a good year last year, and I was one of the more consistent position players there.  Talking to Pat Kelly in spring training, I told him I was going back to Pensacola.  He was like, ‘Don't feel like you have to go back and do more.  You proved enough last year.  Just go back and play your game.'  I really took that to heart. I went back this year and just stuck to my approach, stuck to what I do, and the numbers were there.” 

After 30 games for Pensacola, VanMeter was batting .284.  On May 9 he was promoted to Louisville.  “We were in Birmingham, playing the Birmingham Barons,” he said.  “After the game, we always have a team meeting.  And at the end of it, Jody Davis, our manager, said in front of everybody, “Meat, you're going to Louisville.’  It really wasn't anything spectacular, but it was a cool moment.” 

On May 18, VanMeter slugged his first Triple-A homer in Louisville’s 4-2 win at Norfolk.  “I’m not much of a power hitter, so when you get one you gotta enjoy it,” he said.  “I was in a little bit of a slump there for a bit, so it felt good to break out of it.” 

VanMeter caught fire during the Indianapolis series.  Shifting between left field and second base, he stroked seven hits in 18 trips to the plate.  In a 10-2 Louisville triumph on May 23 he went 3-for-5, scored twice and knocked in four runs.  He smacked a double and another homer, a two-run shot in the ninth, to raise his average to .300. 

VanMeter said he won’t let the success go to his head.  “I think being one step away is a blessing and a curse, because a lot of guys can get stuck at this level,” he said.  “You still have to put in the work and go out every day and be a professional.  At this point, you control what you can control.  I just come out here and play my game, and whatever happens, happens.” 

From Louisville, the next level is the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.  Seeing Josh play there in Reds livery could evoke mixed emotions from the VanMeter clan.  “I was a Cubs fan growing up,” Josh said.  “My grandpa's a diehard Cubs fan.  My dad's a diehard Cubs fan.  Being with Cincinnati now, when I get to the big leagues, they're gonna be a little torn.”

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