Bryce Redeker dug his feet into the batters box and waited for the pitch. Louisiana Lafayette’s pitcher began his delivery and threw a ball on the outside corner of the plate. Redeker swung hard, but as the bat and ball met on contact, Redeker’s whole season turned upside down.
Redeker, a Miami junior when this at-bat took place in March of 2010, had started the season off at a blistering pace with a .579 slugging percentage including a homer, 3 runs and 8 RBI in 19 plate appearances through just 4 games. However, the strong start would come to an abrupt end.
“When I took my swing I felt something crack.”
Fast-forward 12 months to March 23, 2011: a full year since breaking his hamate bone and missing essentially the entire 2010 campaign. He played two years of Junior College ball at Kankakee Community College and then transferred to Miami for the 2010 season. Thus, this season marks his first full one at the D-1 level.
Plenty of fans sit in the sunshine at McKie Field for the season opener, watching as the Red-Shirt junior bats during his first ever game in Oxford. This time, after the pitcher releases the ball, the only crack is the sound of the bat as Redeker lines a single into right field. Barreling down the line, Redeker aggressively rounds first, despite the fact that his hit has no chance of being a double. He then stops and trots back to first base.
“[Miami Baseball Head] Coach [Dan] Simonds is always preaching, ‘bring the intensity, bring the effort, bring the focus’,” said Redeker. “If I can go out there and give it everything I’ve got, everybody else is going to give it everything.”
There is no doubt within the RedHawk clubhouse that Redeker is a leader. Through April 6th, he posted a .355 batting average including 3 homers, 22 runs batted in and a 0.561 slugging percentage. Perhaps most impressively, the outfielder has still yet to make an error this year and he is the only Miami player to start all 28 games.
“He’s a very, very hard worker,” said Simonds. “Every day, he comes to the park trying to improve a part of his game.” Simonds, now in his fifth season as head coach, has seen Major League talent roll through his program; most recently, Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Adam Eaton. “Quite honestly, I think that [Redeker] is going to play at an even higher level than college.”
Redeker especially proved how devoted he is to improving his game during the rehab and off-season following his broken hamate. Breaking the hamate bone, a small bone in the hand, is a common injury for hitters. MLB stars such as David Ortiz, Ryan Zimmerman and Dustin Pedroia have all encountered the injury. Redeker spent hours rehabbing with Miami trainer Paul Eversole during March and April of 2010 in time to play a summer of healthy baseball.
“I was getting adjusted last year and everything,” said Redeker. “I was getting really excited for the season and that just kind of set me back about 6 months or whatever. So I couldn’t play for; I was completely out of baseball for about three months. It was depressing, but you just have to work through it.”
Redeker certainly leads by example with his bat and glove, and he knows that it is game time when he steps between those lines. However, Redeker also realizes, like many baseball players before him have, that baseball is a long season. There are too many ups and downs in a season to get real excited after a win or real disappointed after a loss.
“He is pretty much one of the bigger jokesters on the team,” said Junior Outfielder Ryan Brenner.
Brenner, along with the rest of Miami’s team, would point to Redeker if asked who the team clown is. Redeker admits that he thinks with the drag of a long season and daily practices, the team often needs to loosen up and remember that they’re playing a game. A simple game that they started playing for pure joy.
“During practice one time we were doing some outfield drills and for some reason all of a sudden he decided to try and catch one behind his back,” said Brenner. “Completely missed it and he had to run some laps because of it.”
Despite theatrics such as this, coach Simonds does not get fed up with the ways of Redeker. Simonds realizes that a high adrenaline guy like Redeker inevitably spills a little of that intensity into other aspects besides the game itself. “He keeps it loose,” said Simonds. “He’s really well-respected amongst his teammates. He plays with a lot of intensity and a lot of passion.”
The 6’1”, 215-pound player carries himself with a very calm and collected manner to the unbeknownst. He hesitated to converse about any specific stories of himself being a clown; however, after the interview finished and he walked away, Redeker clearly quacked at one of his teammates passing by.
“Quack”, as in the noise a duck makes. Redeker certainly differentiates himself in various ways on and off the field.
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