Catcher Alex Lavisky is living the dream. The St. Edward graduate signed with the Indians last year and he's in camp right now beginning his professional career.
View full sizeShortly after he was drafted by his hometown Indians last June 9, St. Edward's Alex Lavisky chatted with Sandy Alomar, Jr., at Progressive Field's infield. Lavisky hopes to someday emulate the all-around catching skills of Alomar. "You wake up in the morning and you feel a little bit blessed on the way it all worked out," Lavisky says this spring in his first training camp.GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- When Alex Lavisky played his first game at the ballpark on the corner of Carnegie Avenue and Ontario Street, it was called Jacobs Field. He was about six or seven years old and playing in a Cleveland Indians Charities Rookie League All-Star game.
"We were hitting off a pitching machine," said Lavisky.
This winter he'd make the 10-minute drive from his family's home in Lakewood to the renamed Progressive Field five times a week. Bart Swain, director of media relations and a sometimes batting practice pitcher for the Indians, would throw to him. Lavisky would often work with Tribe hitting coach Jon Nunnally.
"It was convenient," said Lavisky.
Not to mention cool.
On June 9, after Lavisky helped St. Edward High School win the Division I state baseball championship, the Indians drafted him in the eighth round. He was predicted to go higher and had a full ride to Georgia Tech waiting. Then the Indians called. Not only did they call, but they offered him a $1 million signing bonus.
Lavisky signed and reported to spring training March 1 in Goodyear, Ariz. If things go according to plan, he should open the season catching at Class A Lake County in Eastlake. That would be another form of convenience for the Lavisky family, as it's only about a 40-minute drive from Lakewood to Eastlake.
So let's get this right: Hometown kid plays in his favorite big-league team's ballpark when he's growing up, gets drafted and signed by that team and has a chance to return some day to play in the same ballpark as a big leaguer. The only thing missing is the kid hitting a game-winning homer in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the World Series to end his city's long championship drought.
The best thing is, Lavisky gets it.
"You grow up thinking that the Indians are such a big thing. And they are," he said. "It's major league baseball and the Indians are your hometown team. It's almost like everybody who plays for the Indians are on a pedestal.
"It's a cool experience, I'd say. You're not there yet, but you're still part of the organization. There's a little bit of spotlight on you. You wake up in the morning and you feel a little bit blessed on the way it all worked out."
View full size"I'm starting to stay line drive, gap to gap until I really start getting my swing down and figuring everything out," says Lavisky, who admits he swung for the fences as a senior with St. Edward last year. "Once that happens, at least the plan is, to try and start driving the ball out of the ballpark." Lavisky, 20, played quarterback for St. Edward, but at 6-1 and 209 pounds, he looks more like a catcher. John Mirabelli, the Indians' vice president of scouting operations, says Lavisky has the two things you look for in a catcher, power and a strong arm.
"When you build the ideal catcher, that's where you start," said Mirabelli. "Can he throw and can he hit for power? He does that. Then he has the intangibles. He has a strong makeup, good leadership skills. Now he has to develop them."
Lavisky, after he signed, went to the Arizona Rookie League in Goodyear and hit .200 (3-for-15) in five games. The Arizona Instructional League followed. After hitting .450 with 13 homers and 40 RBI as a high school senior, the Indians asked Lavisky to change his swing so he covered more of the plate.
"In high school, I was more of a power guy," he said. "Now the game has changed a lot. I'm starting to stay line drive, gap to gap until I really start getting my swing down and figuring everything out.
"Once that happens, at least the plan is, to try and start driving the ball out of the ballpark."
Last year, Chris Tremie was the Indians' minor-league catching coordinator and Arizona Rookie League manager. He did a lot of work with catcher Carlos Santana before Santana joined the Indians in June.
Tremie started working with Lavisky in instructional league.
"With any catcher you're going to look for some athleticism," said Tremie, who will manage Class AA Akron this year. "Not necessarily that they can run, but that they're athletic behind the plate. That they can move, react, show good hands and arm strength. You want them to be a person who can follow a plan and learn. He's pretty much got all of those, from what I see."
Now for the hard part, turning all those pluses and minuses into a big-league catcher.
Finally: Josh Tomlin pitched five innings Wednesday in a minor-league game against the Reds. He allowed two unearned runs on five hits and one walk. He struck out three and threw 52 pitches. Tomlin didn't reach his pitch count, so he finished his work in the bullpen. ...
Luke Carlin, Frank Herrmann, Justin Masterson and Vinnie Pestano visited patients and their families at the Cancer Treatment Center Hospital in Goodyear. They passed out bags filled with Indians items, signed autographs and had their pictures taken with the patients and their families.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2011/03/former_st_edward_star_catcher.html
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