Elmore's World: Journeyman Enjoying Career Year in Indianapolis
The leading hitter in the International League is 32 years old and has seen more towns than a Springsteen tour. He is playing for his 10th organization and has called a ballpark home in all four time zones of the continental United States. He is closing in on 1300 games
The leading hitter in the International League is 32 years old and has seen more towns than a Springsteen tour. He is playing for his 10th organization and has called a ballpark home in all four time zones of the continental United States. He is closing in on 1300 games as a professional, but only 208 of them were as a major leaguer, in six different uniforms.
And if you wonder what keeps
"I've always had a passion for playing baseball. I've always maintained that love and drive I had as a child. I don't know exactly where it comes from. Maybe the want to get back to the big leagues and prove myself there some more."
And . . .
"Minor leagues, when you're coming up, you do make crumbs. But once you're able to make it to the big leagues and establish yourself a little bit, you make pretty good money, and you only work for five months out of a year. People watch movies like Bull Durham and say, man, how do you still do it? I wouldn't rather be doing anything else."
But most of all, there's a one-year-old toddler named Walker. Being a father has gave dawn to a new world for Elmore. . .
"It changes your mindset; it changes how you approach each day. Everything has more meaning. I want to keep playing baseball so he can watch me and remember seeing me on the field. My rookie year, one of the players told me, it doesn't matter if you're 0-for-4 or 3-for-4, when you see your son, you forget about it all. And it's true.
"I feel like if he's four, he'd remember it. That'd be three more seasons."
Manager Brian Esposito: "There's a driving force behind what he does. He wakes up every day and comes to the ballpark knowing that he wants to play as long as he can, because he wants Walker to be able to see him play one day, recognize and understand it. You talk about bad travel and Triple-A life - but when you have a driving force behind you as strong as what he has, it makes it pretty easy to wake up on the crappy days."
Not many crappy days this season for Elmore. He has been a model of consistency, never below .300 and at last check hitting .350, to stand atop the International League batting race. Guess the last time the Indianapolis Indians had a batting champion?
Junior Noboa, in 1989. Thirty years. There have only been four in a half-century. The irony is the Indians had one of the most powerful offenses in the league last season, and nobody challenged for a batting title. This season, the team has gone from second to last in runs scored, and 15 points lower in team batting average - but here's Elmore purring along at .350.
"It would be the complete opposite side of the spectrum," Esposito. "Last year we led the league in hitting and this year we're at the very bottom, almost. However, it'd be nice to have somebody win the batting title in our clubhouse."
With under three weeks to go, it might be time soon to start monitoring the numbers on a daily basis, like an investor taking a wary eye each morning at the stock market. In his rearview mirror, only eight points behind, is Durham's
"I do keep up with mine. I'd be lying if I said I didn't," Elmore said. "But I really don't pay too much attention to the guys around the league. Obviously, if there's a week or 10 days left, I might start peeking."
It has taken a considerable supply of perseverance for Elmore to get to this high ground.
First, he spent the winter working on his swing, not even sure there'd be a job anywhere for that to pay off. The Pittsburgh organization acquired him from the White Sox in late March for cash considerations and gave him a spot in Indianapolis. The long journey could continue. Anyway, he thought his ability to hit the ball to different fields was far too limited.
"Everybody knew it. Every pitcher knew I really couldn't pull the ball. This year, I'm able to hit it all over," he said. "It shows that changes still can be made. No matter how many years I've been in this game, there's always more to learn. I worked really hard this offseason adjusting my swing. It's nice to know, you still have it. It's nice to know there's always a chance to get better. As long as you're willing to learn and put in the work, there is no ceiling."
Then, there was a call-up to the Pirates in May. A return to the big leagues after all these years - his last appearance had been with Milwaukee in 2016 -- what could be better? Except it came and went like a freight train. He was 1-for-20 at the plate and ended up back in Indianapolis. That could chew at a man's confidence, and his purpose.
"I felt more prepared now than any other time I've been in the big leagues," he said. "I felt like I left a lot on the table as far as what I could have done. I credit my wife for really getting my focus back. She could tell I was just down, because I felt like I had ruined a chance to re-establish myself in the big leagues.
"We talked about it, and I came back and kept hitting."
Ain't that the truth? He had multiple-hit games in six of his first 16 appearances back.
"He didn't miss a beat," Esposito said. "A lot of these guys sometimes will check it in, but he continues to play, he's got something to prove, he's got a lot of pride, he's got a lot of passion in what he does. That's the thing that stands out the most. He doesn't do it for anything other than that's who he is."
Clearly, Elmore must have gotten some rather straight talk from wife Lauren.
"Hey, if you're not all in, we can be at home (in Arizona)," was her message. "We don't have to put ourselves through all this travel and moving from apartment to apartment. As long as you're all-in, I'm fine."
Elmore was all-in, even after taking a pitch in Buffalo June 19 that separated his helmet from his head. Concussion. Out more than a week. "Getting hit in the head was kind of nerve-wracking, in terms of getting back in the box for the first time," he said. "It took me two or three games before I completely forgot about it."
But nothing much has stopped Elmore's season in Indianapolis. If he finished at his current .350, he'd have the highest average for an Indian in 32 years.
That's a pretty impressive season for the infielder. Or is he an outfielder? Whatever. Matter of fact, Elmore has played every position on the field in his career, including DH. "Being versatile is probably what's kept me around as long as I have been around," he said.
There was, for example, the memorable date of Aug. 19. 2013, when as a Houston Astro, he became only the 14th major leaguer ever to pitch and catch in the same game. He took over behind the plate in the fourth inning when the Astros catcher was hurt, then was put on the mound in the eighth to finish off a 16-5 loss to Texas. Retired the side in order on 11 pitches, with two ground balls and an easy fly, hitting the mid-80s on the radar gun. "I don't know if you call it a fastball," he said that night.
Six years later, he's close to making different history for the Indians.
Thirty years since a batting champion. Know who was stunned to hear it's been that long? The last guy to do it. Noboa is now vice president for Latin operations for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He hit .340 in 1989 to help the Indians to a fourth consecutive championship, part of a very special summer at Bush Stadium. He added two home runs, which might not exactly sound Babe Ruthian, but he had only 14 in 3909 professional at-bats, so that was a power surge.
"For some reason I was seeing the ball really well that season," he said over the phone from the Dominican Republic. "Every time they mention Indianapolis, it is special. For me that was a great honor to be part of that club. That stadium, that year, it is in my heart. That was an old stadium, but I loved to play there. For whatever reason, that stadium reminded me of Wrigley Field.
"I was surprised when I heard that it has been 30 years. Wow. I heard there's a beautiful stadium there now, too."
One other footnote to the Indians' last batting champion. Noboa first arrived in the U.S from the Dominican to begin his professional career at the age of 16, starting in Batavia in the Cleveland Indians' organization. "I remember my first year, I was crying every night after the game because I was homesick," he said.
He was 24 in 1989. He still has a uniform and cap from that season, and in his living room is a plate he received from Louisville Slugger for winning the batting title.
No word on if Jake Elmore would get a plate. But he'd have a great story to tell his son one day.