黑料正能量

With a busload of 黑料正能量 fans in the Nationals Park centerfield stands Friday night, Milwaukee Brewers catcher Erik Kratz 鈥�02 did not disappoint in his first at-bat, jumping on a first-pitch two-seamer from Tanner Roark for his fifth home run of the season.

But the solo shot on the eve of the season鈥檚 trade deadline was not as symbolic of Kratz鈥檚 contributions to the team or of exactly why he was picked up in May to aid in the Brewers鈥� playoff hopes as what happened in the first inning after starter Jhoulys Chacin loaded the bases. Kratz鈥檚 visit to the mound helped Chacin eek out of the inning with just one run of damage done and then settle in for six strikeouts and two walks in 6 1/3 innings for the win.

Now with a month of job security ahead of him and playoff hopes alive, Kratz can do what he does best.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e 38 years old and still catching,鈥� Brewers manager Craig Counsell said in a , 鈥渋t鈥檚 almost assuredly that you鈥檙e a very good receiver of the baseball, you have a very good handle on managing a game, you take fast at knowing hitters.鈥�

And he added, Kratz is only getting better. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why he鈥檚 still in it.鈥�

As of Sept. 6, the Brewers (79-62) are second in the National League Central division.

Royals fans

For 黑料正能量 fans, just the sight of a former Royal on the stadium infield was exhilarating enough 鈥� regardless of his stats.

鈥淕roundout to grand slam, we cheer for Erik,鈥� said Vice President for Advancement Kirk Shisler ’81, who created and MC鈥檈d the 鈥渙fficial Erik Kratz trivia game鈥� as the 鈥渢eam bus鈥� rolled towards Washington D.C. 鈥淲e tried to get the Nationals folks to put 鈥楪o Erik Go鈥� up on the scoreboard but they weren鈥檛 buying it.鈥�

This isn鈥檛 the first time an 黑料正能量 group of alumni and friends has made a special trip to see Kratz play 鈥� he has a loyal fanship, including many followers of the 听鈥撀�since being drafted by Toronto in 2002. In his 17-season career, he has spent several months close to his hometown of Telford, Pennsylvania, when playing with the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies.

But in a pre-game interview, Kratz said this kind of attention from his supporters has a different place in his heart now that he鈥檚 drawing near the end of a long professional career. There鈥檚 still folks he says who haven鈥檛 seen him play in a big league game, for whatever reason. With the Brewers, for example, he splits time behind the plate and his playing time depends on the pitching rotation and other factors, such as injuries.

鈥淭hrough the years, playing close to home has changed in meaning,鈥� Kratz said. 鈥淚t means a lot to have support from 黑料正能量 and the community, it鈥檚 truly humbling. Early in my career, I鈥檇 say, 鈥楥ome and see me play,鈥� and now it鈥檚 like 鈥業鈥檓 still out here bangin鈥欌�� and people are still coming out to support me. That means something the longer I go in my career.鈥�

鈥楯辞耻谤苍别测尘补苍鈥�

Kratz鈥檚 professional journey around the minors and into the majors as outlined in Milwaukee鈥檚 player biography packet takes up nearly 鈪� of a page 鈥� and that鈥檚 in six-point font.

Drafted in 2002 after graduating with a degree in business administration and accumulating gaudy college career honors while playing every inning of every game for his four years with the Royals, Kratz reached the big leagues in 2010 with Pittsburgh, and has since played for Toronto, Kansas City, Houston, Philadelphia and the New York Yankees. During each of those seasons since 2010, he was released, granted free agency, traded or purchased by a club 15 times. [For more career details, , which concludes with the observation that 鈥渇or the fans, he should be one of the easiest players to root for.鈥漖

鈥淭eams always need catching depth,鈥� opined Baseball Prospectus 2017, 鈥渁nd that often seems to mean they need Erik Kratz.鈥�

To the Brewers

The Brewers traded Kratz away from the Yankees in late May with that his journeyman experience would allow him to learn the bullpen quickly and his resurgence at the plate (at AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre at the time, he was hitting .269 with four home runs, six RBI and a .894 OPS in 17 games) would make up an offensive deficit they sorely needed to balance with everyday catcher Manny Pi帽a. 聽聽

Kratz belted a homerun in his first game and has earned regular starts since. He鈥檚 hitting .255/.294/.379 (these three 鈥渟lash-line鈥� stats, including batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, are a quick way to judge offensive output) and has lived up to expectations as a team player who is invested in creating success through any kind of contribution, whether that鈥檚 working with pitchers or the position players.

鈥�I could be the best player and just sit by myself in the locker room and not interact, but I don鈥檛 think anybody who does that is giving the most to their team,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou might get the most out of yourself but you鈥檙e not getting the most out of the 25 guys on the team, and that鈥檚 how teams win, by getting the most out of every single person.鈥�

Beyond the superficial knowledge of what鈥檚 in a pitcher鈥檚 arsenal, what pitches he can throw for strikes in what situations, 鈥渨hat he does well and doesn鈥檛 do well,鈥� Kratz recognizes performance is rarely an isolated phenomenon 鈥� even among elite athletes.

鈥淓verything feeds into it. You ask a guy to dig deeper and there鈥檚 nothing to dig deeper in because his two-year-old is teething and that kept him up all night. You know, I think people say that doesn鈥檛 affect pitching. It does. Or a free-agent year, or something鈥檚 hanging and his elbow’s hurting or his knee鈥� I think that is maybe why God has given me an opportunity to play, to delve into each of these men and what makes them play and play better鈥� 聽It鈥檚 constantly changing and learning more about each person. It鈥檚 never-ending. It鈥檚 always changing because they鈥檙e always changing, from Day 1 to Day 82 of the season. It鈥檚 knowing them and being there to listen. The more you talk to somebody, the less they hear. It鈥檚 listening and hearing what they say, whether they are putting on a front or being who they are.鈥�

Finding balance

For that balanced perspective and approach that he brings to the game, Kratz , Sarah Troyer 鈥�02 Kratz. (So when a player calls him 鈥楥oach,鈥� as happened in the locker room during an interview, that moniker could apply to her just as well.)

Kratz says he鈥檚 found it easy to make every sacrifice over 17 years to play the game he loves, except for one: 鈥渂eing away from my family.鈥� Sarah lives in the Harrisonburg, Virginia, area with their three children; the family comes to as many games as possible and cherishes the time they spend together.

Though he鈥檚 defined and identified now by his professional baseball career, Kratz says his family life is a daily reminder of the reality that he is much more: a husband and a father, too. And that there is life beyond the game. As he puts it, 鈥渁t the end of my career, nobody is going to take a bus to watch me do whatever the heck I do next.鈥�

Sarah 鈥渋s the reason I鈥檝e been able to play as long as I have,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I credit her with a lot of the success of our marriage and our family.鈥�

This kind of deep relational grounding, translated onto the field, is one factor to his long career; another is pure and honest effort.

鈥淎t the end of the day, I want to know I have given it everything, that I put time in and made the sacrifices and did the best I could in everything I tried to do,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 biblical and it was taught to me by parents鈥� I tell this to high school kids and college guys when I talk to them, if you do everything you can within your scope of what your feel is morally correct and within your scope of what is important in life, then that is all you can do.鈥�

Among the fans making the trip from Harrisonburg was Julie Hershey Tieszen 鈥�92, MA 鈥�98, who works in human resources, and her husband, Jonathan 罢颈别蝉锄别苍听MA 鈥�03. A longtime Kansas City Royals fan, Julie Tieszen was delighted when Kratz logged time there in 2014 and 2015. Though he didn鈥檛 play in the World Series, he did earn a ring (teams commission their own rings and decide who gets them; awardees can include former players, executives and anyone who played a part in the team鈥檚 success).

With a trio of former Royals on the team 鈥� Kratz, Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakas 鈥� along with another new acquisition, Miami standout Christian Yelich, she has kept following the Brewers. 鈥淓rik鈥檚 having the best season of his career,鈥� said Tieszen. 鈥淭he team has definitely been exciting to watch.鈥�

No matter what happens, Kratz is enjoying every moment 鈥� and so are his fans. The player who has been tagged by television play-by-play announcers on occasion as 鈥渢he pride of 黑料正能量鈥� is indeed.

More on Erik Kratz

• Read a Sept. 5 USAToday feature: 鈥�鈥�
• For up-to-the-minute coverage on Erik鈥檚 exploits, join the 鈥�鈥� on Facebook, curated by Caleb Beachy and followed by more than 2,500 fans. Caleb conducted a 20-minute live interview July 10 in Miami that is particularly enjoyable (even if he is wearing a Tampa Bay Rays shirt); he talks to Erik about his collectible room and shoofly pie preferences among other topics.
• In addition to the links offered above, here鈥檚 two Q and A鈥檚: a and a .
• Erik made the news June 28 for a bench-clearing . He later explained: “We were discussing the Canadian dollar and flawed systems in our two governments. He was coming from a different side of it, and we were just discussing those kinds of things.”
• Erik on the mound (not just visiting) has also , not just for his success (he has struck out two All-Stars), but how he does it. Watch his go-to pitch and join the discussion over whether it鈥檚 ?
• He also owns a sliver of MLB history, memorialized in a: In 2016, he became the first player to both catch and pitch for two different teams: first the Astros (he gave two runs, one earned, on three hits) and then for the Pirates (facing five batters, allowing two hits, striking out one).
• Veteran baseball correspondent David Driver 鈥�84 covered Friday鈥檚 game for the Washington Times and .