Sports > March 3, 2005

By Caitlin O'Grady

Assistant Sports Editor

THE SKINNY:

Like any good catcher, J.B. Tucker is there when you need him. Whether its playing tough at home plate or blasting a grand slam, Tucker can do just about anything. Last season, after transferring from Mississippi State, Tucker slid right in as starting catcher, not to mention hauling double-duty as a designated hitter. He maintained a .252 batting average, had five home runs and 34 RBI. In the extended game against Cincinnati Feb. 26, Tucker was key. His two-run single down the left field line clinched the lead and the win for the Deacs with a final score of 10-9. What can’t this guy do?

Senior catcher J.B. Tucker is a renaissance man on the baseball field. After transferring from Mississippi State, and coming into a starting position, there has been pressure from the start. In a recent interview, Tucker sat down with Assistant Sports Editor Caitlin O’Grady to talk about his past, present and future. 

Old Gold & Black: Your sophomore year you hit a home run in the SEC Championship Game against LSU while playing for Mississippi State, who is currently ranked No. 19 by the Collegiate Baseball Poll, so what made you decide to transfer to Wake Forest?

J.B. Tucker: Wake was a better fit for me athletically and academically.  Also when I was at Mississippi State I split time catching with another catcher so I only started half the games one year and I wanted to go somewhere where I was going to start every game, so I came to Wake Forest.

OGB: Last year you had five home runs and 34 RBI, what should we expect of those numbers this season?

JT: Hopefully they will improve, you should improve every year.  Hopefully I’ll have a couple more home runs and I’d like to have a lot more RBI indicate runners getting on base and us scoring runs so that’s pretty much a team statistic.  I like helping out the team, that’s my main goal so the more RBI I have, the better the team’s going to be doing.

OGB: I understand you played in the Cape Cod League this summer, what was that like?

JT: That was my best summer baseball experience ever, I absolutely loved it.  I had great time playing up there, the competition was unbelievable and I made a lot of great friends and I had a couple of teammates that were up there too — Ben Ingold, (Matt) Antonelli, Kyle Young and Justin Keadle.  We saw each other on occasion and I got to play against them.  That’s supposedly the best summer baseball league and I just loved every minute of it.

OGB: What are you hoping to do after you graduate from Wake?  Have you talked to any Major League Baseball teams?

JT: I want to continue playing as long as I can and my parents support me in that.  I’ve talked to a couple MLB teams.  I talked to a couple last year and nothing came of it.  I’ve sent in a few questionnaires and stuff this year. That’s definitely what I would like to do after I graduate.

OGB: If you all could play for MLB team, who would you want to play for?

JT: I would like to play for the Devil Rays, surprisingly, because they’re so close to my house in Florida and my parents have season tickets to the Devil Rays and I’d love it if my mom could come see me play.

OGB: What catcher do you most try to emulate?

JT: I would say Ivan Rodriguez for his defensive skills because I would love to be as good as he is defensively.  He’s amazing, he’s quick, he’s got a strong arm, and he seems like he never makes any mistakes behind the plate.  I like Mike Piazza as a hitter because he goes to the opposite field really well and I like to do that as well.  He’s the best hitting catcher ever so he’s a great person to emulate as well.