Brumm's selfless skills come into play at Lakes

Like most moms, Lori Brumm loves to attend her kids' sporting events.

But every once in a while, conflicts come up, and she might miss a game, or have to come late.

"My mom always feels so bad if she can't make it," said Cody Brumm, a senior outfielder on the Lakes baseball team.

"I would always just kind of laugh and be like, 'Mom, don't worry. I'm not even going to play in the game anyway.' "

Brumm can't say that anymore.

Once a seldom-used reserve who played sparingly throughout the first three-plus years of his high school baseball career, Brumm has suddenly found himself getting more playing time than he could have ever imagined.

Brumm began this season as he had the previous three, on the bench. But when the Lakes coaching staff decided to change up its philosophy after a slow start that involved a string of losses, Brumm got an unexpected opportunity.

The Eagles were going to start committing to the bunt, and bunt as much as possible.

As it turns out, bunting is Brumm's thing. And since early April, Brumm has seen his role on the team undergo a dramatic change. He's gone from a bench player to an everyday starter.

In fact, just this week, Brumm even set a couple of school records for bunts.

"It's an unreal feeling," Brumm said. "I didn't see myself playing much this year at all. My role had always been to be a pinch runner or something like that. That's what I expected for this year.

"Now, all of a sudden, I'm getting the chance to show the coaches what I've got. I'm in the starting lineup and they believe I can get the job done. It's pretty amazing."

On the season, Brumm has 9 bunts, setting the school records for bunts in a career and a season. His best games thus far have been against Vernon Hills and Mundelein. He put down 3 bunts in each game.

"It's a great story," Lakes coach Ray Gialo said of Brumm. "If you would have asked all the coaches at the beginning of the season if we thought Cody would be playing a lot in varsity games and making major contributions, the answer would have been 'No.'

"Cody is an underdog kind of kid. He's overcome a lot of odds."

But only in baseball.

Brumm isn't used to struggling for playing time throughout the rest of the school year. In the fall, he's the kicker and a wide receiver for the varsity football team. He spends his winters on the ice, as a standout club hockey player. He hopes to play hockey at Wisconsin-Milwaukee next year.

Despite his frustrations with baseball, he still loved it, and didn't want to stop playing. So, over the years, he's tried to be proactive.

Brumm set out to make himself a specialist, deciding that was his best chance to get even a little bit of playing time. He made it his goal to become the best bunter on the team.

"Most guys get bummed when they get the bunt signal," Brumm said. "They want to be hitters. They want the home runs or the big doubles. I know I'm not a big hitter. But I know how to bunt. I figured that's how I could contribute.

"When I get the bunt sign, I get excited. When I found out that our team was going to start emphasizing something that I'm good at, I got really excited."

Brumm got good at bunting by practicing it relentlessly, and zeroing in on the fundamentals. At 5-foot-7, Brumm says that being on the shorter side also helps him put down bunts because his bat is closer to the ground and he can get to low pitches faster.

"Eight out of every 10 pitches during batting practice I'm practicing my bunting," Brumm said. "I'll stand on one knee, I'll bunt with one hand, then I'll get on two knees, so that I can really focus just on the bat and not leaning with my body. A big key to bunting is the angle of the bat. I try to keep it parallel to the ground and keep some bend in my elbow.

"It's nothing special that I'm doing, I just practice it a lot."

Brumm's teammates are practicing bunting more now, too. But in general, Brumm believes bunting has become a lost art in high school baseball.

"I don't see it much in college or the pros either," Brumm said. "The all-stars all hit it out of the park. And that's what most kids want to do.

"It's just kind of worked out for me that our team is doing a lot more bunting this year. Bunting is what I'm known for on the team."

That, and inspiring determination. Brumm's story is a testament that persevering can pay off with an unexpected opportunity that is sitting right around the corner.

pbabcock@dailyherald.com

Follow Patricia on Twitter: @babcockmcgraw