Grayslake North's Staszczak battles back
When a baseball is hit anywhere in the vicinity of Kevin Staszczak, the result is almost always the same.
The Grayslake North shortstop, known for his quickness to the ball and his accurate arm, charges instantly, fields the ball cleanly, throws the ball precisely and does his part to account for yet another putout at first base.
Staszczak had a rare miss last spring, though.
An opponent narrowly beat out his throw to first base.
At first, Staszczak's teammates and coaches were shocked. They don't see that very often.
But when they got closer and saw Staszczak's face, they saw more than his despair about the play. And immediately, they were cutting him all the slack in the world.
After all, firing a ball from shortstop to first base isn't easy when the ball first smacks you in the mouth, knocks out your front two teeth, sends them flying into the dirt and leaves you a bloodied mess.
In fact, under the conditions, it's amazing Staszczak even got a throw off at all, particularly one that had a chance of beating out the runner.
But Staszczak, who is trying this spring to lead Grayslake North to its first winning season in school history, is gritty like that. He has been since he earned a starting spot with the big boys as a sophomore.
“Everything happened so fast, I wasn't even sure what happened, but I guess the ball just took a really bad bounce,” Staszczak said of his wicked encounter with the baseball. “I knew I got hit, and I saw something flying through the air. I didn't know it was my teeth until after I picked up the ball and threw it.”
Staszczak was ready to keep playing. This was the Knights' big game against cross-town rival Grayslake Central, after all.
“I was like, ‘This is no big deal, I can handle it,'” Staszczak said. “But I had blood all over my jersey so I had to leave the game. Plus, they wanted to get me to the dentist as soon as possible.”
There was work to be done. Staszczak had suffered serious damage to three teeth.
One was barely attached to his gum. And of the two front teeth that came out completely, one was smashed into a million pieces and the other was found intact on the infield dirt.
“We picked that one out of the dirt, washed it off and the trainer pushed it back up into my mouth,” Staszczak said. “We were hoping that it could be saved.”
The tooth was saved. Staszczak has it, and a fake tooth beside it, in his mouth right now. The loose tooth has since been tightened.
Staszczak's smile looks like a million bucks again.
But it took time for the dentist to work his magic. Staszczak spent so much time in the dental chair, and had to account for some serious setbacks — like when his fake tooth unexpectedly dropped out of his mouth one day — that he missed a lot of baseball.
In fact, Staszczak didn't play an ounce of baseball all last summer because of his dental troubles.
When Grayslake North took the field a few weeks ago for its season opener against Grant, it was literally Staszczak's first game since he took that ball to the face.
Can you say “Gun-shy?”
Staszczak can't. Or better yet, won't.
“Actually, I'm just the same as I was before. I'm not worried about getting hit at all,” Staszczak said. “My parents are worried. They want me to wear a mouth guard. But I think doing something like that would make me (over)think it. It would keep all that stuff about my teeth in my mind.
“I'm just going out there and fielding balls like I always have. What happened to me just happened. It doesn't happen very often and I don't see it happening to me again.”
Staszczak's cool demeanor isn't a surprise. At least not to Grayslake North coach Andy Strahan.
Strahan promoted a young Staszczak to varsity precisely for the mental stability he could provide at shortstop.
“Nothing fazes Kevin, nothing,” Strahan said. “He never gets too excited or too down. He's very even-keeled. He was like that the day he got hit in the mouth. He kept saying, ‘I'm OK, I'm fine.' He wanted to keep playing like it was no big deal.
“That calm personality he has makes him a great shortstop. He's in an important position and we put a lot on his shoulders. He's our leader out there. All of our defensive signs go through him. Every little thing, in terms of the positioning of the defense, our communications with the defense, dealing with pitchers … Andy handles all of that.”
Actually, Staszczak does even more.
He's also one of the Knights' best hitters.
So far, he boasts nearly a .400 batting average and has already smacked a home run out of the No. 4 spot. In that season opener against Grant, Staszczak went 3-for-3.
“I usually put pretty good contact on the ball,” Staszczak said. “And I don't strike out very often. I'm pretty consistent.”
Odds are that a consistent-hitting, quick-fielding shortstop would be in high demand at the next level.
But Staszczak has already made up his mind about college. And his plans don't include baseball.
He wants to be an accountant and was impressed by the program at Northern Michigan. He's planning on going there, even though there is no varsity baseball team at the school.
“I'll probably try to play on a club team up there,” Staszczak said. “I just feel that education comes first and I love Northern Michigan and the academic programs there. And I really love the area.”
Every summer for years, Staszczak and his family has spent time in northern Wisconsin and northern Michigan camping and playing in the outdoors.
“I just love it up there,” Staszczak said of the Upper Peninsula. “It's great in the summer. It can get really cold in the winter and that's why they don't have a baseball team. But I know I'll still be really happy there.”
Staszczak will be all smiles. With lots of teeth.
pbabcock@dailyherald.com 31081528Grayslake North shortstop Kevin Staszczak slides back to first base agains Lakes.Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com 21921988Grayslake North shortstop Kevin Staszczak turns a double play Monday at Lakes.Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com 16961360Grayslake North shortstop Kevin Staszczak fields the ball Monday at Lakes.Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com