Cubs' catcher has a special project

MESA, Ariz. -- Nobody who's been around Cubs player Jake Fox is surprised he's pursuing a university degree in communications.

Fox is one of the more media-friendly players to be found. But it's what Fox is planning to do with that degree that's special.

"This last semester, this last fall, I finished up 19 credits," the 25-year-old Fox said Saturday. "I have four left, and I'm finishing them up right now. Matter of fact, I'm probably going to e-mail my final project to my professor tonight.

"I've got an independent study for my last four credits, and I'm creating an educational program for coaches on dealing with diabetic athletes. So I'm putting a presentation together because every off-season I put on camps where I'm from (Beech Grove, Ind.), and I'm going to start putting them on in Michigan with the proceeds going to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation."

Fox's inspiration comes from his wife, Allison, a former college cross country runner who was diagnosed with Type 1, or juvenile, diabetes at age 18.

"My overall dream is to take it with me and start helping the awareness for people, especially coaches dealing with athletes, because my wife is diabetic herself, and that's how I got into it," Fox said. "I've been around a few diabetics on my way up, and I knew nothing about it.

"It was kind of scary to me because I didn't know what to do, didn't know if there was something wrong with them, didn't know if I had to treat them differently.

"I just think that's a common problem."

Fox, a catcher at Michigan and a college teammate of Cubs pitcher Rich Hill, cited an example he witnessed firsthand.

"In my time at Michigan, I saw a kid who quit playing because a coach didn't know how to handle his disease," he said. "That's why I want to get awareness out there, not just for me and my wife, who went through some tough times, too. Diabetics can do the same thing that 'normal' kids can do, just with a little different approach to it."

Fox has enlisted the help of Cubs outfielder Sam Fuld, a Type 1 diabetic who gives himself insulin shots twice a day and checks his blood sugar five to six times a day. He also hopes to pick the brain of Cubs broadcaster and former third baseman Ron Santo, also a diabetic.

"One of the messages I want to get across in my presentation is, with a diabetic there's a whole lot more that goes into (coaching) than just teaching them the game," Fox said. "There's the responsibility of teaching them about handling a daily disease, being able to check the blood sugars five, six times a day, being able to count the carbs they eat during the day so they can prepare for a workout, prepare for things to come.

"At the same time, teaching them they can treat the kids the same with the discipline and all that, but in a different way. A kid I played with in college was diabetic. He was throwing a bullpen, and it was going really bad. His blood sugar was low. So he dropped his glove and walked over to the training room. The coach started yelling at him, 'You can't leave here until you finish this.'

"I understood the message he was trying to give him: Don't give up. But at the same time, he couldn't do it. All you have to do is say, 'OK, go get your blood sugar under control, and come back and we'll finish this because I'm not going to let you give up.' "

Of course, Fox has baseball to play, too, as he tries to win a roster spot. A catcher coming up in the Cubs system after being drafted in 2003, Fox has moved around the diamond as the Cubs try to find a place for his bat.

Fox hit 23 homers in 91 games at Class AA Tennessee last year before getting called up July 19. In seven games with the Cubs, he had 2 hits, both doubles. He has shown he can hit at all levels, and sooner or later, some major-league team may have to find a place for that kind of bat.

"For me, the biggest thing is to learn how to come off the bench and hit," Fox said. "It's something I've never done before, so it's a new beast to tame. But the last two times I've come off the bench, I've felt very comfortable at the plate.

"I've got a very good feeling that I'm going to be there someday. Somewhere, somehow, I'm going to be there. But right now I'm trying to pay my dues and be patient with it because I know it's going to happen. Right now I'm just trying to make sure I'm making myself the player I can be so that when I get that chance I'll be ready."