Get To Know: 2017 Jäger Corn Bombers
¡Hola! That was the first clue to my first ever blog post. I’ll let you all in on a little bit about your author. My name is Brett Detmar and yes I know Spanish. There’s a reason that my nickname to this day is “Juan” and I’m not talking about the nickname that you write in those weird website profiles that no one actually calls you; I’m talking about a name that is yelled out in a crowd and I turn in that direction. Anyway enough about me, this innaguaral post is going to be all about the 2017 Jäger Corn Bombers. So I guess you’ll hear about me later but the intro paragraph isn’t appropriate for an “All About Brett” excerpt unfortunately.
For all of you that don’t know anything about our team or the league I encourage you to either check out the WordPress website on which I’ve published this post or just search “Leroy Wiffleball Association” on any major social media platform. No…. not Flickr, not Tumblr, I’m talking about the big 3: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. All the links are also in the “About” section of my website if that helps at all.
At first thought I was tempted to make my very first blog post about the 2016 Jäger Corn Bombers (undoubtedly the greatest formulated wiffleball team in the short 3 year history of the LWA) but it’s time to let the past season pass and focus on this May. Nevertheless, I had to add the catchphrase to my website as… I’m not going to tell you but you should go check it out. The last sentence was obviously a ploy to get you to check out my site if you found this post through Twitter. So, as my friend and colleague Caleb Jonkman mentioned in his first blog post, the Winter Bowling Classic was such a success. It was extremely cool to see all the regulars together again and even meet potential Leroy players that add to our camaraderie and embody the type of character that we value in our league.
My draft picks were all but strategic
as I only focused on players that I thought would carry on the Bomber tradition of love, peace, and the pursuit of happiness. Never mind…that is not our tradition or motto; it actually is “We scare you on the mound but ain’t worth diddly squat at the plate” so yeah I drafted three guys that will do exactly that. Pitching should be a strong suit for our team and batting will be the area where we struggle and hopefully improve considering the mound moves back and simply as the season progresses. However, these kinds of predictions will come in my next post and this post aims to only introduce and hopefully give the audience a taste of our players and what they do inside and outside of the wiffle ball sector. So without further ado your 2017 Jäger Corn Bombers:
Kyle Reynhout
Age: 26
Birthday: April 18
Spouse: Olivia Reynhout
Residence: Lombard, IL
Hobby (other than wiffle): Golf, Board Games, Watching Chicago Cubs
Siblings: Grant Reynhout & Katie Reynhout
Workplace: Cray, Kaiser Ltd.
Alma Mater: Calvin College
Greatest Accomplishment/Memory: Marrying Olivia
Owner’s Outlook: From an owner’s perspective I see Kyle to be the life of the team and the glue that mends us together through trial and tribulation. Towards the end of last season I saw Kyle improving at the mound with a wicked eephus pitch that had a lot of batter’s confused while striking out. The slow speed and trajectory threw a lot of our league’s big hitters out of whack and I hope that same determination from Kyle will spill over into the upcoming season. At the plate he’s been spotty but when he gets a hold of the ball it will travel. The big reason why I drafted Kyle was to hear his dinger lines up close and personal that always had me laughing a few fields away last season. If any of you want evidence please check out a few YouTube videos of his games from last season. Overall, Kyle continues to improve and will serve as a captain of our team because of his experience in the league as a player and board member.
Jake Van Vuren
Age: 22
Birthday: January 17
Residence: West Lafayette, IN
Hobby (other than wiffle): Boating
Siblings: Joey Van Vuren
School: Purdue University
Greatest Accomplishment/Memory: Most likely his dad buying the boat
Owner’s Outlook: Jake is the team clown; sort of like the class clown but different because we’re playing wiffleball and it’s actually advantageous to be a clown. Him and Kyle are both hilarious guys that are consistent in showing up and therefore, reliable from an owner’s perspective. Jake and Caleb carried their team to the championship last year. Jake made critical plays in the field and showed up to pitch when Caleb needed him most. Jake can also hit when needed and has a little baseball experience under his belt. He could be the most improved player of St. John baseball history. The main reason I drafted Jake is because he’s one of my best friends and actually more like a brother to me. He can adapt to his team and the style of play as I mentioned before. He will always show up ready to compete with a case of beer and some work boots in hand.
Erik Detmar
Age: 17
Birthday: March 3
Residence: St. John, IN
Hobby (other than wiffle): Basketball
Siblings: Brett Detmar & Karlie Detmar
School: Illiana Christian High School
Greatest Accomplishment/Memory: Thinking he will win regionals for Illiana basketball and in the 3-point competition
Owner’s Outlook: Erik is my brother. Okay enough of stating the obvious but really he has to come to the games because he tags along with me most of the time. I can always count on him to be practicing to better his game whether that be at the plate to mound. He is low key a really solid defender due to his quickness and athleticism. I think that Erik may even step up to a more management role of our team and possibly take on leadership throughout the league in different manners. We are hoping that he shows enough skills to be placed on the pitching roster for Nationals as he gained a lot of experience and expertise in pitching while attending the tournament last year. He was practicing on their mounds just about as much as our starters which was the most encouraging aspect for me to see as an owner. In the latest podcast he talked about possibly adopting a new pitching style which would be exciting for me to see. The main reason why I drafted Erik was his pitching and quickness in the field and on the bases. He delivers a lot of energy to our team and brings our competitiveness to another level. If any one reading this has watched only one of his basketball games that competitive attitude and determination to win above anything else is always evident. I also was forced to draft him since he’s been on my team for the past decade.
Brett Detmar
Age: 21
Birthday: February 4
Residence: Bloomington, IN
Hobby (other than wiffle): Boating, Studying, Catan
Siblings: Erik Detmar & Karlie Detmar
School: Indiana University
Greatest Accomplishment/Memory: Being selected for the Cox Scholarship from Indiana University as a Cox Engagement Scholar
Owner’s Outlook: Pretty awkward to write an outlook on yourself but I will make this more about my goals for this season. As the mound moves back I plan to perfect my pitch to adjust to the longer distance. My batting was the weakest aspect of my game so I plan to practice in the offseason and see the ball better at the plate. The largest goal of mine is to make a statement at the national level as an elite pitcher and bring Leroy’s pitching squad to championship caliber. As for my board of director duties I want to organize the league’s systems and promote the league in all different aspects.
So there you have it, I’m really looking forward to May when we can get our season underway and get to know the new faces in our league a lot better. If you have any inquiries you can email our team at leroyjagercornbombers@gmail.com or direct message us on Twitter. Thanks for reading!
