NEWS

By Don Leypoldt

Baseball talent is like cream in milk, or oil in water.

It’s always going to emerge.

You might think that there is no way a 6’0” tall right handed pitcher, from a football town in the heart of America’s snow belt, would thrive in the Big Leagues.

You’d be wrong.

Jason Berken grew up in DePere, WI, just a couple of home run balls from Lambeau Field.  Between his size, the weather and the culture, the deck was stacked against Berken being a Major League success.

Through April 21st, Berken had a 1.08 ERA in six games for the Baltimore Orioles as he continued his upward career progression.  Last season, Berken was debatably the Orioles’ best reliever up until the All-Star break, before shoulder problems forced him to shut down his season in mid-August.

“I had Tommy John in college so I went through that experience in 2005.  It makes you appreciate the game and how much your arm means to you.  I think at times, you take your health for granted,” Berken observed. 

While “a slight tear in the labrum and rotator cuff inflammation” are never good things, Berken fortunately did not need surgery.

“This offseason was really important for me,” Berken said.  “I lost some weight and got my shoulder in the best shape it’s ever been.  I feel like I’ve gained more knowledge in how to take care of my shoulder and my arm to further prevent this from happening again. 

“It was tough last year going through this injury, and hopefully I’ll never have to go through it again.  Being away from the team stinks,” he admitted.  “I had to watch them on TV and I wanted to be pitching, wanted to be out there.”

Now, after months of rest and rehab, he again stymies American League hitters without skipping a beat. 

Berken was an exceptional high school athlete, earning all-state honors as a quarterback and as a shooting guard.  But more importantly, Berken won Wisconsin’s Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year as a senior when he struck out 147 batters in 78 innings. 

Berken was recruited by Big 10 schools, but Clemson happened to see him at a Perfect Game showcase in Iowa.  He eventually signed with the Tigers.  After a strong freshman season, Berken played with the Keene Swamp Bats in 2003.

“We had a really good group of guys.  We had a lot of fun.  Coach Sweeney did a great job of keeping it loose,” Berken recollects.  “I remember enjoying the whole summer.  I had a great host family.  Getting to travel up there was fun.  We won the championship so it was a great experience to win.  It was my first summer away from home…ever. 

“We always had a ton of fans.  That is the one thing everyone said about Keene: is that we’d have great fans every night which we did.”

Keene won the NECBL title going away, thanks in part to Berken’s virtuoso post-season performances.  In his two playoff starts, Berken fanned 21 and had a 0.00 ERA.

“When you’re in college, you’re taught to pitch away from contact because of the aluminum bat and guys are a little scared sometimes to pitch to contact.  But you learn that good pitching beats good hitting and if you pitch to contact you’re going to have more success,” explained Berken, who at summer’s end was the best pitcher on the NECBL’s best team. 

“I fortunately pitched pretty well that summer and I think it carried into college.  That summer as a whole, benefitted me through out my career.” 

His Tommy John surgery delayed his inevitable conscription, but the Orioles drafted him in the sixth round in 2006.  Berken debuted with the O’s less than three years later.

The rookie made 24 starts with mixed success.  He was switched to reliever.

“Everyone wants to assume that I pitched better because I came out of the pen,” Berken noted.  “That may be true to some extent but I think the biggest thing is that I gained so much experience.

“Your rookie year is tough.  You have a lot of ups and downs and don’t know what to expect.  You’re getting acclimated to new stadiums and new pitching,” he continued.  “Everyone says ‘It is the same game so pitch your game.’  But there is no way you get that experience without doing it in the Big Leagues.” 

Berken feels fortunate that Baltimore stuck with him during the entire 2009 season.  It’s a good thing they did, because the Orioles got themselves an excellent arm once Berken got some Major League innings under his belt.

Berken’s star may be rising, but his feet remain firmly planted in DePere.  For the fourth straight offseason, Berken and some of his Oriole and Clemson teammates held Berken’s Baseball Camp for the youth in his home town. 

“I grew up in Green Bay, a small community kind of like Keene.  Getting exposure in high school was tough for me so I know how important it is to give back and bring baseball back into the community,” Berken offered.  “To have kids interact with guys who are doing what they hope to do some day is a very cool experience.  I know if I had that opportunity to do that as a kid, that is something I would have taken full advantage of.

“The community always was real important to me and it still is.  My family still lives there.  Any chance I get to go back, I really relish that time and want to help anyway I can.  It’s about giving back.”

Berken also spent some of the offseason fundraising and speaking for Junior Achievement.

“I want these kids to understand that if you have a dream of playing in the Big Leagues that you need to follow that dream and do anything you can to achieve that dream because it ispossible,” Berken declared.  “For me to be able to give my story to them and maybe give those kids some hope…that is the biggest thing.  I love working with kids.  I love giving back and anyway I can help, I plan to.” 

Jason Berken’s Advice to the 2011 NECBL Players:  “I think the biggest thing is that hard work pays off.  My goal and my dream was always to pitch in the Major Leagues and I was going to do whatever I could to make that goal happen.  I had some setbacks through out the way- the Tommy John surgery and the shoulder problems- but my mindset has always been: I’m going to get back and pitch in the Major Leagues.  Your mindset has to be positive.  Whatever happens, persevere through it and do whatever you can to achieve those goals because anything is possible.  If you really want something, go get it and do whatever you can to achieve that.”