Mill Rats hurler finding joy in baseball, big moments
· Yahoo Sports
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Johnstown Mill Rats relief pitcher Jay Jay Calmes didn’t mean to cause trouble when he was younger, but he did show in a recent mound appearance that he can help eliminate brewing problems.
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Calmes was born deaf, but is now able to hear through aids after a discovery made during his early childhood years.
“My doctor, and my mom, my parents didn’t know I was hard of hearing until I was 4 years old,” Calmes said. “So, before that, I was always getting in trouble because I couldn’t listen and stuff.
“But, I’m going to be honest, after I got the hearing aids, I didn’t know what was going on because obviously, I never felt this way before. But as I grew older, I finally started to understand what’s going on around me.”
The 6-foot-2 right-hander explains that he’s able to communicate on the field with teammates, but vocal direction is crucial.
“If I take off my hearing aids, right now, I can hear what’s going on around me, but if you’re speaking to me side-to-side or behind me, all I hear is a mumble,” Calmes said. “But if you look face-to-face with me, I can read lips really well and I can hear you, but anything behind me, I really can’t hear.”
Calmes also makes certain to let teammates know to keep him involved in ongoing discussions during game action or in the dugout and clubhouse.
“I tell my teammates, ‘Let me know what’s going on and just communicate with me,’ so I know what’s going on with me,” Calmes said.
Calmes also made certain to put his stamp on a first half of the season that has already seen multiple acts of late-game heroics from the Mill Rats during Thursday’s win over the Normal CornBelters.
Calmes was the first part of a 1-2-3 run-saving double play to help lift the Mill Rats to a 15-14 win over the CornBelters.
With the bases loaded and one out in the top half of the 10th inning, Calmes induced a comeback grounder from Josh Nisbet. A throw to catcher Brock Budacki got the force at home before the relay to first retired Nisbet to end the Normal 10th.
Johnstown tallied the winning run in the bottom half of the frame when Hudson Hartgrove doubled in Cole Edmondson.
Calmes was happy to relive the moment as it unfolded late Thursday in his words.
“When I did that (Thursday), I didn’t think I had it in my glove,” Calmes said. “I saw it in my glove and I thought, ‘Oh shoot, I gotta throw it home.’
“When I saw Brock throw to first, I was like, ‘Oh, we might get this.’
“When he got it, everything shut down. I kind of blacked out. I started getting so hype. I was like, ‘Holy crap. I just got out of that inning right there.’
“It was amazing. It was probably the best play I ever made in my life, to be honest.”
Calmes noted that his glove skills traveled with him from his time at other infield positions.
“I played shortstop all my life,” Calmes said. “I was an infielder all my life. I was a hot corner. I trust my glove 100% of the time.”
In four appearances this season, Calmes (1-0) has logged 61/3 innings with nine strikeouts and an ERA of 2.84. Calmes, a 6-foot-2 right-hander from Indianapolis, fanned five over two innings in a June 2 appearance against the Chillicothe Paints.
The Wabash Valley College product has grown to appreciate his teammates and the city in his short time with the Mill Rats.
“The Prospect League is very competitive,” Calmes said.
“I love playing a competitive game. I love to compete. I love hanging out with my teammates and all that. Then (Sargent’s Stadium) is a nice, beautiful stadium. It’s very unique.
“Then you got a mountain behind it. Downtown, beautiful place – I love the way it looks.
“The houses, how close and how colorful they are.”
Mill Rats manager Tyler Smith is equally as impressed with Calmes.
“Jay Jay’s been amazing,” Smith said. “He makes that big play (Thursday). Also, he’s coming off injury. He was injured the whole (past) year. The makeup (of the team), he loves to be around it. He’s smiling.
“He’s a great guy to be around. I’m just really glad he’s a part of us, because good people are hard to find. He’s one of them. He’s a good person.”
Shawn Curtis is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5085. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnCurtis430.