Meyer steps up to mound, finally

Meyer steps up to mound, finally

Pitcher returns in limited role after series of injuries

By Yoni Tamler

Daily Bruin Staff

Lightning struck twice for Jake Meyer, who in the past two years
has logged enough time on the trainer’s table to last him an entire
career.

Already in his third season pitching for the UCLA baseball team,
Meyer has compiled an 0-1 record and 4.00 ERA in nine innings
pitched – numbers which coincidentally make up his entire
collegiate history.

"I really have no idea what 100 percent is for me since I
haven’t been 100 percent for two years," Meyer said. "I just
realized in the last week or two that I can start concentrating on
pitching better rather than just getting healthy."

The two years Meyer referred to are what might have been
productive freshman and sophomore years throwing for the team. But
a high school football injury crept up on him in the fall of his
first season in a UCLA uniform, causing him to sit the year out as
a redshirt. As if that did not cause him enough grief, last summer
Meyer developed tendonitis in his right bicep so severe that it
forced him to miss his first year of eligibility entirely.

"That’s when I thought that maybe I would just never be able to
get it back," Meyer said. "I wondered, knowing it was going to take
me eight to nine months to rehabilitate, if I was ever going to be
able to go out there and pitch again, and if I did, was I going to
be the same kind of pitcher I was before."

Meyer quickly got over those doubts, looking forward to a career
with at least three good years of baseball left. Now that he’s back
in competition, perhaps the thing that Meyer lacks most is
experience, one buzzword that comes up in conversations in which he
is the topic.

"Jake has what it takes, stuff-wise, to be successful at this
level, and it’s just going to take some experience to get settled
on the field and be in control of his emotions," UCLA pitching
coach Dave Schmidt said. "Right now, I’m being pretty careful with
how I’m using him."

"Mentally, I’m still trying to remember what it’s like to
pitch," Meyer added.

And that presents something of a dilemma to the right-hander,
for whom pitching at the college level is still a relatively fresh
concept. If coaches use him only occasionally, how will he be able
to reach that level of comfort on the mound? Furthermore, what does
it do to his confidence when he does not succeed in those
infrequent appearances?

"It’s not confidence that I lack, it’s just being back in the
game," Meyer reiterated. "After each outing, I go over what I did
wrong and how I can improve from there. So far I’ve been out there
four times, and each time I’ve gotten something out of it."

That rationale explains precisely why, after a recent outing
(two earned runs over 0.2 innings in UCLA’s 11-8 win over Cal),
Meyer came away with more lessons learned than shattered pride.

"When I have an appearance and I don’t pitch well, it just tells
me that I need to do something different," Meyer said. "I know that
from here it’s only going to get better. From here I can get more
experience where before I was only concerned about getting my arm
in shape."

For Meyer, proving himself to the baseball world is no longer
the issue it was last year. He has faith in his pitching abilities
and figures to be a contender, even on a pitching staff considered
by Schmidt to be one of the best in UCLA’s history. The difference
this time around is, with no foreseeable setbacks, everything is
within his control.

"I had a great fall. What I did in the fall showed me that I was
ready," Meyer said, recalling last quarter’s pre-season practice.
"I just knew that I had it, that all I needed was a chance to be
healthy. I know that I can do a lot of good things."

With patience in the bullpen and his arm all back to normal,
Meyer is gradually making the progress befitting of a redshirt
sophomore. Now all it’s going to take is a little time.

"He has the stuff to be a closer some day," Schmidt said.
"Scouts are interested in him because of his arm strength – he
throws his fastball close to 90 miles an hour and has a wicked
forkball. I look for him to be a little bigger part of the staff
toward the end of the year and I’m looking for big things from him
next year."

PATRICK LAM/Daily Bruin

Jake Meyer has sat out the last two seasons with arm injuries,
but remains confident in his abilities.

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