STARKVILLE — Jack Kruger wants nothing more than to be respected by his teammates.
Coming from Oregon and Orange Coast (Calif.) College, Kruger arrived at Mississippi State in the fall hoping to fit in and to earn the respect of his teammates on the MSU baseball squad.
When asked how he went about gaining the trust of his new teammates, Kruger channeled “The Office’s” Michael Scott. Scott, played by Steve Carell, asked, “Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy, both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.”
Kruger laughed when he quoted Scott, but he believes that quote helped him find a way to fit in and enabled him to emerge as a leader.
“They can love you all they want, but if they respect and trust you, it’s kind of like a parent type thing,” Kruger said. “I’d rather be feared and have them take seriously what I have to say rather than think of it as a joke.”
Kruger and fellow junior college transfer Nathaniel Lowe have played big roles in MSU’s success. Top-seeded and No. 4 MSU (41-16-1) will count on Kruger and Lowe again when it takes on Southeast Missouri State (39-19) at 1:30 p.m. Friday (ESPN3) in Game 1 of the Starkville Regional at Dudy Noble Field.
Second-seeded and No. 21 Cal State Fullerton (35-21) will play third-seeded Louisiana Tech (40-18) at 6:30 Friday.
Kruger had surgery on his throwing arm in the fall and wasn’t 100 percent when the season started in February. Instead of playing catcher, his natural position, the Calabasas, California, native served as the team’s designated hitter. In the last month, he has seen more playing time at catcher.
Junior right-handed pitcher Dakota Hudson has seen differences in the way Kruger and freshman catch Elih Marrero handle themselves. Marrero is more laid back and prone to joke with the pitchers when he comes to the mound. Kruger is all business, according to Hudson.
“Jack is extremely smart,” Hudson said. “I feel like he’s on another wave length sometimes. He knows what he’s doing, and he has a great baseball mind.”
The transition for Kruger and Lowe, who played as a freshman at Mercer and transferred in from St. Johns River (Fla.) State College, involved two steps. Lowe said it was easy getting used to the practice, conditioning, and weight lifting in the fall because he had done it before. But he said it took him a couple of weeks for him to gain his teammates’ respect once the season started.
“I know they each had their own identity that they had built up over the years here,” said Lowe, who admitted he was apprehensive in the beginning to step into a leadership role. “I didn’t want to offend anybody, but I wanted to get along with guys, and it’s worked out really well.”
While the Bulldogs selected Hudson, junior center fielder Jacob Robson, and sophomore outfielder Brent Rooker as the team captains, Kruger and Lowe add another layer of experience. Both earned first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors last month. Lowe is second on the team with a .355 batting average and has started every game at first base. The Marietta, Georgia, native has a team-high 20 doubles and 48 RBIs. He has hit five home runs. Kruger is third on the team with a .353 batting average. He has 18 doubles, seven home runs and 38 RBIs.
Like Lowe, Kruger wanted to find his place when he arrived.
“Even though you’re a JUCO player and you have experience and you’ve been around, you haven’t been around this program,” Kruger said. “You can’t come in in the first week and be that guy. That’s earned, over time. I made sure the first couple of weeks I kept my mouth shut. It was important for me to keep my mouth shut and kind of prove that you can carry that load and that you can take a leadership position because leadership is earned.”
Similar backgrounds helped Kruger and Lowe bond. Kruger joked they are part of the “JUCO club.” They know what it’s like to go through the grind of a JUCO season, with unwashed jerseys and eating just about anything they can get their hands on.
Lowe likes the dynamic he and Kruger have developed.
“Jack and I have meshed well,” Lowe said. “His locker’s right next to mine and we hang out off the field a good amount. We’ve gotten along really well.”
Lowe played in 25 games and drew six starts as a freshman at Mercer in 2014. He hit .097 and admitted he didn’t handle things well. He rode the bench for most of his freshman season and his youthfulness got the most of him. He said he was bitter about his lack of playing time, which led to his decision to transfer.
Although he doesn’t feel like he handled it well, the move helped him mature in junior college and became more patient. He is capitalizing on that maturity and patience at MSU.
“I didn’t do well with it my freshman year and it was built up for a while,” Lowe said. “I’m over it, and I kind of keep it in the rear view now to realize where I was and where I am now.”
Kruger said he learned a hundred lessons in 2014 at Oregon, including the importance of never taking a play off and being comfortable taking risks. He played in 28 games (17 starts) as Oregon made it the final of the Nashville (Tenn.) Regional before falling to the eventual national champion Vanderbilt. He hit .208.
Kruger and Lowe knew it was going to be a long process of earning the respect of their teammates, but they are glad they took the steps they did.
“You’ve got to be careful,” Kruger said. “It’s all about trust. You can’t be trusted if you didn’t earn it.”
n In related news, Hudson was named one of 25 semifinalists for the 2016 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, USA Baseball announced Wednesday. The award is given to the nation’s top amateur baseball player.
The first-team All-SEC selection is 9-4 with a 2.35 ERA. He has 107 strikeouts in 103 1/3 innings and has allowed two home runs.
The Dunlap, Tennessee, native is looking to become the second Bulldog to win the award. Will Clark won the award in 1985.
Fans can vote for three finalists at GoldenSpikesAward.com. Voting closes Wednesday. The award will be presented June 30 in Los Angeles.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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