Nate Baez of Cedar Rapids Kernels forcing his manager’s hand for more playing time

CEDAR RAPIDS - When you are on a minor league baseball team jacked with prospects and only get to play roughly every other day or every third day at the start of the season, there are two ways to go.

You wallow in self pity, internally or outwardly complain and moan about your situation. Just generally kind of give up.

Or you make the most of the playing time you do get and force the manager to put you into the lineup on a regular basis. Nate Baez has done the latter.

The catcher-first baseman has been a most-days fixture for the Cedar Rapids Kernels the past couple of weeks because he has continued to put good at-bat after good at-bat together. Baez went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs in C.R.’s 9-1 win Sunday afternoon over South Bend at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The 23-year-old from Arizona State has a gaudy .351 batting average in 16 games. The Kernels have played 26 and have a 17-9 record.

“I’m just going out there and trying to have as much fun as possible,” Baez said. “As far as hitting goes, just going up there with a clear mind and just trying to put the ball in play. Just have fun, nothing too much else. Just not trying to think too much there.”

Baez played just once in the Kernels’ season-opening three-game series at Wisconsin and just three of six games in their second series against Beloit. He sat out the first game of the ensuing series at Peoria, but had four hits the next night and three hits two nights after that.

The playing time has continued. Baez reached base in all five games he played in this six-game South Bend series, has two home runs and 11 RBIs this season and a really good walk-to-strikeout ratio of 11 walks and eight Ks.

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There are those aforementioned prospects like Kaelen Culpepper, Billy Amick (now on the injured list), Kyle DeBarge, Brandon Winokur, Danny DeAndrade and Khadim Diaw who are going to get their at-bats. Baez is in the other group of guys who rotate around picking up whatever ABs are left over.

“There’s a lot of stuff when it comes to (lineups) that I can’t control,” Baez said. “So when I do get into the lineup, I just go out there and just have fun, play relaxed, play loose. Then whatever happens, if I get to play more, great. If not, that’s fine, too. Whenever my number is called, do my absolute best.

“This is a great team. Even the young guys can play. It’s fun to play beside them. They’re all great guys.”

Baez hit .239 in 82 games last season for the Kernels, with 12 homers and 32 RBIs. He said he felt he improved daily, even though his numbers weren’t monstrous, and wants to continue that modus operandi this season.

“He’s definitely making a lot out of his opportunity,” said Kernels Manager Brian Meyer. “He’s a guy who obviously was here last year, and he’s older now. Sometimes you see guys like that mature a little bit, kind of catch up to where they were behind. He’s just putting together quality at-bats every single time. He’s finding some holes with the swings that he is taking. And he’s not off on a lot of the pitches that he’s getting out on, either.”

Baez apparently has become one of the leaders on this Kernels ballclub, someone everyone on the team listens to. He pulls for others when he’s not playing.

“Just always try and get better and better and better,” he said. “Being here last year, that experience helped me. Helped me mature, just everything overall. I really did feel like I got better every day, and that is my goal again this year.

“Even if it’s just being a good teammate in the dugout, I just want to do whatever I can to help this team win.”

The Kernels won five games in this series and head to the road for a week at Fort Wayne.

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