Kornacki: Bivens Could Be Big Ten's Top Freshman
5/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 15, 2015
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan infielder Jake Bivens is turning heads. He's third in the Big Ten with a .455 on-base percentage, third on the conference's top-hitting team with a .343 batting average and playing quality defense at three infield positions.
Bivens could very well become the Wolverines' first Big Ten Freshman of the Year since outfielder Jason Alcaraz in 1996.
"Jake's exceeded the expectations statistically," said Michigan head coach Erik Bakich. "I don't think anybody expects a freshman to come in and put up good numbers like that. But he works on his swing; he works on his defense; he works on his base running; he's got that worker gene.
"He wants to be great, and he's very driven in that regard. The kid's makeup is off the charts."
And right now, his hitting is off the charts, too.
Bivens was 2-for-5 in Thursday night's (May 14) 12-2 loss to Oklahoma State and is on a .565 tear (13-for-23) in the last six games while putting together a 12-game hitting streak. He's been the Big Ten's Freshman of the Week in two of the last three weeks -- going 5-for-5 with three runs batted in and three runs Sunday (May 10) against Northwestern and 4-for-4 with two RBI and two runs April 26 at Minnesota.
It's all come together for Bivens in the last four weeks, when he's had at least two hits in nine of 16 games.
"It's really just getting comfortable playing at this level," said Bivens. "And once you start playing baseball and having fun, that's when I started playing the best.
"We have a lot of good players around me who are hitting, and so they will give me good pitches to hit. I try to have a middle-away approach and just hit the ball hard every time."
Bivens, at 6-1 and 185 pounds, has only six extra-base hits (all doubles). But his coach isn't concerned about whether the power comes for him later in his career, as is often the case as players mature.
"We don't need him to hit for power," said Bakich. "We need him to get on base and set the table. He's in the two-hole because of his on-base percentage and his ability to run the bases and get in scoring position. His asset is his speed, where he can steal second or third and let the guys behind him drive him in."
Bivens is second on the team with nine steals and has only been thrown out twice attempting to steal. He's third with both 27 walks and 39 runs. Bakich had him down in the batting order earlier this season, but Bivens has hit second 14 times to settle into a key role.
Bakich has started him at shortstop for most of the Big Ten season, and he's notched 29 games at the key infield position. But he's started 20 times at second base and three times at third base.
"The great thing about him defensively is his versatility," said Bakich. "We can play him at second, short and third. And we can put him anywhere in the outfield, and he would do just fine. He's just an athlete -- he's a baseball player. And if we needed him to pitch, he'd probably do that, too. And he could probably catch, but we're not going to try it."
Bivens credits Bakich and upperclassman infielders Travis Maezes and Eric Jacobson for his rapid development.
"Coming in," said Bivens, "maybe I wasn't the most confident in my defensive ability. But Travis has helped me out immensely. I can't thank him and Eric Jacobson enough for all that they've done and for helping me gain confidence.
"And from Coach Bakich, I've learned relentless dedication to the game. He's a great leader and being aggressive all the time is one thing I've taken from him."
Bakich said Bivens' parents and three older siblings sent him to Michigan with all the doggedness required to succeed.
"We knew that whatever he was," said Bakich, "he was going to get better because he is going to grind. He's going to work; he's self-motivated; he's on task; he's a good student. So, his growth as a player is very much expected simply because of what's rooted in his DNA and his upbringing."
Bivens said playing against his two older brothers prepared him for the challenges of starting as a college freshman.
"Growing up," he said, "I think that's where I got a lot of my toughness with those guys beating up on me and playing in the front yard. I played up (with older teammates) my whole life, and that was important."
He's taken playing with the older guys in stride once again at Michigan. Bivens is the only freshman with a batting average in the conference's top 10 and has reached base more often than all but two Big Ten hitters.
So, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award is a distinct possibility.
"That would be nice," said Bakich, "and he's smart enough to know he can't control that. If he starts thinking about things like that, it will take him away from being who he is. He's not the prettiest-looking baseball player out there, but he's one of the grittiest. He puts his nose in the dirt, and he gets it done. He competes as well as anyone we've got. He plays as hard as anyone we've got.
"I think the accolades and the awards will be a bi-product of that. Those things will happen, and they should happen."
Bivens says he's honored just to be in the running for the award.
"That's incredible for all the work I've put in," he said, "and what we put in as a team. Any individual award or accolade like that is a team thing, too. I don't like thinking about that right now because we've still got a lot of baseball to play. But, yeah, it'd be great."
