Jaskie Family: An Incredible Story Fueled by Love
4/26/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- It didn't take long for University of Michigan baseball coach Erik Bakich to notice something special burning deep inside pitcher Oliver Jaskie, who leads the Big Ten with 75 strikeouts and has thrown more innings than any Wolverine this season.
"He's got a deeper purpose for playing the game," said Bakich.
It's his sister, Hanna, 26, who was born 17 weeks prematurely and is "developmentally delayed," according to their mother, Suzette. However, there is one area where Hanna ranks at the top of the charts, and that's in spirit and the love of her brother, mother and father, Henry, her caretaker.
"Hanna's such a positive life force," said Oliver. "With her story, she's had to go through more difficult things than anyone I know, and still has a smile, and doesn't put a lot of thought into what other people think about her.
"She's just always happy, and it's a real inspiration."
The Jaskies make the four-hour roundtrip drive from Ada, on the west side of the state of Michigan, to attend games. They sit together behind home plate at Fisher Stadium, sometimes on very cool evenings, and cheer on the Wolverines. Hanna said third baseman Drew Lugbauer, the conference's RBI leader with 49, is her favorite player. Her brother is her favorite pitcher.
Hanna asked to slap a high-five after telling me that, and her eyes twinkled.
When that was mentioned to Oliver, he smiled and said, "She likes Drew a lot. I think you're lying about me, though. It's just the sibling rivalry thing. Sometimes she likes me and sometimes she doesn't."
There is so much about them that is just like any other brother and sister, and so much that is different. Oliver, 21, passed her developmentally by the time he reached elementary school.
"She spent her first two years in the hospital," said Suzette. "She was perfectly normal when she was born -- other than she was really early. All the interventions that kept her alive also hurt her brain, and so there was this vicious circle of getting her to breathe on her own and getting out of the hospital and then getting sick.
"Hanna was on 14 medications when she finally came home and needed respiratory treatments six times a day. We had nurses in the house. We were pretty engaged in just getting her well until she was four and a half. They say she's developmentally delayed, but she's not going to catch up. She had severe brain damage that she's never going to recover from. She has about 100 words that she knows. If you did a battery of tests, she'd come out somewhere in the toddler range. She changes a little bit, but is how she's probably going to be."
Suzette, Hanna and Henry Jaskie pose for a family portrait in the lobby at Ray Fisher Stadium
Hanna shout "Drew! Drew!" when her buddy Lugbauer comes to bat, and likes to mimic the voice of the public address announcer as every Michigan batter is introduced as well as the calls of vocal umpires.
"We knew she'd be alone someday when we pass away," said Suzette, "and so we got brave and (had Oliver) and that was obviously the smartest thing we ever did. Ollie completed our family.
"But we didn't want him to feel like he was responsible for Hanna and always playing with her or showing her things. But I'll never forget a day when he was about 12, and we were sitting around the kitchen table and Hanna was going upstairs. He said, 'Well, Mom, when is it my turn to take care of Hanna?' "
Oliver said, "Spending time with Hanna and taking care of her is definitely not a have-to. It's a get-to. I love every minute that I get to spend with her whether we are watching movies or just hanging out."
He's driven by Hanna.
"She's very meaningful motivation for his baseball career," said Bakich, "and it's fuel to him. It's made him the person that he is and the athlete that he is. He's just operating at a different level than most people in terms of why he plays the game. He's a leader who everyone looks up to on our team.
"His dad gave up this career to be this stay-at-home caretaker of his daughter. Ollie is extremely humble and his mother is extremely hard-working. The dad is extremely humble. So, he's got the work ethic from his mother and his humility from his father, and he plays for his sister.
"It's an incredible story."
It's fueled by love.
"That feeling of love is thanks to my mom and dad," Jaskie said. "They are the two most selfless people and loving people I've ever known. That's the way they raised us, and that's what keeps our family so tightly close."
The Jaskies, who've been married 29 years, met in Henry's hometown of Chicago. Suzette hired him for her family's construction-demolition-recycling business, Sacramento Crushing.
They eventually moved to Suzette's home state, Wisconsin, where she built a facility specializing in cardiology from the ground up. They had the two children, and Henry realized half of his salary was being spent on child care. They decided about 15 years ago that it was best for Henry to be with them.
"They weren't getting as good of care as they would be from us," said Suzette, "and Hanna needed more than your average bear or cub. So, it just made sense."
Suzette was recruited by a company in western Michigan and that brought them to Ada. She's since started her own consulting company and now works for Boston area-based Corindus in cardiovascular robotics, developing technology and medical training.
"We think Ollie was lucky enough to pick through us and got the better parts of both of us," said Suzette.
Henry nodded in agreement and chuckled.
The Jaskies
Oliver said, "I've been lucky enough to have two very successful parents who have given me everything I could possibly need.
"My dad taught me to value the things that I have and to rely on yourself while not getting too high on yourself. He's the perfect model of being a humble person. My mom is a great worker but so is my dad. My whole family is a great example for me to follow. And without them, I'm sure that I couldn't do anything that I'm doing right now."
Jaskie is 5-2 with a 3.65 ERA in 10 starts. He's thrown 56 2/3 innings with 75 strikeouts that equate to four strikeouts every three innings, and recently had a career-high 12 whiffs against Penn State. Opponents are batting just .221 against him.
"Our whole pitching staff made a testament this fall to mental toughness training," said Jaskie. "Everyone who gets on the mound, it doesn't matter what the situation is, they do their best to compete for their teammates and have confidence in themselves to get the job done."
The No. 17 Wolverines (31-9) lead the Big Ten with a 3.24 ERA and 131 strikeouts.
Bakich said, "Oliver is a (NSCA) Strength and Conditioning All-American who not only sets the tone on Friday (to start a series) but sets the tone in the weight room and with our conditioning work ethic."
His parents and sister have greatly impacted his approach.
What does his family mean to him?
"Just love," said Oliver. "I can rely on them to pick me up when I'm down, and always have them to keep me level-headed when I'm feeling good about myself.
"I always look for them at games, and feel a connection between me and them when I'm pitching. That's for sure."
His father said, "We're a very close family."
His mother quickly added, "We're pretty close, and baseball's a very big part of that. Getting to see your kid achieve his dreams is...Who gets to do that? We get to do that."
She said they attended 58 of Michigan's 64 games, nearly every game home and away, when Oliver was a freshman because he was a reliever that season. They never knew when he'd pitch, and he came out of the bullpen 22 times with one start.
"We love coming to the games here," said Henry. "It's been a godsend."
They've gotten close with the families of Oliver's teammates, too, while watching him thrive.
"Oliver's been such an easy child to raise and very intelligent," said Henry.
Suzette added, "He's a super-sensitive kid and a real hard worker, and I think that has a lot to do with us, but really with Hanna."
What's Oliver's favorite moment been with Hanna?
"It was after a game this year," said Oliver. "Sometimes Hanna doesn't necessarily understand what's going on on the field, but I came up to her and said, 'Hey, Hanna.' She said, 'Good job, Oliver,' and gave me a hug.
"That was a really special moment. And she loves the high-fives."
Their mother added, "She's a pretty happy, gentle and easy-going person who goes with the flow and a lot of baseball. It's taken us a long time to figure out that the only one who doesn't worry about Hanna is Hanna."
