The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues
Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues

Baseball: Duke’s competitiveness drives him in final season

Baseball: Dukes competitiveness drives him in final season

baseball.jpg

Every team needs one player who is going to bring the experience needed to win games in tough situations, and demonstrate the leadership necessary to teach the underclassmen.

That player for the Utah baseball team? Brock Duke.

A sixth year senior, Duke has been around the program for quite some time now after going under the knife and missing two seasons.

Tommy John surgery is a surgery some pitchers go through in order to repair the ulnar collateral ligament. The recovery time can be long, and it forced Duke to miss more than one season. He played just three games in 2013 before getting injured.

“The year that I tore it was very hard,” he said. “I had been throwing well and the team was playing well and then I got hurt so it was like ‘oh you’re done.’ That year was difficult. The next year, I went into it knowing I was going to be sitting out.”

Duke said that he wasn’t mentally prepared to come back to playing baseball, so missing the second season didn’t hurt as much mentally as missing the first one. However, he was ready to come back at the end of last season.

Duke said his biggest lesson was to manage his time and learn what he needs to do to be ready for practice and games. He said that getting back into the grind of a season wasn’t the hardest part of his recovery.

“Going to practice and lifting, that was okay, that came back pretty good,” Duke said. “The thing that’s been the hardest after surgery was getting that — I mean, I hadn’t competed in a game in almost two years — to get that mental edge that you need back was the hardest part.”

Duke’s leadership and experience make him a special part of the pitching staff as well as the entire team.

Head coach Bill Kinneberg, who has known Duke longer than most of the players he’s ever coached, said that his experience brings another element to the table.

“Well, experience number one and that’s the bottom line,” he said. “He controls the strike zone pretty well, and has the ability to throw pitches for strikes … He’s been in a lot of situations and he’s seen a lot of things and nothing seems to rattle him too much.”

Fellow senior Biss Larsen said that Duke’s competitiveness is big for the team because he can “flip that switch” and get into another gear while playing.

Kinneberg said that when they recruited Duke, landing his signature was huge for their team.

“He was a big recruit for us seven years ago,” he said. “That was a big get for us. He’s had a really good career for us even though he’s been hurt and missed two years … Brock is a baseball guy. He’s always been that guy growing up.”

Before coming to the U, Duke was the dominant figure in high school baseball in the state of Utah. Larsen said that he expected Duke to be arrogant when he first met him, but that wasn’t the case.

“When you get to know him and he’s just extremely intelligent with the game,” Larsen said. “Extremely humble. Confident but not in an ignorant way. I think that is what makes him such a good player and has for so long. He really is probably the smartest guy on the team in a baseball sense.”

Some pitchers have the tendency to look and play timid on the mound when facing the high-caliber opponents in the Pac-12 conference, but not Duke.

Duke was very successful in high school. He was a part of the Team USA under-16 national team, and was the only U16 pitcher to beat the Cuban National Team. A Spanish Fork graduate, Duke was the 2009 5A MVP and 5A Tournament MVP. He had a 1.98 ERA with an 8-1 record that year.

Even though Duke is a leader on the team, that doesn’t stop the team from poking fun at him about how long he has been here at the U, with some members calling the senior “grandpa.”

“It’s usually just kind, joking around,” Larsen said. “Now, he’s actually going to be a dad so now he probably gets it more than me.”

Duke, who has been married since high school, is expecting a baby girl soon. He and his wife will name her Adida.

With plenty to play for, Duke said he wants everyone on the team to know that he is a player who wants to be remembered as the guy who did what was asked of him, and that he was always ready to go when his number was called.

“I’m just trying to help our team win ball games any way I can,” Duke said. “Whether I’m coming out of the bullpen trying to close games. I’m just doing my best going out there and doing what the coaches ask of me.”

This year has had its fair share of ups and downs for Duke. He is tied with sophomore Hunter Rodriguez in saves with two, and has a 5.40 ERA with 24 total strikeouts.

“He’s been a great student, a great teammate and a great husband,” Kinneberg said. “He’s a pretty outstanding kid.”

[email protected]

@ISmithAtTheU

Leave a Comment

Comments (0)

The Daily Utah Chronicle welcomes comments from our community. However, the Daily Utah Chronicle reserves the right to accept or deny user comments. A comment may be denied or removed if any of its content meets one or more of the following criteria: obscenity, profanity, racism, sexism, or hateful content; threats or encouragement of violent or illegal behavior; excessively long, off-topic or repetitive content; the use of threatening language or personal attacks against Chronicle members; posts violating copyright or trademark law; and advertisement or promotion of products, services, entities or individuals. Users who habitually post comments that must be removed may be blocked from commenting. In the case of duplicate or near-identical comments by the same user, only the first submission will be accepted. This includes comments posted across multiple articles. You can read more about our comment policy at https://dailyutahchronicle.com/comment-faqs/.
All The Daily Utah Chronicle Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *