Howard senior Jimmy Cain was recently in Ohio for his older brother Patrick's Senior Day with Ohio Wesleyan when his cell phone was inundated with a flurry of texts. His teammates were notifying him that Reservoir's nine-inning, 2-1 victory over Mt. Hebron had pulled their Lions back into a three-way tie for first place in Howard County.
During the 6 1/2-hour ride home, all Cain could think about was getting back on the diamond. He took a break during the journey to talk about this season, last year's breakout all-county campaign, and the team's elaborate dugout handshakes for celebrating accomplishments.
You opened eyes right away with the win over Reservoir on Opening Day, the defending state champion. How has this season been different?
We've got a lot of energy and it's a lot of fun being with this group of guys … the junior class and the couple of sophomores we have this year have brought a lot of energy to the team and they have a lot of passion to play. The Reservoir game was huge and it boosted our energy for the rest of the year because we knew we could beat anybody we face, we've just got to play well.
What's the deal with the handshakes?
That's definitely unique to this year's team. Last year it was tough to get the guys up on the steps and chatter with the other teams, try to get in their heads. This year it's a lot easier. (Juniors) Casey (Crawford) and Zach (Phillips) bring a lot of energy to it. They're pretty silly guys and it helps keep us all alive on the bench.
It looks like the last couple of weeks are going to be really exciting. What's it like being right in the thick of that for the first time?
It's really exciting because this is the first time we're competing for a county championship, and if we're playing well there's no reason why we can't win it. We've just got to have Hebron lose another game and then beat Reservoir (on April 24) to seal it up.
Last year you earned first-team all county honors as a junior. Was that a surprise?
I felt like I played well last year, but I didn't know whether I'd be getting that honor or not. That was definitely what I was shooting for because I had two brothers (Patrick and Aidan, a sophomore at DePauw) at the school before me. It was really humbling to be the first of my brothers to be named that.
What's it like playing so many different positions?
This past summer I actually played every position but catcher. I just go out and tell my coach to play me wherever he needs me and I'll do what I can ... I have been at short, second and third (this season), and it's interesting because of the different throws. I'll go wherever, and my coach knows that. I'm proud that he has confidence to put me anywhere in the infield.
Did you play other sports growing up?
Growing up I played basketball, football and baseball ... I feel like I've gotten faster during the years and I think basketball has helped with that because it's a lot of explosive movement. I played EYO basketball and tried out for Howard basketball my freshman year. I didn't make it, but I kept playing EYO because I just wanted to have fun, except for this year. I'm going to college next year and I didn't want to risk injuring anything ... Baseball has been my passion ever since I was little. I started when I was three and I've loved it ever since. I'd pick up anything I could see and swing it. I'd be at (my brothers') games asking people to have a catch or play pepper. When we would go to the park I would find a stick and start to pick up rocks and hit them and have my dad soft toss them to me. I'd do that the whole walk sometimes stopping just to hit a bunch of them. My dad always tells me a story of when I was about 4 or 5 and my uncle went on a walk with us. After the walk he said to my dad that he didn't once see me pick up a rock and miss, no matter how big or small the rock.
Tell me a little about your parents.
My mom is a research nurse at Johns Hopkins and my dad is a software engineer ... They both grew up in Philadelphia. My dad played baseball, and my mom played field hockey. My dad is the best baseball mind I know. I don't think we've ever gone a day without talking about baseball, whether its been Howard baseball or the Phillies.
Do you have any Major League Baseball role models?
My favorite player growing up was Jim Thome. I like to watch every guy in the majors, especially guys like (Mike) Trout and (Miguel) Cabrera, and pitchers like (Clayton) Kershaw and (Madison) Bumgarner, just to see what they do and how they take advantage of the game.
Do you have your college picked out yet and what do you plan to study?
Next year I'll be going to pitch at Millersville University in Lancaster, Pennsylvania ... I know I want to go into coaching right after college and then after a few seasons go into whatever career path I choose.
Is professional baseball a dream for you?
Oh yeah, ever since I was little that was definitely what I've been trying to do. If it doesn't pan out that's all right, and if it does, that's really awesome. I know that I'd love to get drafted. Whether I make it to the bigs or not, that would be a really cool experience ... My dad always says that he wants to see me pitch against (Reservoir ace) Cody Morris in a Major League game. That would be pretty awesome because I actually used to play against Cody when we he was on Savage and I was on the Elkridge Hurricanes.
Do you have any interesting rituals?
This year whenever I'm pitching I try to stay as quiet as possible, which is tough because I go out to warm up and then I come back in and everybody is giving fist bumps and telling me to do a good job, so I try to visualize throwing a lot of strikes. That helps me get in the zone ... The first couple of pitches I always have a little knot in my stomach and then once I start throwing I snap out of it and then I'm good ... When I'm just going to be hitting that day I can be a little more silly than I am before a start on the mound.
Do you prefer Jimmy or James?
The guys on the bench call me pretty much anything ... Catcher Eric (Greenbaum) was sitting behind the plate and he said "Come on, pound the zone here," and when he said "Let's go Jimmy-changa!" I had to step off the mound because it made me start laughing.
Anything else you'd like to add?
Let the fiesta begin!