Saturday, September 01, 2001

The 2001 Bucky Backers™ Trip to Indianapolis

The Bucky Backers™ headed to Indianapolis the morning of August 31 for the last home game for Bucky in the 2001 season. Dan, Nate, Ron and Aaron, all in various Bucky Backers™ t-shirts, left Illinois ready to cheer Bucky on in the land of corn. We figured we could pick up a 5th person to help with the B-U-C-K-Y sign in Indy.

We got into Indy about two hours before game time. As we were crossing the street to the park (which is a great park to watch a game - it's only about 4 years old), we ran into Paul on the median. Paul is a fellow Bucky Backer who attends the University of Illinois. Aaron had tried to contact him about the game but wasn't sucessful. Paul saw the Instant Message on his screen that morning and decided to do the roadtrip. His roommate, who is from Indianapolis, decided to join him.

We picked up the tickets that Bucky was nice enough to leave for us. Our seats were behind home plate with the rest of the players' families. It was rather fun. Signs were made, cheers discussed, and supper was consumed.

The game started and the Bucky Backers™ were their normal selves - always boarding on obnoxious but never pushing over the line. Bucky had a decent game, going one-for-four with a single. It was good to see him in action again.

After the game, we met up with Bucky outside the Players' Enterance. As usual, Bucky signed cards, balls and bats for anyone who asked. After the crowd had disapated, the group chatted with him for about 45 minutes. Bucky shared about his mother's battle with cancer. He also talked of his struggles this season. It was good to catch up with him.

When players leave tickets for people, they sign up the people and the number needed on a clipboard in the clubhouse. Bucky's teammates who signed up people after him quizzed him - "Who are these Bucky Backers™?" Bucky laughed and shared the story. The reaction? "You don't deserve a fan club!" they ribbed. Bucky responded, "You're right, I don't!"

Bucky also talked of next season. His goal? He wants to be in Milwaukee by All-Star break. We joked that that would be a shorter commute for us.

As things were winding down, Bucky handed out some hats for the guys in addition to a couple of broken bats he was able to save. He said it was the least he could do for us. Bucky signed the signs and the bat. We started to pack up and get ready for the four-hour trip home.

As the fireworks started, Bucky left with his roommate to pack up their apartment. After their last series in Louisville, Bucky was going to drive down to Huntsville for the playoffs. He had helped the Huntsville Stars win the first-half title and wanted to support his teammates there. Again, nothing short of a class act. From there, Bucky would head home for a break before heading to Venezeula.

Saturday, January 20, 2001

Bucky Backers Try to Conquer World by Will Lingo From Baseball America

February 2001 edition of Baseball America

We’ve all done it. Sitting around in a ballpark or watching television with a bunch of friends, someone gets a goofy idea and the crazy suggestions start flying.

"Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if we figured out the top 30 prospects for every organization, instead of just the top 10?"

All right, so that idea is a little too goofy. But Aaron Hayes and his friends had a pretty crazy idea themselves back in 1998 as they watched the hometown Kane County Cougars play the Beloit Snappers.

Sitting in the right-field bleachers at Elfstrom Stadium, Hayes and his friends decided they would heckle the Snappers’ right fielder, for no better reason than he was close enough to hear them.

Before they got started, though, the Snappers came to bat and the right fielder was up. The announcer called out his name on the public-address system: Bucky Jacobsen.


That’s when things got goofy. Hayes and his friends liked the name so much that they couldn’t heckle Jacobsen anymore.


"My friends and I have always contended that certain names in certain sports ensure success," he said. "And Bucky Jacobsen is a great baseball name."


It was all a joke at first. They would follow Jacobsen throughout his career. They would start a Bucky cable network and feature nothing but shows about guys named Bucky. They would start a Website so people could track Jacobsen’s career. They would call their club the Bucky Backers.


Keeping It Real


Only Hayes and his friends were different. They talked to Jacobsen after the game and he gave them a few autographed souvenirs. They traveled to Beloit to see him play, and he left them comp tickets at the box office. They saw him in Clinton, in Quad City, in Rockford, and of course when he returned to Kane County.

"That was the thing that really kind of solidified it," Hayes said. "He was very open to the idea and took it all in fun. His personality cemented the relationship."


One of the group, Stefan Kretschmann, works at STATS Inc., so he e-mailed updates on Jacobsen’s stats out every week or so. And Hayes, a high school math teacher in suburban Chicago, wanted to learn HTML, the programming language of the Web. So he actually did assemble a Website.


The Bucky Backers moved from idea to reality. What’s even more amazing is that they’re still going, though they haven’t seen Jacobsen play since that 1998 season. But they pick up members wherever Jacobsen goes, including Venezuela, where he played this winter.


"It started as a joke and developed into something more," Hayes said. "Every time we get another call or e-mail about it, we just laugh. We never thought it would turn into anything.


"It just keeps on snowballing, and I’m no longer surprised by the e-mail I get."


The Bucky Backers–whose Website is definitely worth a visit (buckybackers.8m.com)–have tried to catch Jacobsen in the last couple of years. They had a trip planned to Double-A Huntsville in 1999, for instance, but he got hurt and sent to the California League.


That provided more inspiration, though. The Bucky Backers put together a tour of every California League city and called it the In Our Dreams Tour–because they couldn’t actually go. They even made T-shirts, and you can order one from their Website.


Dream A Little Dream


You can also order a shirt for the Tour De La Liga Venezolana De Baseball Profesional, a stop at every city in the Venezuelan League for Jacobsen’s La Guaira Sharks. Again, the original Bucky Backers didn’t actually go on the tour, but the group did add new members in Venezuela.


"He’s a down-to-earth guy, and everywhere he’s gone people have latched onto him," Hayes said.
In fact, Jacobsen’s agent used members of the Bucky Backers in Venezuela when he shipped bats and gloves to Jacobsen, to make sure he got them.


Now nearly 100 people are on the Bucky Backers mailing list, along with the original core membership of 15 to 20 people. And though they’ve only watched Jacobsen from afar for the past couple of seasons, he could be coming back to the Midwest. The group expects Jacobsen to be assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis in 2001, which would put him well within driving distance.


We at Baseball America came across the Bucky Backers as we combed the Web for information about Jacobsen for our Prospect Handbook. Yes, our crazy dream of providing prospect profiles for 900 players has become reality.


And though we don’t think Jacobsen figures into the Brewers’ long-term plans, we dare not crush the dreams of the Bucky Backers. Especially Hayes, a longtime Brewers fan who would love to see Jacobsen play in Milwaukee.
For Bucky and all his fans, we’ll keep hoping he at least gets a cup of coffee. We can’t wait to see the T-shirt.


Will Lingo is the managing editor for Baseball America. You can contact him by sending e-mail to willlingo@baseballamerica.com.


If you have a tip, story idea, complaint or something else to say, send e-mail to
willlingo@baseballamerica.com.