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.