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Chicago Tribune
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Lake Forest High School graduate makes debut in 'the majors' with the Milwaukee Brewers
On a chilly April night, Regis Durbin Sr. is sitting in the Rate Field stands watching his son, Caleb, continuing to realize his childhood goal of playing baseball at the highest level. 'He always had a passion for the game, he always enjoyed playing,' the elder Durbin recalled. 'He always said he would like to play professional baseball. He always had that dream.' That dream came true on April 18, when Caleb Durbin, a 2018 Lake Forest High School graduate, got the call from the Milwaukee Brewers saying he was being brought up to the major leagues. Since then, Durbin, 25, has been a fixture in their lineup for the past two weeks. 'I think we have a really good team,' he said before an April 30 game against the White Sox, the team he rooted for as a child. 'It's been a lot of fun to be in the trenches with these guys and go to work every day up here.' The Durbins lived in both Lake Forest and Lake Bluff as Caleb, Regis, Jr. and their sister, Reanna, were growing up. It was a childhood filled with many traditional components for local children, with after-school treks to the Left Bank Restaurant for a hot dog followed by a short walk over to Sweet's for ice cream. Regis Sr. and Diane recall Caleb playing board games, chess and cards along with having an interest in art. But sports, particularly baseball, was his passion. Durbin channeled that love during games with friends with his talent so overwhelming that buddies made him hit left-handed in the pickup Wiffle Ball games, as he was too dominant from his natural right side. When Durbin reached Lake Forest High School, baseball coach Ray Del Fava loved his speed and natural instincts for the game. 'He just had the intangibles and as he grew and got stronger, he was able to add power to his tool belt,' Del Fava said. Durbin was a three-year starter for the LFHS varsity squad. He hit .500 in his junior year, followed by .424 in his senior year despite a 0-17 start that season. His stellar career there established a number of school offensive records and included two Most Valuable Player awards among many honors. His athletic ability was not limited to the baseball diamond. Like his father and brother, Durbin wrestled and was a cornerback for the LFHS football team, becoming a letter winner in those other sports as well. 'I always like kids who played multiple sports,' Del Fava said. 'Those were the kids who know how to compete and thrive in games.' But baseball was Durbin's favorite sport. Yet, despite his impressive LFHS statistics, Durbin did not catch the attention of baseball scouts. Del Fava thought they were scared due to his 5'7' frame. 'You can measure height, but you can't measure heart,' Del Fava said. 'That's what Caleb had. He played with a chip on his shoulder because of that and he used that as motivation.' Thus, after high school graduation, Durbin enrolled at Washington University in St. Louis. Playing at the Division III level, Durbin's game continued to excel. He once again earned accolades, with major league organizations starting to notice what he could do on the field. While earning a degree in economics, Durbin was selected in the 14th round (the 427th player overall) in the 2021 draft by the Atlanta Braves. That started a nomadic journey with stops all over minor league baseball and the Arizona Fall League. There were many long bus rides and playing in very small ballparks. 'It's a grind but you keep it all in perspective and realize how lucky you are that you are doing what you are doing,' Durbin said. 'It makes it easier getting through those tough times.' He was part of a 2022 trade from Atlanta to the New York Yankees. Last December, he was dealt again, this time to the Brewers. His mother saw that as a 'gift from God,' given the approximate 60 miles between Lake Bluff and Milwaukee. Earlier this year, Durbin battled for a major league roster spot in spring training, but did not go north with the Brewers. However, his minor league assignment this time was brief because three weeks into the regular season, Durbin received the word notifying him he was now a big leaguer. 'I was excited for the opportunity and wanted to make the most of it,' he said. His father was not surprised when Caleb let him know about the promotion. 'It's been a consistent path where he has improved each year,' Regis Durbin said. 'He got better at each level. So the expectation was pretty high, and (he continued) to work diligently so when he actually got called up, it wasn't unexpected. For me, it was part of the process.' Durbin has the distinction of being the only Division III college position player now active in the majors, according to a Major League Baseball spokesman. In his major league debut, he went 2-4 and scored a run with many of his family and friends at Milwaukee's American Family Field, including his LFHS wrestling coaches Matt Fiordirosa and Nick Kramer. Durbin conceded there were some butterflies in his stomach that first night. 'I wasn't as nervous for the baseball as I was for everything around it,' he recalled. 'There were so many people there supporting me and I wanted to do well for them.' The entourage making the trip north included Trevor Allen, a friend since kindergarten. 'It was awesome,' Allen said. 'It was just so cool to see your buddy play in a major league baseball game.' Durbin's first three games were at home, then the Brewers went on a three-city road trip, initially stopping in San Francisco. On April 21, he belted his first major league homer, a two-run blast off 2021 Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray. 'Definitely looking back at it, you realize how special it is to hit your first home run in the big leagues,' he said. Then it was back east to St. Louis for a series against the Cardinals and then on to Chicago for three games against the White Sox. Ahead of that set, his mom dropped off some of her family-recipe chicken cutlets and pasta to Caleb (a lover of Italian food) at the Chicago hotel where the Brewers were staying. At Rate Field, with lots of family and friends sitting behind the Brewers' dugout, Durbin played a big role in the first two games with a two-run single in the 6th inning of a 7-2 victory for the Brewers on April 29. The next night, he went 1-3 with an RBI sacrifice fly in the 8th inning, which gave the Brewers an insurance run as they went on to win, 6-4. Of course, baseball is a game of ups and downs as Durbin went 0-3 in the May 1 series finale, and he was picked off first base in the April 30 game. 'You are always acknowledging it and figuring out why it happened,' he said of the baserunning gaffe. 'Then you make sure it never happens again.' Through May 1, he is hitting .244 with the one homer and eight RBIs. Despite only playing 13 games through May 1, Durbin has already been hit by a pitch four times, placing him as one of the National League leaders in that category. He fractured his wrist last year, causing him to miss several weeks of the season, and said he is going to have extra padding on it to prevent that from happening again. 'I've always had a knack for getting hit,' Durbin said. 'Guys like going inside on me and I really don't get out of the way as I'm trying to stay in there and battle, especially with two strikes.' As Durbin settles into this new chapter of his life, his manager, Pat Murphy, is calling him 'Happy'. Why? 'He makes me happy, thus the nickname,' Murphy quipped. Murphy then elaborated on what he had seen so far from his rookie third baseman. 'He has great energy, (he's) a gamer,' he said. 'He creates his own standards and he has very high standards for himself.' Durbin is now trying to get used to playing against fellow major leaguers with his teammate Rhys Hoskins noting it can take years to get adjusted. 'But that type of mentality helps you in the long run,' said Hoskins, who has played in the majors since 2017. 'You never want to feel too comfortable in this game because the game will come up and find a way to bite you. This game is about adjustments as well so as soon as you start to get comfortable, the league is making an adjustment on you. It's up to you to make that adjustment back.' With Durbin getting used to big-league life, he does so with the advantage of his family being a relatively short trip down I-94. 'Now, on off days I can spend them at home,' he said. 'That has never been a thing before. It's definitely convenient.' With the Brewers set to host the Cubs this weekend, Durbin is getting used to the bigger stadiums, bigger crowds and all the other elements of Major League Baseball. He is having a good time, but realizing there are many other chapters to write. 'I'm a big leaguer myself now and I am learning every day,' he said. 'It is really a matter of having fun and the rest will take care of itself.'
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
MLB players, teams and themes that will tell the story of the 2025 fantasy baseball season
Opening Day is finally here. Let's examine some players, themes and teams that will define the fantasy baseball season. How seriously will the Dodgers take the regular season? The Dodgers are the most automatic playoff team there is. They've won 11 N.L. West titles in 12 years, and haven't missed the playoffs since 2012. Last year they only allowed two pitchers to get past 90 innings, with an eye towards a healthy October. How much will Shohei Ohtani pitch? Will he even pitch at all? Is this the year Dave Roberts pulls back on heavy workloads for his daily lineup guys? How soon will Mookie Betts be feeling right again? Advertisement [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for the 2025 MLB season] Los Angeles is the most fun and watchable team in baseball. It's a traveling circus. But it's also going to be a source of constant fantasy worry. Can Paul Skenes handle a heavy six-month workload? Skenes was a video game for his 2024 debut — 1.96 ERA, 0.947 WHIP, 170 strikeouts in 133 innings. Those are backyard Wiffle Ball stats. Will the Pirates let Skenes cut loose for six months if the team is not in the playoff hunt? Another Pittsburgh player I'm curious about is Oneil Cruz. His batted-ball page is a delight. He was 15-for-15 on steals in the second half. He steps into his age-26 season when career years often pop. He's worth the daily price of admission. Can the reinvented Jacob deGrom stay on the mound? How I weep for the memory of deGrom on the Mets, the most dominant pitcher we've seen in at least 20 years. Black ink all over his baseball reference page. How can we ever unsee what he did in 15 starts back in 2021 — 1.08 ERA, 0.554 WHIP. All those stats read like misprints. Advertisement Of course, he's also had two Tommy John surgeries. He's entering an age-37 season. DeGrom hopes he can dial back his velocity a bit and still be effective — while taking fewer chances with his health. I throw my coin in the fountain and make a wish. I want to believe. Do the Yankees have enough around Aaron Judge? I'm a believer in Austin Wells, but even I can admit he's an unorthodox leadoff man. Cody Bellinger is another player I want to draft, though his recent career form jumps around like some crazy stock chart. Anthony Volpe is an angelic fielder, but he's yet to provide offense metrics over the league average. If the Yankees are going to return to the playoffs, Judge needs a few running mates. Can Clay Holmes reinvent himself as a starter? We've seen this shift click in recent years — look at what Michael King has become in San Diego. Holmes has multiple plus pitches and landed in the Opening Day slot for the Mets. I always love an RP-eligible pitcher to make the rotation, especially in head-to-head leagues where they add extra value. Advertisement If Holmes stays in the rotation for a full year, the wins could flow easily. New York's lineup looks like a blast, 1 through 9. Will a new park make the Athletics a true fantasy party? Brent Rooker is coming off a monster year and Lawrence Butler was the OF5 in the second half of 2024. Those boons came despite the horrible batting backdrop in Oakland. It's not easy to project how the Sacramento park will play, but it can't be any worse than the previous home stadium. I could see the plucky Athletics being this year's version of the Tigers. Can Kyle Tucker beat Wrigley Field? Houston's park was a dream for left-handed power. Wrigley Field is a horrible place for a lefty slugger to hit. Tucker is a true five-category player so maybe he can overcome any environment, but this wasn't my favorite landing spot for him. He's also a year removed from free agency, adding more intrigue to his age-28 season. Is Rafael Devers mentally and physically ready for the season? I think the Red Sox are the plausible A.L. East favorite as the season opens. The Garrett Crochet trade looks like a steal and they smartly added Alex Bregman to a creative contract. But Boston needs Devers to be healthy and happy — his shoulders are an issue, and he's been shifted to DH, a move he passionately opposed. A healthy and engaged Devers has MVP upside. But this could also be an emotional drag on the season. How healthy is the Atlanta roster? Back in 2023, the Braves were almost too good to be true. Perfect lineup. Cy Young Award winner. But it quickly fell apart in 2024, when injuries ravaged the lineup and Spencer Strider didn't make it out of April. Ronald Acuña Jr. says he wants to run less this year, and I've faded him at the draft table. But most of the lineup felt reasonably priced to me this spring. Spencer Schwellenbach looks ready to take off. Some other players and themes I can't wait to track this year: Hunter Brown, all the Seattle starters, Corbin Carroll, Jackson Merrill, Bryce Harper, Wyatt Langford, Byron Buxton (could we please get 130 games?), Hunter Greene, George Kirby, the defense of Pete Crow-Armstrong, the running of Xavier Edwards, the comeback of Robbie Ray, Terry Francona helming the Reds, the top three prospects in the Boston organization.
