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Unlike his first two summers playing with the Prospect League’s Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp, there have been different goals on the mind of 2019 Ottawa High School graduate Jared Herzog this summer.
“I want to say [Pistol Shrimp manager] John [Jakiemiec] got a hold of me right around winter break last year and asked if I was planning on coming back this summer,” Herzog said.
“I had Tommy John surgery the end of last summer after tearing my [ulnar collateral ligament], so I only had a couple of innings or two outings at Rockford [University] this spring. So this summer has been big for me as far as getting back in the groove and getting everything back working for me, all three pitches, mechanics and strength. This has been, in all intents and purposes, my spring season. I’m grateful for having the opportunity to come back one more season with the Pistol Shrimp.”
Herzog was a Times All-Area first-team selection his senior year with the Pirates and put together a fine four-year career with the Division III Regents. In his time at Rockford, the left-handed Herzog pitched in 33 games, including 25 starts, striking out 203 batters in 153 innings with a 3.89 ERA.
Through Tuesday this summer for the Pistol Shrimp, Herzog had started five of the 10 games he has pitched in, going 4-0 with a sparkling 2.20 ERA. In 28⅔ innings he has allowed only 14 hits, 16 walks, a .144 batting average against and struck out 48.
Herzog said he will have a new home this coming school year and hopes it can help him reach his ultimate goal.
“This summer I entered the [NCAA] transfer portal, and this coming fall I’ll be heading to Tennessee Tech [in Cookeville, Tennessee],” Herzog said. “It will be a taste of Division I baseball in the Ohio Valley Conference. I was given a one-year certificate, which acts as a master’s degree, and that in public safety. My plan is to get drafted and play baseball as long as I can as a pitcher, but if that doesn’t work out, my plan is to become a police officer.”
Like any up-and-coming baseball player, Herzog had a major league player he liked to follow and tried to emulate.
“Mark Buehrle was my guy growing up,” Herzog said. “He was a lefty, not necessarily a hard thrower, had a fastball and changeup mix with a curve thrown in there every once and a while. Kind of like me, so I guess that’s why I enjoyed watching him do his thing.”
The playoff-bound Pistol Shrimp have produced many exciting moments over this summer, including a number of come-from-behind victories, which are Herzog’s top memories.
“I feel like we’ve had a lot of walk-off wins this season, and those are a lot of fun,” Herzog said. “There is just something about having your back against the wall, so to speak, going into that final inning down and then finding ways to grab the win. I seem to remember last summer being on the other side of four or five walk-offs against us, but it just seems like this year it’s been our turn.
“There is nothing much better than running on the field after a walk-off and throwing water on or pushing the guy around who came through. It’s just one of the reasons baseball is such a great game.”