Kremer: Slammers Pitcher Cracks Bats, Jokes

He leads the league in broken bats and bullpen hijinks.

As far as Joliet Slammers manager Mike Breyman is concerned, that’s a good thing.

He’ll go along with some good-natured fun as long as Slammers closer Justin Erasmus continues to act like a late-inning fire extinguisher. Erasmus has thrown buckets of ice water on the flames of opponent offensive uprisings since joining the team in an 11th-hour roster move coming out of spring training.

He was 1-1 with five saves and 0.90 ERA heading into Thursday night’s game at Evansville. The Slammers, at 12-17, were 6½ games behind the front-running Gateway Grizzlies in the Frontier League’s West Division.

And, yet, there are no worries, mate, at least not when it comes to a certain long-haired pitcher from Down Under.

Erasmus, the native Australian who eschewed cricket and rugby when he took up baseball at the age of 4, is keeping everyone in the Slammers dugout hopping with his comedic bent on poking fun, most of all Breyman.

Erasmus doesn’t get up to warm up in the bullpen until Breyman signals him by doing a kangaroo hop. No kidding.

“In the bullpen, if we don’t have a phone or a walkie-talkie, we generally have signs, and every pitcher has a sign to get up and warm up,” Erasmus said. “It saves the coach or somebody running down and telling us to warm up.

“We all came up with our signs and, me being the character I am, I told Mike (Breyman) I wanted him to jump up and down like a kangaroo, because obviously I’m from Australia. As soon as he jumps up and down like a kangaroo, I know that’s me. I know to get ready to come in.”

Erasmus, 23, not only has been ready, but he’s been able, too.

He has allowed only one earned run in 10 innings pitched since joining the Slammers after he was waived by Grand Prairie (Tex.) of the American Association. Prior to that, he reached the Class A level in affiliated ball pitching for the Greenville Drive of the South Atlantic League, a Red Sox farm club.

His fastball has been clocked in the low-90s. He saws off bats with a cutter that breaks in on the fists of right-handers. And his curveball has a nickname.

Snap Dragon.

“I throw the curveball quite a lot, but it has to be in a good count for me,” Erasmus said. “I do call it the ‘Snap Dragon.’ Why? I don’t know. There was one day where I was throwing my curveball, and I just thought of it as the ‘Snap Dragon’ and it’s stuck ever since. I’m a quirky character. I like to think of funny things. And I go with it.

“All the boys on the team have started to join along and call it the ‘Snap Dragon’ too, so it’s pretty cool.”

All the boys have come know Erasmus’ cutter as his “out” pitch, too, the one he has used to break 12 bats already this season and used to roll countless other grounders.

“I developed the cutter toward the end of last year,” Erasmus said. “I learned how to control it. I actually had Chuck Lofgren, who’s playing here with us and played with me in Australia as well, help me out. He throws a cutter, too. It’s my primary pitch right now.”

Erasmus is a pitcher and a funny man. He knows how to walk that fine line between business and pleasure.

“At the end of the day, baseball is a game,” he said. “I love having fun. I love the sport to death. I’ve been playing for a long, long time—since I was 4 years old. I learned along the way—when I was with the Boston Red Sox and even back in Australia—to have fun.

“But, as soon as that time comes where the ball is in my hand, it’s 100 percent business, turn straight on—focus—no more mucking around. It’s serious. I’m actually really over-analytical on myself.”

His friends and teammates call him ‘Aussie’ because he is from Upper Coomera, a suburb on the Gold Coast of Queensland. Breyman counts on him to keep the Slammers loose and upbeat, no matter the situation. He knows almost every successful team has one or two different birds hanging out there on their own perch.

“He knows how to separate it—when he’s on the mound, there’s no messing around,” Breyman said. “He’s out there, and it’s all business when he crosses the lines. That’s what you need. He’s definitely got that closer’s mentality.

“He’s going to go out there and challenge you to hit his best stuff. He has absolutely no fear. He’s going to say, ‘Here is it. Hit if—if you can.’ ”

The folks back in Erasmus’ homeland don’t always understand that approach, let alone the intricate strategies involved in baseball. He said many sports fans in Australia are dialed into cricket or rugby.

“Once you’re in the sport, it’s big,” Erasmus said. “But, other than that, we’re starting to grow it up with the ABL, which has only been going for three years. Hopefully it gets bigger and better.

“We’re actually hosting the opening of the 2014 MLB season in Australia—Dodgers and Diamondbacks. I hope that boosts the game a little bit.”

I have another idea: Ask Breyman to hop up and down like a kangaroo and summon Erasmus from the bullpen. That will get their attention.