Kipnis Shines In First Full Season With the Indians

His team may have lost 7-2 to the White Sox Tuesday, but for Cleveland Indians’ second baseman and Northbrook native Jason Kipnis, it was another step in an accomplished career.

In his first full season with the Indians, the 25-year-old grad is becoming solidly acclimated to the world of Major League Baseball.

Kipnis got off to slow start this season, with his batting average sinking to a paltry .167 on April 20, but that figure now stands at .280, aided by his hitting 8-19 in his last five games. Tuesday night, Kipnis was Cleveland’s offensive star as he went 3-for-4 including a double, a stolen base and an RBI.

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“I didn’t get out of the gates the way I wanted to, but I got settled in and saw some more pitches,” Kipnis said. “It is a game of averages, and I just had to stay positive.”

Sitting behind the Indians’ dugout Tuesday night were a couple of dozen members of his friends and family.

“It’s surreal,” said his mother, Kay, who was watching him play at U.S. Cellular Field for the first time and busting with pride. She admits on this night she was thinking about all the Little League games she took him to through the years.

After graduating from Glenbrook North in 2005, Kipnis first went to Kentucky and then transferred to Arizona State. It was in a stellar college career that his friends and family realized he had the ability to make the dream of reaching the majors a reality.

“I could tell when he went to Kentucky and then we knew there was potential for him to make it to the majors,” said Michael Wilson, who has played ball with Kipnis since they were nine. “For him to excel at the SEC is a lot different than the Central Suburban League on the North Shore.”

Obviously a player has to have athletic ability to make it to the majors, but mental toughness is required as well. Kipnis may have learned that from the tribulations of his father, Mark, the person Jason says has most influenced him.

Mark Kipnis was charged in 2005 with playing a part in corporate shenanigans at the parent company of the Chicago Sun-Times, which led to convictions and jail time for high-ranking executives. The elder Kipnis was the general counsel of the company. Early last year, he was cleared of all charges.

“It was a humbling experience,” Jason Kipnis said. “It brought my family closer together. It was out of our hands and all we could do is support and be there for him and trust the legal system to work in our favor as it did. But watching him through the experience and how honest and humble he was through the whole thing was something to see and learn from. I try to take after him as much as I can.”

With that experience behind him, Kipnis made it to the majors last year and continues to earn praise for his play.

“He has put a lot of work into the defensive end of his game,” said his manager, Manny Acta. “He has matured pretty quick. He understands this is a very humbling game and nothing is going to come easy.”

“It is a process, and we are very excited about the way he is playing.”

His roommate with the Indians, pitcher Vinnie Pestano, notices growth off the field as well.

“I’ve seen him not take the game home as much as he used to.  Especially when you come up and you struggle you take the game home with you,” Pestano said. “I think he has done a much better job of tacking it up to a rough day and going back the next day to make it neutral.”

Even though Kipnis is from Northbrook and Pestano hails from southern California, the two have become close friends and enjoy each other’s company at home. They can often be found watching TV shows ranging from American Idol to the offerings on the Food Network.

Kipnis, whose favorite local food destinations growing up included ,  and , now lives in downtown Chicago in the offseason. His Chicago-area breeding is clear when White Sox announcer Steve Stone introduces himself in the clubhouse Tuesday night.

“I grew up listening to your voice," Kipnis says, with a sense of awe.

The two talk for about half an hour.

Thus the Northbrook native is making himself a solid part of the Cleveland team that may only be one game over .500 today, but is tied with the White Sox and Detroit for tops in the division.

For Kipnis, the present goal is to continue to produce and display the talent that was apparent at Glenbrook North, and further adapt to the ways of life in the majors.

“You have to keep remembering that you are up here for a reason and you have what it takes,” he said. “You have to keep putting in the work, putting in the effort and keep making the adjustments the pitchers will make on you. You get adjusted to the speed of the game, the side life and the travel, so it is up to you to be as good as you want to be.”