By Chris Faulkner
for the Beacon
Cauy Massner grew up watching the Burlington Bees, back when they were a Minor League Baseball team in the Midwest League. Massner, a 2019 Mediapolis High School graduate, even had a couple of birthday parties at Community Field.
“I threw out the first pitch a couple of times,” said Massner before warming up to pitch for this new iteration of the Burlington Bees at Community Field.
The Bees lost MiLB status in 2020 and joined the Prospect League for the 2021 season. This brand of baseball is for college players or graduate students only, and Massner is a student at Iowa Wesleyan University in Mount Pleasant.
Massner went to Central College in Pella as a freshman, but three games into the spring 2020 season, COVID-19 shut down college and high school sports across the country. He transferred to IWU, and because of the lost season due to COVID-19, he’s taking an extra year of eligibility.
Massner will start his senior year academically this fall but can still pitch in the spring 2024 season for the Tigers. But, this summer, a local Prospect League team has been a blessing for area athletes, such as Massner, who might not have been drafted or signed by Major League Baseball to play in the minor leagues.
“Everybody here has been recruited to play,” Massner said.
Jack Gray, Burlington Notre Dame graduate, and former Bees player is the pitching coach for the Bees and saw Massner as a good fit.
“It’s kinda cool to actually be able to play for real, to put on the uniform,” Massner said.
Although the league consists of college players, there’s a wide range of skill levels.
“There are kids from every level: DIII, DII, Juco, Division I. It’s a lot of fun,” Massner said. “I’m playing with and against some really good kids.”
Making it to the minor leagues is the next goal and, ultimately, the big leagues.
“It’s a process,” Massner said. “This is a good first step.”
This summer, he’s spending his college break “working on some things, getting ready for next spring,” he said.
Massner pitched July 11 against the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes. Although he took the loss in the 5-1 game, he went a full seven innings and scattered eight hits. That dropped him to 0-2 on the season.
Massner was a multi-sport athlete at Mediapolis, participating in baseball, football, wrestling, and track. So, why did baseball win out?
“It’s always the sport I loved from a young age,” Massner said. “It always stayed that way, and I stuck with it. It’s got me to where I am now.”
Has there been one coach from whom he’s learned a lot?
“It’s a collective pool,” Massner said. “Everybody I’ve met along the way has given me some sort of knowledge. The game of baseball is a super in-depth sport. You can make it super simple, but there’s also a lot of detail that goes into the stuff, to prepare and obviously play the game.”
Baseball has become more complex ever since noted baseball writer Bill James came out with his baseball abstract over 40 years ago, making analytics more and more common in the sport.
“It’s super interesting to learn about,” Massner said. “There’s definitely a place for it in baseball, and it helps you.”
But, Massner said, “Numbers aren’t everything. There’s a little bit of the old school and new school coming together.”
One of the biggest changes by those following the analytical side of the game is the “shift,” in which defenders move all over the diamond, depending on the hitter’s tendencies. It irks many traditionalists.
So, what does Massner think?
“I’m pro shift,” he said. “I think there’s a place for it.”