Brad Jaeger wore a proud smile Thursday night. The 5’11” righthander toed the rubber at Nashville’s Greer Stadium and fired the ceremonial first pitch before the Nashville Sounds Triple-A baseball game against the Memphis Redbirds. It was a bit outside, but it didn’t bounce.
“It was a great experience having the support of Nashville, ” said Jaeger, a Cincinnati native who relocated to Nashville to attend Vanderbilt University, where he graduated in May with a degree in mechanical engineering. “Being able to hear the pa guy call me out as a Vanderbilt graduate, it was really special. ”
Jaeger acknowledged having some nerves prior to the pitch, but he relied on his days in Little League Baseball to help him.
“It was definitely nerve-racking walking out there, ” he said. “I was more nervous than I am at the start of a race. At the start of the races, I know what to expect. It’s what I do every weekend, but this was definitely a new experience.
“I used to be really intense into baseball probably when I was in the third grade or so. I got started in T-ball. I was a catcher and definitely looked up to Johnny Bench as a Cincinnati Reds player. I probably wanted to pursue that for a good four or five years of my childhood, but my seventh grade year was the last year I played. Then I got pretty intense into go-karts, so I focused my time on that as I got into high school. So, baseball kind of fell behind, and I didn’t really keep up with it much. ”
Jaeger, a rookie in the Indy Pro Series with one top-10 finish so far this season, had his own small cheering section in the stands for the first pitch – a half-dozen he brought along and a handful of friends from Vanderbilt that he ran into outside the ballpark right before the game.
He should enjoy similar attention in the next three races. Nashville, Mid-Ohio and Kentucky Speedway are all “hometown” races for Jaeger.
“It’s definitely going to be an enjoyable experience, ” Jaeger said. “Ever since I started racing go karts back when I was 14, I’ve always had friends that have been asking, ‘Hey, let me know when you’re going to be racing close by, I want to come see you race. ’
“Unfortunately, until now, they’ve always been far away. Mid Ohio, I’ve raced there before, but it’s still a two and a half hour drive from Cincinnati. Being able to race in Kentucky is going to be so much fun. I’ve had so many friends and family that are planning to come down. So just having that extra support may be what I need. ”
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