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  • Mankato MoonDogs second baseman Nick Ratajczak leads the Northwoods League with 17 double plays turned, four more than any other infielder. Pat Christman

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June 27, 2012

MoonDogs' Ratajczak knows how to turn a double play

Second baseman leads NWL in double plays turned

By Chad Courrier Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO — Mankato MoonDogs manager Mike Orchard said that Kyle Ratajczak is a good baseball player because he cares about every aspect of the game, from hitting to base running to fielding.

But ask Ratajczak what he likes most about baseball, and he cracks a big smile.

“I love turning double plays,” Ratajczak said. “I’d rather turn a double play than hit a home run. That’s my opinion.”

Heading into Tuesday’s game at Willmar, the MoonDogs have used a league-high 30 double plays to escape a few jams and stop rallies. In the middle of 17 of those is Ratajczak, a second baseman from Louisville.

Orchard said earlier this season that Ratajczak turns the double play as well as anyone he’s seen in the Northwoods League. He’s made only three errors in 89 chances on the tricky Franklin Rogers infield.

“He can make the transfer from glove to (throwing hand) really quickly, and he has a quick release on his throw,” Orchard said. “Maybe his arm wouldn’t grade out as well some others, but he makes up for that with a quick release. When he gets the ball in his hands, I know we’ve got the double play.”

Ratajczak, who is also hitting .355, said he’s been working on double-play fundamentals since high school. He watches the grounder and heads toward second base. He adjusts to the throw, deciding if he should comes across the bag before throwing to first or plant his right foot at the bag and throw, hopping over the sliding opponent.

“I work on it every day,” he said. “I don’t even think about footwork anymore. It’s all about the timing, the flips and making the right adjustment.”

Ratajczak said he got taken out pretty hard by an illegal slide during the recent Big East Conference tournament, but much like a closer who got lit up one night, he’s had to have a short memory, unafraid to make the catch and throw as the baserunner barrels toward him.

“That’s baseball,” he said. “I just need to time my hop.”

Ratajczak said there has been no trouble in working with shortstops Chris Munoz and Drew Stankiewicz, despite having known them for only a couple of weeks. For whatever reason, the double-play chemistry has clicked as smoothly as longtime teammates.

“You get to know each other one day, and a week later, you’re best friends,” he said.

There was a game last week when the MoonDogs faced a bases-loaded situation with one out in both the first and second innings, but a grounder to one of the infielders started a rally-killing double play. The team came to the dugout as excited as if one of them had just hit a home run, and the MoonDogs went on to gain a tight victory.

“It changes the whole game,” Ratajczak said. “It lets the pitchers know that they can throw ground balls and trust us to make the plays.”

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