Meet St. Laurence’s new Ben Geary.
He’s not the same as the Vikings’ old Ben Geary.
The senior shortstop has put on 25 pounds of muscle since September, and those who haven’t seen him in a while might be tempted to do a double take.
“You can see that he has gotten more physical and bigger,” St. Laurence coach Pete Lotus said. “He was pretty skinny. Rail thin. This is a significant difference.”
A significant game every high school baseball season is the battle of Burbank, and host St. Laurence and Reavis fought the elements Wednesday afternoon trying to get in this one.
The Vikings held a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning with Geary at the plate when the game was called off due to rain, hail, lightning and then tornado warning sirens going off.
Lotus said the two teams will try to finish the game in the future.
For Geary, this spring should be a revelation. The South Suburban College recruit was looking to put on a little more muscle and went from 165 pounds in September to 190 for this season.
“I hit the gym really hard,” Geary said. “We have a good weight program here. Coach Brad Leshinske helped me out individually with eating programs, and that was a big-time help.”
Geary’s mother, Kathleen, had a hand in helping him boost his weight.
“I would eat everything I could find,” Geary said. “My mom did a good job always putting food on the plate, and I would always be asking for more. I like steak and rice and burgers, too.”
The Alsip resident looks different at the plate, too.
“I was a scrappy hitter last year,” Geary said. “I was laying down a bunch of bunts. I hit mostly singles — a couple of doubles. No homers.”
That could change this spring.
“He’s definitely going to add more power to the lineup,” Lotus said of Geary. “The first couple of weeks in practice he was really hitting the ball well and is more of a gap-to-gap hitter.
“Last year, there were flashes of some power, but it’s just more consistent now with the strength he gained.”
Putting on big-time weight can potentially hurt a player’s defense and baserunning abilities, but Lotus isn’t concerned.
“In my eyes, he hasn’t lost any speed,” Lotus said of Geary. “You obviously worry if a guy gets that much bigger — does it hurt him a little speed-wise? But he’s maintained his speed and it hasn’t hampered him in any way.”
Geary also got help from his father, James, and his older brother, Luke. They helped him develop as a player early in his career. Luke pitched for St. Laurence and played in college at Loras.
“Luke always had that natural competitiveness in everything he did,” Ben said. “He pushed me to be a better person. We always grew up wanting to beat each other and to be the best.”
The two brothers were especially competitive when they met head-to-head on the basketball court.
“It definitely got nasty,” Ben said. “From time to time, there would be some brawls. But now, he’s one of my biggest fans. He’s always asking how things are going, and I’m appreciative of him.”
Ben added his family taught him more than just baseball.
“They taught me to be a good person and do the right thing,” he said. “They told me to always push yourself to overachieve in everything you do.”
In that way, Geary is glad he will have a chance to play baseball after high school.
“I love the fact baseball is not as fast-paced as other sports,” he said. “I know it might seem boring to some people.
“But the fact that you can take time and think about your approach, you can focus on being perfect pretty much.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
