Indiana University Athletics
DiPrimio: A 'Fine Man' Finds His Way to Bloomington
4/17/2018 8:02:00 PM | Baseball
By: Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Fireworks were coming to Bart Kaufman Field.
That had been planned for this Indiana baseball game aftermath.
The Hoosiers wanted to enjoy them.
That had to be earned.
It was, of course, thanks to last Friday's doubleheader sweep of Northwestern, and a big reason was Ryan Fineman, who continues to show why he might be the Big Ten's best catcher.
The junior belted a home run, drove in three runs, threw out multiple Wildcats trying for stolen bases and, in short, dominated as you'd hope a guy on the Johnny Bench Award Watch List for the third straight season would.
That leads to the obvious question -- why is a California guy a Hoosier?
"For the warm weather," he says with a smile, a joking reference to the unseasonably cold spring.
And then he elaborates.
"I got recruited here. I love the coaches and the facilities. The guys here are awesome dudes. It's the best place I've ever been to."
There's a bigger backstory, he wanted a college baseball atmosphere rarely found in California. He targeted Purdue, Notre Dame and IU before picking the Hoosiers.
Coach Chris Lemonis is glad he did.
"We had just taken the (IU) job and needed a catcher," Lemonis says. "He opened up late and we were able to jump on him."
Fineman had generated plenty of recruiting buzz. He played on the 17U USA National Team, and earned All-America high school honors while being ranked as the nation's No.31 catcher by Perfect Game.
"We were fortunate," Lemonis says. "It wasn't like we just found him. Everybody knew about him. He wanted to play in the Midwest. Once he opened up (his recruiting), he visited us and Purdue. It shows he wanted to do something different."
How much did Fineman know about IU before arriving in Bloomington?
"Not a lot," he says. "I knew they were a good college baseball school. You hear about the Kyle Schwarbers (the former Hoosier All-American now an outfielder for the Chicago Cubs) and then you see this beautiful facility. It's hard to get past it. Being from California, you don't get the college atmosphere you get here. That was awesome."
Fineman's success comes from the expected reasons -- talent, toughness and experience -- and for an unexpected one.
"It's the relationship between him and the umpire," Lemonis says. "It's his ability to make pitches look a little better than they are.
"He talks with umpires. Every umpire comes up to me and says I really enjoy umpiring behind your catcher because he has some personality and he catches the ball really well."
As for Fineman's ability to throw out base stealers (he's done it a Big Ten-leading 16?? times), Lemonis says, "He's just talented. He's a good receiver. He has a good exchange (from glove to hand) and a good arm."
Fineman offers a more team-oriented explanation.
"Our pitchers are so quick to the plate that it makes it so much easier on me. They make so many looks (to first). I'm capable of throwing out anyone if they give me a chance. Sometimes it doesn't work out.
"You just have to put it on the bag, and our middle infielders stick their nose in there. They do a great job with that."
Fineman works well with his pitchers, although he doesn't call the pitches. That job goes to pitching coach Kyle Bunn.
"Coach Bunn calls the pitches,"Fineman says. "We talk about it before the game, but he's really good at what he does. We trust everything he does."
As you would expect with that arrangement, pitchers rarely shake off called pitches.
"It doesn't happen much," Fineman says. "We trust Coach Bunn. He studies it all day and all night. He's ready every game."
Offensively, Fineman ranks second on the team in batting average (.340) and runs batted in (26).
"I think I'm seeing the ball. It's seeing the ball and taking good swings. I just have to keep it going."
Fineman caught every inning of last Friday's doubleheader sweep of Northwestern. How physically draining was that?
"It's tiring," he says, "but when our pitchers fill up the zone like they do, it makes it so much easier.
"It slows you down, but it's a lot more mental than physical. You have to tell yourself you feel good. You have to hydrate throughout the day and take care of your body at night."
When Fineman needs a break, junior Wyatt Cross provides it. Cross hit his first home run of the season during Sunday's 22-1 win over Northwestern.
Catching is in Fineman's blood. He says he's played the position since he was about 5 years old.
"I like it because you can see the whole field, and you're involved in every play. Nothing is better than that."
Growing up Fineman also tried pitching. It didn't last.
"I shot that down pretty quick."
Why?
"Every ball hit the backstop," he says with a smile.
IU crushed Northwestern 22-1 on Sunday to sweep the three-game series. It's won six in a row and 17 of its last 19 games entering Tuesday night's contest against Notre Dame at Indianapolis' Victory Field.
The Hoosiers are 26-6 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten.
Beyond that, with a No. 8 national ranking, they loom as major national title threats.
The reason, Fineman says, centers on attitude.
"This team gets after it, whether it's a game or practice," he says. "We want to win at all times.
"We can go as far as we make ourselves. We work out tails off to go as far as Omaha (and the College World Series). I think we're capable of that. We just have to play it game by game."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Fireworks were coming to Bart Kaufman Field.
That had been planned for this Indiana baseball game aftermath.
The Hoosiers wanted to enjoy them.
That had to be earned.
It was, of course, thanks to last Friday's doubleheader sweep of Northwestern, and a big reason was Ryan Fineman, who continues to show why he might be the Big Ten's best catcher.
The junior belted a home run, drove in three runs, threw out multiple Wildcats trying for stolen bases and, in short, dominated as you'd hope a guy on the Johnny Bench Award Watch List for the third straight season would.
That leads to the obvious question -- why is a California guy a Hoosier?
"For the warm weather," he says with a smile, a joking reference to the unseasonably cold spring.
And then he elaborates.
"I got recruited here. I love the coaches and the facilities. The guys here are awesome dudes. It's the best place I've ever been to."
There's a bigger backstory, he wanted a college baseball atmosphere rarely found in California. He targeted Purdue, Notre Dame and IU before picking the Hoosiers.
Coach Chris Lemonis is glad he did.
"We had just taken the (IU) job and needed a catcher," Lemonis says. "He opened up late and we were able to jump on him."
Fineman had generated plenty of recruiting buzz. He played on the 17U USA National Team, and earned All-America high school honors while being ranked as the nation's No.31 catcher by Perfect Game.
"We were fortunate," Lemonis says. "It wasn't like we just found him. Everybody knew about him. He wanted to play in the Midwest. Once he opened up (his recruiting), he visited us and Purdue. It shows he wanted to do something different."
How much did Fineman know about IU before arriving in Bloomington?
"Not a lot," he says. "I knew they were a good college baseball school. You hear about the Kyle Schwarbers (the former Hoosier All-American now an outfielder for the Chicago Cubs) and then you see this beautiful facility. It's hard to get past it. Being from California, you don't get the college atmosphere you get here. That was awesome."
Fineman's success comes from the expected reasons -- talent, toughness and experience -- and for an unexpected one.
"It's the relationship between him and the umpire," Lemonis says. "It's his ability to make pitches look a little better than they are.
"He talks with umpires. Every umpire comes up to me and says I really enjoy umpiring behind your catcher because he has some personality and he catches the ball really well."
As for Fineman's ability to throw out base stealers (he's done it a Big Ten-leading 16?? times), Lemonis says, "He's just talented. He's a good receiver. He has a good exchange (from glove to hand) and a good arm."
Fineman offers a more team-oriented explanation.
"Our pitchers are so quick to the plate that it makes it so much easier on me. They make so many looks (to first). I'm capable of throwing out anyone if they give me a chance. Sometimes it doesn't work out.
"You just have to put it on the bag, and our middle infielders stick their nose in there. They do a great job with that."
Fineman works well with his pitchers, although he doesn't call the pitches. That job goes to pitching coach Kyle Bunn.
"Coach Bunn calls the pitches,"Fineman says. "We talk about it before the game, but he's really good at what he does. We trust everything he does."
As you would expect with that arrangement, pitchers rarely shake off called pitches.
"It doesn't happen much," Fineman says. "We trust Coach Bunn. He studies it all day and all night. He's ready every game."
Offensively, Fineman ranks second on the team in batting average (.340) and runs batted in (26).
"I think I'm seeing the ball. It's seeing the ball and taking good swings. I just have to keep it going."
Fineman caught every inning of last Friday's doubleheader sweep of Northwestern. How physically draining was that?
"It's tiring," he says, "but when our pitchers fill up the zone like they do, it makes it so much easier.
"It slows you down, but it's a lot more mental than physical. You have to tell yourself you feel good. You have to hydrate throughout the day and take care of your body at night."
When Fineman needs a break, junior Wyatt Cross provides it. Cross hit his first home run of the season during Sunday's 22-1 win over Northwestern.
Catching is in Fineman's blood. He says he's played the position since he was about 5 years old.
"I like it because you can see the whole field, and you're involved in every play. Nothing is better than that."
Growing up Fineman also tried pitching. It didn't last.
"I shot that down pretty quick."
Why?
"Every ball hit the backstop," he says with a smile.
IU crushed Northwestern 22-1 on Sunday to sweep the three-game series. It's won six in a row and 17 of its last 19 games entering Tuesday night's contest against Notre Dame at Indianapolis' Victory Field.
The Hoosiers are 26-6 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten.
Beyond that, with a No. 8 national ranking, they loom as major national title threats.
The reason, Fineman says, centers on attitude.
"This team gets after it, whether it's a game or practice," he says. "We want to win at all times.
"We can go as far as we make ourselves. We work out tails off to go as far as Omaha (and the College World Series). I think we're capable of that. We just have to play it game by game."
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