Greensburg alum Meyer changing diamond mindset

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Alex Meyer is in the third season of changing baseball minds at his alma mater.

“We came in and the program was struggling a little bit and we’re starting to see things heading in the right direction,” says Meyer, the 2008 Greensburg (Ind.) Community High School graduate, Indiana Mr. Baseball and former big league pitcher has been head coach for the Pirates program since 2022. “It’s taken a lot of time and a lot of hard work to establish a different mindset. They’re starting to buy in and believe they can play the game, too.

“We want to throw strikes on the mound, throw strikes across the diamond, catch the ball when it’s hit to us and put the ball in-play in the batter’s box. If you do those four things as the high school level, every game you should have an opportunity to win.”

Meyer, 34, is also emphasizing enjoyment.

“We’re just trying to make it as much for the kids as we can,” says Meyer. “If people are nervous and not having fun and walking around on eggshells it’s going to be really hard to find success in baseball. 

“We want kids to have confidence. We want them to have fun while they’re doing it.”

Greensburg (enrollment around 660) is a member of the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference (with Batesville, Connersville, East Central, Franklin County, Lawrenceburg, Rushville Consolidated and South Dearborn).

The Pirates are part of an IHSAA Class 3A sectional grouping in 2024 with Batesville, Connersville, Franklin County, Lawrenceburg (host), Rushville Consolidated and South Dearborn. Greensburg has won nine sectional — the last in 2016.

Other teams on the 2024 schedule include Columbus East, Hauser, North Decatur, Oldenburg Academy, South Ripley and Union County.

Catcher/pitcher Gavin Owens (Greensburg Class of 2024) is committed to Indiana University Columbus and other current Pirates have shown an interest in college baseball.

Meyer’s assistants are Keegan McCamment, Kirby Dunagan and Collin Rigney with the varsity and Tom Mulig, Austin Schultz and Colton Williams with the junior varsity.

McCamment works with hitters, Dunagan guides catchers and coaches first base and Rigney oversees infielders. Meyer manages the whole program and coaches third base in games.

After a three-year stint at the University of Kentucky (2009-11) and six in pro ball (2012-17), including 22 games with the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Angels, Meyer coached in the Indiana Bulls travel organization.

He had the same approach as he does at Greensburg.

“It was about putting the kids first and making it about them,” says Meyer. “It’s what they need. Each team is different every year and you have to adjust accordingly.”

His first two years as a prep head coach, the 6-foot-9 right-hander would occasionally throw batting practice but he has left that to others so far this season.

“It’s not as easy as it used to be,” says Meyer. “I do not plan on doing that.”

The Pirates play and practice at an on-campus diamond.

Feeding the high school program are Greensburg Junior High School. Before that comes Greensburg Youth Baseball League — an organization where Meyer himself played growing up.

“Some kids stay local and some play travel ball,” says Meyer. “As long as they’re playing, that’s the biggest thing for us. We want to make sure they have a ball in their hand as much as they can.”

Alex and Kyra Meyer have three children — sons Roman (5) and Max (4) and daughter Renn (1). 

Both sets of grandparents live in town. David and Sandy Meyer are Alex’s parents. His father helping with the transition away from owning a Ford dealership and his mother is retired. Kristen is his older sister. Eric is his younger brother.

“Family has always been a big part for my wife and I,” says Alex. “We had good support systems growing up and we wanted to make sure our kids have the same opportunity.”

The Meyer family: Alex (holding Max), Kyra (holding Renn) and Roman.

Greensburg (Ind.) Community High School.

Former big leaguer Meyer giving back to game with Indiana Bulls

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

A dozen years after Alex Meyer donned the jersey of the Indiana Bulls travel baseball uniform as a player, the former big league pitcher is helping the organization as an assistant coach.

“I hope that I bring an extra set of eyes and somebody (Bulls players) can talk to,” says Meyer, 30. “I’m not too removed from playing. I want to help them through the recruiting process. I want to give them somebody they can trust. I don’t want them to think I’m giving them the run-around on anything.”

The Washington Nationals picked right-hander Meyer in the first round (No. 23 overall) of the 2011 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. He made his MLB debut in 2015 with the Minnesota Twins and pitched for the Twins in 2016 before being traded to the Los Angeles Angels late in that season. He also pitched for the Angels in 2017.

Pitching coaches that worked with Meyer included Neil Allen and Rick Anderson with the Twins and Charles Nagy and Rick Honeycutt with the Angels.

“They were all great,” says Meyer. “The majority of the time when I was (in the majors) my coach was Charlie Nagy. He was awesome. He related to me really well.

“I was a nervous kid when I was up there. He put things into perspective and helped me quite a bit.”

While he had little interactions with Twins manager Paul Molitor, Meyer spent more time around Angels skipper Mike Scioscia.

“He’s another guy I loved,” says Meyer of Scioscia. “He’s old school. What he brought to the team was awesome. He was not afraid to jump somebody. He demanded things be done the right way. The way he went about it, I definitely respected.”

Meyer pitched in 22 big league games (19 starts) and went 5-8 with a 4.63 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 95 1/3 innings.

After retiring from pro baseball in July 2019, Meyer became a sales representative for BSN Sports and does much of his work out of his Greensburg, Ind., home.

Alex and Kyra Meyer have been married close to five years and have two sons — Roman (2) and Max (8 months).

Meyer’s BSN manager is Quinn Moore, who coached him during his 17U and 18U travel ball seasons with the Indiana Bulls — before and after committing to the University of Kentucky.

Moore asked Meyer to help with the Bulls this fall and plans call for him to coach within the organization next summer.

Meyer is a 2008 graduate of Greensburg Community High School, where he played baseball for Pirates head coach Scott Moore. He played basketball for two seasons each for Keith Hipskind and Stacy Meyer and earned all-Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference honors three times as a forward-wing type of player.

“(Moore) made it fun,” says Meyer. “He kept everything loose. It was a very, very enjoyable place to play.

“(Hipskind and Meyer) had a huge impact on me. They had different styles, but very good things, Coach Hipskind was kind of an old school and tough. I like the way he went about his business. He wanted to get every ounce out of his guys that he could. Stacy had a little bit more of a modern approach but was still hard on us. He demanded excellence. He could really break down a team and help you prepare.”

As a Greensburg senior on the diamond, Meyer went 8-0 with a 0.95 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 51 innings. He was named Indiana Mr. Baseball and the Indiana Player of the Year by Gatorade and Louisville Slugger.

He was selected in the 20th round of the 2008 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox, but chose to wait on his professional and played three seasons at Kentucky (2009-11).

“I was young,” says Meyer. “I needed to go to school. I needed to learn how to be on my own a little bit and to grow as a baseball player.”

He grew in the game while also adding three inches to his stature in three seasons. He was about 6-foot-6 when he left high school and 6-9 at the end of his college days.

“It was about an inch every year,” says Meyer. “It kept me busy trying to stay accustomed to my body to try to learn how it moved.

“Being tall, you want to use that to your advantage. You want to have that good plane on your fastball.”

He pitched from a three-quarter arm slot at Kentucky and was a lower three-quarter at the end of his pro career.

With Gary Henderson as his head coach and Brad Bohannon his pitching coach, Meyer appeared in 39 games for UK (36 as a starter) and went 13-12 with a 4.73 ERA and 253 strikeouts in 211 2/3 innings.

Meyer says standing on the mound for the Wildcats and facing batters in the Southeastern Conference helped him develop mental toughness.

“I had to learn how to deal with a little big of failure and stay positive,” says Meyer. “That was a huge part of it for me.”

Ride Along With Alex Meyer (Angels Weekly Video)

Alex Meyer, a Greensburg (Ind.) High School graduated pitched in Major League Baseball with the Minnesota Twins followed by the Los Angeles Angels. (Los Angeles Angels Photo)