Oct. 21, 2010

Former starting first baseman Jonathan Kaskow hit .328 for the Cardinal in 2010, starting 36 games at first base before beginning his professional career with the Reds organization. He hit .298 in three seasons at Stanford, earning honorable mention All-Pac-10 honors in 2010. He will graduate this December with a degree in economics. Returning to campus this fall, the Texas native, noticeably more toned from a summer playing professionally in Billings and Dayton, sat down with gostanford.com.

Q: First summer in pro ball, was it what you expected?
JK: “It was different. It was a lot different than playing in college. A different feel. A different atmosphere. It took a little getting used to, but it was neat.”

Q: Talk about the day that you got drafted
JK: “It was pretty cool, because I didn't really know what to expect going into the draft. Once they called me and I got drafted it was pretty cool. It's been a dream of mine for a long time, and to see it happen and to have that opportunity it was pretty neat.”

Q: Take us through the first day of pro ball
JK: “They actually sent us to Arizona for a week at their spring training complex for a little bit. We walk out there on our first day and walk out onto the field with all these ex-Big Leaguers-- Eric Davis, all these guys you've watched on TV and it's pretty cool to be there and a part of it.”

Q: Was it easier or harder those first couple of weeks?
JK: “The first few games it was a little tough, transitioning to the wood bat. It wasn't too bad because you play every day which was the biggest difference. You don't have a lot of time in between, but you have so many opportunities to adjust. It didn't take that long to get adjusted.”

Q: Talk about the bus rides....
JK: (laughing) “Actually in rookie ball, the bus rides were pretty bad. We had a few to Salt Lake City which were like 12 hours. (laughing) They were pretty rough.”

Q: Did you play against any guys you played with at Stanford?
JK: “I didn't actually. I played against a few guys that I played against, that were in the Pac-10 and such, but it's funny how many guys you run across-- either you know, or are friends of people you know just because of the baseball circles.”

Q: I know you've only been out a short time, but is there something about Nine's program, that you went, 'You know what, that clicks.'
JK: “Actually it has to do with something non-baseball related. He's such a big stickler about being on time and definitely that wasn't a priority in pro ball. It was funny, whenever you'd be sitting on the bus, waiting to leave on for bus trip and it's 9 o'clock. And the bus leaves at 9 o'clock and you're still waiting on people. Whereas here, the clock hits 9 o'clock and the bus is leaving. (laughs) It was funny, that was when I first thought about it.”

Q: Talk about your fall routine.
JK: “I took quite a bit of time off, actually, because it was such a long season and grueling end of the summer. I'm just running a lot and trying to work out in between classes. I'm actually taking a pretty heavy load to graduate in December. It's kind of the first time I've had the opportunity to not have baseball and just work out a bit and do some other things.”

Q: Is it a surprise to you that so many Stanford Baseball players have graduated? In the Wall Street Journal, 26 or so players in the Majors had degrees. Stanford has eight of them.
JK: “That is huge. That is the number one priority for me at this point. And as good of a school  this is, and where this degree takes you, I think everyone realizes that. Right now we've got two guys that are in the Big Leagues taking classes right now (Jason Castro, Drew Storen). You would would never see that. That's because they realize how important and how prestigious the degree is here.”