Iowa Cubs infielder Jake Slaughter inspired by his late grandfather
Iowa Cubs infielder Jake Slaughter got a phone call from his father, Michael, following the team’s April 14 game at Principal Park. Jake, who had just gone 0-for-4 with two strikeouts against the Omaha Storm Chasers, received an important and uplifting message from his dad following arguably his worst game in Triple-A.
“I just told him, ‘You’ve got somebody watching over you — so use that as confidence,’” Michael recalled.
That special somebody was Jake’s grandfather, Mickey Slaughter. Mickey, a legendary football player and coach back in Louisiana, had died six days earlier. Jake had gone home to attend his funeral and had just rejoined the team. The loss of perhaps his biggest supporter hit him hard. He was still trying to process it all.
“The whole week in general is like a blur,” Jake said.
Jake took his dad’s wise words to heart. He's playing with newfound confidence. It’s led to a giant turnaround and success in his first Triple-A season. Jake is one step from the majors for the first time in his career and firmly on the radar of Cubs executives.
And he continues to try to make his grandfather proud.
“I’m just glad to be where I am now and I think about my grandpa a lot and how he lived his life,” Jake said. “I try to live my life like him as an example and to honor him with how I play.”
Mickey was a 'huge role model' and one of Jake's biggest fans
Mickey and Jake were always close. They bonded over their love of sports. Mickey was an all-conference quarterback at Louisiana Tech and was drafted in the seventh round by the Denver Broncos. He played for the Broncos from 1963-66 before coming back to his college to coach. As the school’s longtime offensive backfield coach, he worked with a number of stars, including Terry Bradshaw.
Jake grew up hearing all kinds of stories from his grandfather about playing and coaching.
“He was a huge role model for me in every kind of way,” Jake said.
When Jake started playing sports, Mickey became one of his biggest fans. He was at nearly every little league, high school and college game (Jake played at LSU). Mickey often gave Jake tips and reminders afterward, mostly on how to stay sharp mentally and physically. Jake’s grandparents lived about 15 minutes from him growing up. He spent a lot of Saturdays visiting them. He’d munch on treats his grandpa made and talk about games with his grandpa. Mickey wasn’t a baseball player. But he still had plenty to offer Jake.
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“Always coaching me,” Jake said with a smile.
When the Chicago Cubs selected Jake in the 18th round of the 2018 draft, he followed from afar. Family members created a ln MiLB.com login and set it up for him to watch all of his grandson’s games in the minor leagues. He hung by every pitch and every play Jake made. Whenever Michael or someone else in the family saw something online about Jake, they’d text it to Mickey.
“That was his thing,” Michael said. “He loved it.”
Mickey closely followed Jake’s career for as long as he could. But on April 8, Mickey died. He was 81. His health had been deteriorating. Jake and his family had been bracing for it. But it didn’t make the loss any easier. Jake found out after Iowa’s game that night in St. Paul, Minn. He played the following day, then rushed back to Iowa and drove home to Louisiana to be with his family.
“It was tough,” Jake said. “I know he lived a great life and influenced a lot of people.”
Slaughter honors his grandpa and turns his season around
Mickey still has an impact on Jake.
Mickey’s funeral was full of family, friends and football players. Bradshaw, who went on to become a Hall of Famer quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers, spoke at the services. Jake intently listened as he heard tale after tale of his beloved grandpa.
“To hear those stories about how he was a coach was awesome because he was a great coach for me,” Jake said.
Slaughter missed three of Iowa’s games while he was at home with his family celebrating his grandfather’s life. He returned to the lineup on April 14. Slaughter, who had struggled early in his first Triple-A stint, watched his batting averaged fall to .233 with the 0-for-4 performance. His dad had always made it a habit to talk to Jake after games. After this one, he had an important message for him.
Play for grandpa.
“I think he relaxed,” Michael said.
Jake has been on a tear ever since and turned into one of the best minor-league players in the Cubs organization this season. He tallied hits in 12 of his next 13 games and raised his average to .324. Through his first 44 games with Iowa this season, Jake tallied a slash line of .251/.330/.509 with 13 doubles and 10 home runs.
He’s been so impressive that Chicago Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins raved about Slaughter during a recent visit to Principal Park. And even though Slaughter isn’t on any major prospect rankings, he has the attention of Cubs decision-makers
“He’s a grinder and believes in his ability,” said Jared Banner, Chicago’s vice president of player development. The power/speed combo is unique and we are happy with the way he continues to hone his craft.”
His season turned the corner after that talk with his dad, who gave him the reminder that his grandpa was watching over him. Ever since then, Slaughter has played inspired baseball. He plans to continue to.
“I just look at it as I’m going to see him again one day and just remember all the amazing things about him,” Slaughter said. I’m going to honor him with what I do with my life and how I am as a man, as a leader, as a player and as a husband.”
Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Cubs' Jake Slaughter motivated by grandfather's death
