Nickeas catching heat in the Lone Star State

STEVE AMES/Acorn Newspapers ON THE RISE—Westlake grad Mike Nickeas is making a name for himself on the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders of the Texas League. After his 2001 graduation from Westlake High and three years catching at Georgia Tech, Mike Nickeas signed with the Texas Rangers and appeared to be on a fast track through the minor leagues of professional baseball.

This season, through last weekend’s games and with a sixweek interruption due to an injury to his right hand, he’s hitting .185 (38-205), has four homers and 17 RBI in 58 games.

“I really have a passion to play the game,” Nickeas said as he prepared to start at catcher for the Frisco RoughRiders of the Double-A Texas League.

Nickeas, who turned 22 in February, is six feet tall, weighs 205 pounds, bats and throws right-handed.

“I love coming here,” Nickeas said. “I love hanging out with the guys. I just love being here in this atmosphere all the time and being able to do something I love.”

In high school, Nicleas helped lead the Warriors to Marmonte League baseball championships in 2000 and 2001. In college, he spent three seasons at Georgia Tech and posted a career .291 batting average with 17 home runs and 95 RBI. He majored in business management.

Nickeas was the Rangers’ fifth-round selection (141st overall) in the 2004 amateur draft.

Before the injury this year, Nickeas was batting .190 while sharing catching duties for the RoughRiders.

Nickeas skipped stops at Class-A and Advanced-A baseball when he began the 2005 season at Frisco, but the move meant Nickeas had to make more adjustments in his game than if he had remained in A-ball.

“Because I didn’t play A ball, I can’t say ‘This is different than A ball.’ I know the difference between Rookie Ball and Short Season and Double-A,” he said. “But I know enough from seeing (spring training) and how that runs that the game is a lot faster up here.”

Nickeas said he was thankful that the Rangers were willing to move him along so quickly.

“Being the starting catcher, I really appreciate the Rangers having that kind of faith in me,” he said. “That was wonderful.”

He said he wanted to prove that he could perform at the Double-A level.

“I have been fairly pleased with what I have been able to do. The game is a lot faster,” said Nickeas, whose parents are Mark and Sherrie Nickeas. “There’s a lot more things going on that you’ve got to worry about.

“The talent’s up here,” he added. “These guys have made it over a couple of hurdles and they’re stronger, bigger and they’re faster. You hit a ball that might fall at a lower level, and here a guy is making a great play.”

After graduating from Westlake, Nickeas spent the summer of 2001 with the USA Junior Pan Am Team that won a silver medal at the Junior Pan Am Championships in Cuba. Nickeas was named to the all-tournament team after leading all players with a .577 average, 16 runs and a 1.038 slugging percentage.

Nickeas said making the jump from high school to college takes a huge adjustment—and a lot of maturity.

“In college you have school, you’ve got your social life, you’ve got baseball, you’ve got lifting,” Nickeas said. “Everything’s kind of thrown at you. That first year is a huge adjustment.”

He said that as hard as it was to leave his family and travel 2,000 miles away from home at 18, it was a big step for him that’s paid off dividends in the present.

“Making the jump from rookie level to Double-A is a similar step,” Nickeas said. “You’re always traveling. You don’t know when trades are going to come. You have to be able to be adjustable, flexible with what you’re trying to do.”

“Going to Georgia Tech really helped me with that,” he added. “When you go to college you learn to manage your time, what your body can take, what kind of sleep you need. All that stuff that adults need to know.”

Nickeas’ ultimate goal is to make it to Ameriquest Field in Arlington, home of the Texas Rangers. After a game earlier this month in Midland, the RoughRiders team bus drove by the field at about 3:45 a.m.

“We all looked at the field,” Nickeas said. “A couple of guys said, ‘Gosh, it would be nice to be pulling up to that place right now.’ That’s ultimately the goal. It feels close.”