THE PRACTICE: Easton Bahr has a lot of love and knowledge for baseball – The Globe

JACKSON — Easton Bahr knows and loves baseball, and that’s largely because of his upbringing.

He is currently the top shortstop for the Jackson Bulls and is the son of longtime Bulls manager Scott Bahr, who was also an amateur baseball player himself.

For Easton, playing for his father was a special opportunity and a dream.

“I was that kid that would talk back and you know, he would kind of yell at me and I would snap back at him,” Easton said. “But now that I’m a little older, I appreciate it a lot more every day because I don’t know how much longer I can do that. So every once in a while I look around and appreciate the opportunity that I’ve been given because it’s pretty special to play for my dad and I’ve done that my whole life.”

Easton has been involved in sports his entire life, whether it was watching baseball and visiting MLB stadiums, or playing T-ball as a toddler. Once he got to Jackson County Central High, he was a four-sport athlete.

Baseball was of course his number one sport, but he also excelled on the basketball court and ran track for two years. He was also the quarterback of the football team and led the Huskies to two state tournaments.

After graduating from JCC in 2017, Easton continued playing his favorite sport at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, returning every summer to play for the Bulls. He has been a member of the team since he was 15 years old and is now in his 10th season.

Easton is a very good contact hitter who finds a way to put the ball in play and get on base. Once there, he can use his speed to get around the bases quickly.

He helped the Bulls capture the First Nite League championship and reach the final four of the Region 13C playoffs, where they will face Fairmont starting Wednesday. A win in that series will earn the Bulls their second straight Class C State Tournament appearance.

“I think this was one of our better regular seasons in recent memory. I mean, normally we’re OK, and it was good to have a regular season where we started off well and kind of kept it going,” he said. “We proved that we can compete with all of them, we can get beat by all of them, but we can compete with all of them and that makes for some really exciting games and I’m excited to see what we can do.”

Easton, 25, lives with his girlfriend in Jackson and is a fifth-grade teacher at Pleasantview Elementary School. He also coaches football, basketball and baseball.

It’s no surprise that Easton is a coach, after all, he’s had many great influences. In addition to his father, Easton also named his high school coaches Michael Wierson, Blaise Jacobson, and Kevin Holm, along with his college coach Steve Eddie.

“I take bits and pieces from all of them, really, because they all have their strengths, and I’ve tried to use all of them to make my training plans,” Easton said. “And in the spring and even in the summer, I still call my dad pretty regularly after training or before, like, ‘Hey, this didn’t go well, do you have any suggestions for me?’ Because I know, compared to a lot of these guys who have been doing it a long time, very little. And I’m getting there, but I’m lucky that I have those guys to take stuff from and use.”

The Globe recently interviewed Bahr as this week’s Drill Subject for a game at Wacker Field. His full video can be found at dglobe.com, but here’s a sample of our interview.

QUESTION: Are there any professional players you model your game after?

ANSWER: “I’m a fan of a lot of players. I mean, one player that’s stood out recently is Luis Arraez, who played for the Twins. He’s not necessarily a flashy player, but he just hits the ball. He’s one of the best in the league, he never has a bad at bat and I stole a few things from him, like the fight. Every at bat is a fight and you’re not going to get that from me. I’m going to find a way to put it in play and find a way to get on base and that’s one thing I really like about him and as a kid it was good to watch Torii Hunter. Some guys like that, I just like it because I’m not a big, powerful hitter, but I like those guys that just put the ball in play and run around.”

QUESTION: Is there one piece of advice your father has given you over the years that has stuck with you?

ANSWER: “One that stands out, I mean, as a kid there were three things. It was, number one, always have fun no matter what you’re doing, whether it’s baseball or life. Number two, work hard. Again, baseball, life, work hard, you’re going to be successful. And then number three, be humble, so I mean, hopefully you have that success. But even when things go wrong, keep your head up. And when you do have that success, stay humble and help others along the way.”

Skyler Jackson joined the Globe in July 2023 as a reporter covering both news and sports. Skyler was born and raised in Sioux City, Iowa, and attended South Dakota State University, graduating in 2023 with a degree in journalism. After graduating, he decided to settle in Worthington for his current position at the Globe.