Big Blue’s father and son duo, Joey and Jackson Lewis, have a unique bond.
The love for America’s pastime is often rooted in the father-son relationship. For the Lewis’ of the Hamilton Big Blue, that is no different.
Most ball players can tell you stories about tossing in the backyard with their pops, but Jackson, now a junior, can tell you he spent many days in the dugout and tool shed at Hamilton High’s baseball field watching his dad coach on the Big Blue.
“Growing up I was around the game a lot. I got to meet a lot of players– it was always a lot of fun,” said Jackson.
Joey Lewis is entering his 29th year coaching and 10th year as the head coach of the Big Blue. When he took over for Dan Bowling, his son Jackson was just seven years old. Even way back then, he imagined the day they’d wear the bright blue cap with the block ‘H” together.
“That’s something you always look forward to as a dad,” said Coach Lewis. “Especially at the varsity high school level, it’s something that is unique.”
That day came a little sooner than both expected. Hamilton baseball is as prestigious as it gets in the Cincinnati area. Throughout the 80s and 90s it was one of the premier programs in the great state of Ohio, so it’s fairly rare that a freshman gets called up to ‘the show.’ That’s exactly what happened during the 2018 postseason.
“He hinted that I might come up,” said Jackson on how his Dad informed him he was going to play varsity. “He told me that I was going to dress for the tournament games, but ride the bench. Then some injuries happened and he said you might get some playing time today.”
It’s certainly a daunting task being a meer freshman hurled into the varsity mix during tourney time. Jackson will tell you he was nervous, but even in that first game he made his coach a proud dad.
Jackson was playing second base. There was a ball that slipped by the first basemen in a crucial moment of the game. Lewis backed up the bag, collected himself and threw out the runner trying to advance to second.
“It was a very smart play for a freshman to make,” said Coach Lewis. “That was a very proud moment for me. In all the years of telling him, this is what you do when the ball is put in play he fulfilled that as a young kid.”
Jackson parlayed that brief experience as a freshman into a monstrous sophomore season. Lewis batted .310 as he led the team in runs scored and had the second most extra base hits. Those stats earned him 1st team honors in the lauded Greater Miami Conference.
It isn’t always hunky-dory on the ball diamond though, because Jackson will tell you that being the coach’s son comes with some interesting territory.
“It’s a lot more comfortable when we play, because he is my dad,” said Jackson. “But that means he is going to be a lot tougher on me because he expects more out of me, because I’m his son.”
Most coaches’ sons will tell you it can be difficult. There is this extra element of pressure put on you, but it’s not by design.
“I think that happens but not purposefully,’ said Coach Lewis. “He and I speak about this often. Sometimes when you’re the son of a head coach you get the brunt of stuff, because you don’t want the team to think that you’re giving your son preferential treatment. I don’t start out to be mean to him, but I do think I hold him to a high standard. When he doesn’t meet that standard I’m quick to tell him.”
Jackson takes it in strides though because he knows that it simply comes with the territory. Along with that ground comes long talks that stretch well beyond the dugout and diamond. The Lewis’ life doesn’t revolve around baseball, but their love for it is strong.
For them both, the infatuation comes from the challenge of the game.
“I love how hard [baseball] is,” said Jackson. “It truly is a difficult sport and it’s a sport centered around failure. You’re a good player if you get a hit three out of 10 times, and you have to deal with those seven times you don’t get a hit. It’s a very mental game. You just gotta keep going no matter if you fail, you have to push towards the next hit or the next play in the field.”
Coach Joey Lewis, looking inspired by his son, rang home some of those same sentiments but in a new light.
“Spectators may think it’s a slow game and it’s not that exciting to watch, but I view it differently,” he said. “When you have players out there doing things the right way, and their instincts are clicking and their abilities are on showcase– it’s something to watch. As a coach, to watch players overcome those challenges under you is something I revel in.”
Jackson, who is also a basketball star in his own right, smiled at the question on which sport he likes more. He says whatever season he is in he devotes 100 percent focus on that sport, but by his grin it seemed like he was leaning towards hoops.
Regardless, in the final two years of Jackson’s high school playing days he isn’t focused on personal goals but rather just getting as far as the Big Blue can in the postseason and taking a shot at the GMC title.
As a coach, Joey Lewis is looking for those same things– a good year in the league and long run in the postseason. As a dad, he is mostly looking forward to spending time with his son.
