Take a picture of the Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field parking lot after practice, late at night and whenever class is not in session. Odds are very high the Michael Papierski‘s truck is in that lot, and that he is taking extra cuts in the batting cages.
Papierski is always one of the first to work out and the last to leave the stadium. Quiet and reserved, he does not say much but, instead, lets his work ethic shine for a game he loves, a game that has been passed down through the Papierski family for years.
His grandfather, John, played in the Chicago White Sox minor league system. His father, Mike, and his uncle, John, played baseball at the University of St. Francis. Baseball is in the Papierski genes.
It is no surprise that by the time Papierski was a four-year-old in Lemont, Ill., he was carrying around a bat and heading to his first tee-ball practice. Baseball has been his passion ever since then. Even more so, catching is his passion.
“You’re in the game every single pitch,” Papierski said. “Whether the ball is hit or you catch it, you know you have an impact each pitch of the game.”
By the time he was a senior in high school, Papierski was a team captain who had led his team to the 2014 3A Illinois State Championship and had been an all-state selection for consecutive seasons.
With the frame of a big league catcher, an outstanding arm behind the plate and tremendous potential, Toronto drafted Papierski in the 16th round of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft, but the catcher turned it down.
Coming to LSU provided a chance to improve his game by playing against some of the best competition in the nation with a premier coaching staff and an opportunity to grow as a leader on the field.
In his freshman season, he was able to learn from senior Kade Scivicque, a 2015 All-American catcher and Johnny Bench Award Finalist.
With the departure of Scivicque, Papierski emerged as the Tigers’ starting catcher in 2016. He played in 50 games for LSU and notched 40 starts, but it was not until the end of the season when Papierski showed what he could fully do.
Papierski had been a switch-hitter since he was eight years old, but LSU coach Paul Maineiri asked the sophomore to hit only from the right side at the end of the regular season in the series against Florida.
As the Tigers made a run to the 2016 Baton Rouge Super Regional, Papierski had a .286 batting average (10-for-35) during LSU’s final 13 games of the season after hitting .225 (20-for-89) as a switch hitter throughout LSU’s first 53 games of the year.
In the 2016 Baton Rouge Regional championship game, Papierski hit a solo blast in the eighth inning to give LSU a 4-2 lead in the win against Rice, and that’s when it clicked for Papierski. That is the exact moment he truly realized that he could be a force behind the plate.
“At the end of last year, Michael really showed what he was capable of doing,” Mainieri said. “He hit just right-handed and did very well in the postseason. If he becomes an improved offensive player, he becomes a real force for us.”
Papierski is great at stopping opposing teams’ run games. He is a phenomenal receiver; he plays every pitch hard and is undoubtedly a major influence on the pitching staff. Hitting from the right-side only makes him relentless.
“From the right side, I stay on the barrel and square up baseballs, and that’s the biggest thing,” Papierski said. “Overall, I have better at-bats from the right side. It was a big jump for me this offseason because I haven’t faced a lot of right-handed matchups, but I love working hard and will do anything to help the team.”
His work ethic, along with his talent, attitude and leadership behind the plate, assure his teammates that he will let nothing get past him. Infielders cannot see the outfielders’ faces, and outfielders’ cannot see infielders’ faces from their positions. However, they can all see the catcher sitting behind home plate.
“The way you act and compose yourself behind the plate is huge, and it makes a difference in the game because everyone is looking at you and how you are being a leader back there controlling the game,” Papierski said.
Becoming a leader behind the plate is a skill that Papierski, along with many others, has learned with the help of associate head coach and pitching coach Alan Dunn, aka “A.D.”
Papierski explained, “A.D. brings so much intensity and focus that it just rubs off on you.”
He is not afraid to block one of Alex Lange‘s deep curveballs, gunning down a base runner trying to steal or having talks with his pitchers on the mound to light a fire.
“Pap knows every time when he has to go out to the mound,” LSU pitcher Alex Lange said. “That’s the key to being a great catcher. He really has a feel for different pitchers and knows the difference between a guy he has to go out there and coddle, or one that he has to kick in the butt and tell him to get going.”
The junior catcher also has the “it factor” and intangibles that his teammates rely on. He has shown that he is a wall behind the plate, and that is what is expected of him.
“In my opinion, he’s the best catcher in the country,” LSU outfielder Greg Deichmann said of his roommate. “It doesn’t get any better than Michael Papierski defensively. Every time you pencil him in behind the plate you know you’re going to have a good game.”