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Catching his break: Challenges paved Tyler Heineman’s path to finally become UCLA’s starting catcher

Junior catcher Tyler Heineman is now the starting catcher for the UCLA baseball team after struggling to crack the lineup the last two years. He joined the team as a preferred walk-on, turning down a partial scholarship from Harvard.

By Daily Bruin Staff

March 6, 2012 12:02 a.m.

Isaac Arjonilla

Junior catcher Tyler Heineman learned from former Bruin and current major leaguer Steve Rodriguez before taking over the reins as starting catcher.

On an autumn 2007 evening in Pacific Palisades, the Heineman family sat down at the dinner table with a newscast providing background noise.

“If Barack Obama wins the presidency, he will become the eighth president to have attended Harvard University,” the anchor said.

“See, Tyler, seven presidents have gone to Harvard,” Katherine Heineman said to her son, a lightly recruited catcher at Windward School. He was then pondering the option of taking a partial scholarship to play at Harvard or heading a few blocks east to follow his dream and be a preferred walk-on at UCLA.

“That’s great, Mom,” Tyler responded sarcastically. “I don’t want to be president so that’s another reason not to go there.”

“I give up,” Katherine relented. “You go where you want.”

Tyler went where he wanted and began his UCLA baseball career. Now, as a junior, he’s the team’s third-best hitter and only switch hitter. He’s started in all 11 of UCLA’s games this season at catcher or designated hitter, moved to No. 2 in the order and has a hit in every game ““ a streak he’ll attempt to extend tonight when the Bruins take on UC Riverside.

And no one outside of the Jackie Robinson Stadium clubhouse saw it coming.

“I know my game isn’t flashy,” Tyler admits. “As much as I want to be that superstar power hitter, I know that’s not who I am. I understand who I am as a player.”

Father knows best?

“He wasn’t recruited by anybody,” are the first words out of UCLA coach John Savage’s mouth when he’s asked what comes to mind about Tyler, almost bragging about the gem he dug up in his own backyard.

If Steve Heineman, Tyler’s father, had it his way, Savage would be in trouble. Steve begged Tyler to consider the Harvard option as well as a few other offers he had from smaller schools and Division II programs.

UCLA’s coaches told Tyler that they would continue to recruit elite catchers, regardless of whether he signed on. Steve wasn’t sold.

“His dream was to play for UCLA at Jackie Robinson Stadium, and I loved that, but the realities were, in my mind, I didn’t really think coach Savage believed in Tyler,” Steve said. “He never struck me as being Savage’s guy.”

Playing time was Steve’s main concern, an obstacle UCLA’s coaches were open about.

“(Former UCLA hitting coach Rick Vanderhook) told me it wasn’t going to be easy,” Tyler said. “He said, “˜You’re going to have to work for every inning you’re going to play.’ I said, “˜OK, that’s what I want to do.’ I committed right there.”

Now, Steve is the first to admit he steered Tyler in the wrong direction.

Sitting, waiting, wishing

Tyler’s freshman year would be a historic one for UCLA baseball. The team made its first-ever trip to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. and came up two games short of its first national title.

He spent the bulk of that season studying then-sophomore Steve Rodriguez, a three-year starter and a cornerstone on that runner-up team. Rodriguez was selected in the 15th round of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Tyler only made one start and had just one hit in eight at-bats. Tyler soaked up knowledge from Rodriguez like a dry sponge, especially on the postseason trip to Omaha.

“It definitely helped to see how the guys that did play handled it with all the crowd, the extra attention,” Tyler said. “Everything that they did, I did too, but I was on the sideline watching so I would observe them and so hopefully one day I would know how to handle it.”

Still, Tyler’s itch to get on the field was eating at him. He knew he had at least another year to sit behind Rodriguez and grew tired of waiting.

“It was an unbelievable experience,” Tyler said of the World Series. “I wasn’t angry that I wasn’t playing because I don’t think I was ready to play as a freshman, but I was disappointed that I didn’t play, and it hurt me.”

Swing and a miss

The 2011 season was disappointing to everyone in the program. The Bruins had the two best pitchers in college baseball, future top-three draft picks, but could not get the run support needed to make another run to Omaha.

Tyler started 13 games at catcher, all but one of them on Tuesday nights. He was lights out behind the plate, not committing an error in 131 chances. Only Tyler wasn’t complacent with just being an adequate defensive catcher.

Savage often raves about Tyler’s ability to get on base, somehow.

“He’s going to get on base,” Savage said. “He’s not an easy out. He is confidence. He may go 0-for-2 this year a lot and have two walks.”

Savage’s confidence combined with Tyler’s ability to hit from both sides of the plate had Savage looking to Tyler in crucial, late-game pinch hit situations multiple times last season.

Tyler didn’t deliver. He was 0-for-6 in at-bats in Pac-10 conference games and struck out looking in the ninth inning three times in losses. He made the game’s last out twice.

It was time to call his dad.

“I told my dad I didn’t know why they kept putting me in these positions,” Tyler said. “Didn’t they know I was going to fail? That’s the worst attitude to have, and my dad yelled at me.”

“I said, “˜Dude, that’s how you’re looking at it’,” Steve remembered. “”˜You’re not the last out, you’re the last chance for the team. He’s putting you in because he has faith.’ If you’re thinking like that, you’re going in with one foot in the grave.”

Turning the corner

After that conversation, Tyler took a different approach to the plate. He said it helped him when he got the call that he would be starting in UCLA’s eventual last game of the season, a 4-3 loss to UC Irvine in a regional the Bruins were hosting.

Savage gave Tyler the nod because it was the second game of the day and didn’t want to force Rodriguez to catch 18 innings. Tyler went 1-for-2 in the game, drawing two walks and adding an RBI single. Savage says Tyler was “the best player on the field” in the loss.

Tyler feels he owes most of his early season hot streak to start this season to that performance.

“I knew I played pretty well and I knew that was a big reason why coach Savage has a lot of confidence in me,” Tyler said. “To know that he has that trust in me really helped my confidence and helped me coming into this year. I know that if I mess up, he’ll be pissed like he’s always going to be, but I know that he’s not going to start doubting me.”

Even with Savage’s ringing endorsement, Tyler’s job wasn’t safe. UCLA signee Austin Hedges, also a 2011 second-round draft pick of the San Diego Padres, was supposedly on his way to Westwood. Hedges told the Padres he wouldn’t sign with them for a penny less than $3 million. The Padres agreed and Hedges signed just under the wire.

Tyler maintains that he wanted Hedges to play at UCLA for the good of the program, even if it meant little or no playing time.

“I was keeping up with the draft,” Tyler said. “I got a little nervous, but I truly wanted him to come because I could have learned a lot from him.”

Savage claims that the addition of Hedges would have given him “the best catching in the country,” but he doesn’t like to speculate. If he did, he’d go crazy, as he also missed out on keeping 2009 catcher signee Max Stassi, a fourth-round pick of the Oakland A’s.

Savage was hit hard when Hedges didn’t sign, but Tyler assured him he wouldn’t remember the name “Hedges” come spring.

“It was kind of unsaid,” Savage said. “He looked at me and I looked at him and he just knew that it was his time.

“You can always dream, but at the end of the day, we’re pretty fortunate to have Heiny,” Savage said.

Tyler doesn’t claim to know what awaits him after this season. He’ll be eligible to be drafted in June but remains open to the possibility of coming back for his senior season.

For now, he’s UCLA’s starter, a status few thought he would ever achieve.

“It’s his dream come true, and I didn’t know if that was ever going to happen,” Steve said, fighting back tears.

“There were things that had to happen that had nothing to do with him. It’s incredible. You couldn’t ask for anything better.”

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