BILLINGS — Jacob Kline isn’t afraid to have fun.
Last season Kline fit right in with a new "cowboy up" home run celebration he and his Billings Mustangs teammates had just implemented.
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“Obviously, it’s when you hit a home run; that’s obviously fun as it is. But when you come back in, you get the cowboy hat put on you, and then you get the (stick) horse, you get mounted on, you start riding and everything … it’s a lot of fun,” Kline told MTN Sports Monday with a smile.
And fun is exactly where Kline is positioned in his baseball career. He’s no spring chicken by pro baseball standards, now entering his fourth season with the Mustangs.
“I’m 25, about to be 26 here in a week, so at this point it’s kind of (for) the love of the game,” Kline said of what draws him back to the game.
At his age, the infielder can only laugh at the thought that he's nearly aged in to becoming a member of the coaching staff. Mustangs manager Craig Maddox sees the potential.
“With Jacob, you know exactly what you’re going to get. He’s going to come in, he’s passionate about the game, he’s going to take care of his job,” Maddox said of Kline's veteran presence.
But these independent professional baseball teams don’t just hand out roster spots. Not afraid to get dirty on the diamond, the Ohio native still had to make the team in a city he’s grown to love.
“It honestly feels like a second home to me at this point. When you’re from Ohio, there’s not really much to look at on a daily basis, so when you get out here and get up on the Rims, it’s pretty special to me,” Kline said just over 24 hours ahead of Tuesday's 6:35 p.m. season opener at Dehler Park against the Missoula Paddleheads
Naturally, it’s also fun trying to hit the Rims when he’s at bat.
“That would be a long way (to hit a baseball), but yeah, that’s the goal,” Kline laughed.
And that goal started at a young age.
“I think I was 3 years old because I played up a couple years on my sister’s team. My dad just threw me in at the end of the lineup, and in tee ball, everybody hits, so I would hit it and just keep running the entire way,” he recalled.
Now when Kline hits it far enough, the "cowboy" rides instead of running.
