<table bgcolor=#eaeaea> <td> <font color=#000000> <blockquote> <p align=justify>
He never swung a baseball bat in his backyard trying to hit like Mike Piazza would.
He never put on a catcher's mask with aspirations of picking off a runner like Ivan Rodriguez would.
And he never dreamed what it would be like to be the next A.J. Pierzynski or Jason Varitek -- former Central Florida high school catchers now starring in Major League Baseball.
Jonathan Lucroy can't remember ever trying to emulate the best from the pros.
"My whole life, I've always wanted to be the best," Lucroy said. "My dad was always telling me, 'You have to separate yourself.' When you do that, you separate yourself from everybody in a good way. That's how you get noticed.
"I don't want to be like anybody. I just want to be my own player."
With awards and praise coming from every direction, the former Umatilla High slugger may one day have young players striving to be like him. That's if he already doesn't have a few here in Florida or in Louisiana, where he has shined in Division I baseball the past two seasons for University of University of Louisiana.
<center><p><a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/highschool/lake/orl-llucroy1306sep13,0,4776361.story?coll=orl-sports-headlines-lake" target="_blank">The rest of the story</a>
Justin Fiore Mckim
Special to the Sentinel
<!--
Baseball America recently ranked Lucroy as one of the nation's top prospects from this year's summer-league play. Lucroy was chosen most valuable player for the Florida Collegiate Summer League's Winter Park Diamond Dawgs. He led the wood-bat league with six home runs and 29 RBIs while helping Winter Park win the league championship.
"I was very surprised," Lucroy said of the praise from Baseball America. "There are a lot of good players out there. It felt real good; it was special.
"Hitting with a wooden bat makes you hit better with a metal bat. And to play against such high-quality players makes me better and makes the other players better."
Lucroy has been a major reason why University of Louisiana has gone 87-39 his first two years. He was a pleasant surprise as a freshman for the Ragin' Cajuns, leading the team with a .379 batting average, mostly serving as a designated hitter. His freshman campaign also included five home runs and 48 RBIs.
As a sophomore, Lucroy was back behind the plate full time where he threw out 25 percent of runners last spring. He was packing some pop at the plate, too. His 12 home runs and 58 RBIs led the team. But watching his batting average dip to .333 -- a mark most batters would be proud to hit -- left Lucroy with more to be desired.
"I want to be better in everything," Lucroy said. "I need to work on that and being more consistent with hits."
He has not taken much time off since the FCSL ended in early August. He is back in Louisiana, taking fall courses. He swings a bat almost daily. He is also working on his arm strength to improve his defensive skills for next spring.
He will be working on being the first Jonathan Lucroy, not the next Jorge Posada.
-->
</td> </table>
