July 8, 2020 at 11:00 a.m.
'I'd much rather be playing baseball right now'
Danny Zuiker opens up about losing senior baseball season
'I'd much rather be playing baseball right now'
Danny Zuiker has spent a lot more time on the water recently. It is a small consolation for the Rhinelander High School senior who was supposed to be manning second base for the Hodag baseball team this spring and the Rhinelander Post 7 Rebels this summer.
Both seasons were canceled due to coronavirus pandemic, which also took away Zuiker's final opportunities to play baseball in a competitive environment, as he is not age-eligible to return to the U19 Rebels program next summer.
"It really sucks. I don't know," Zuiker said. "I'm really disappointed about it, and I know my dad is too, but I've just kind of been making the most out of it, just doing stuff to pass the time that I don't normally get to do because of it.
"It's been nice to do a bit more musky fishing since I'm not able to when I'm at baseball practice all the time or games. I've been liking it, but I'd much rather be playing baseball right now."
There were some high hopes for the Rhinelander baseball program this year. Though the high school squad would have been relatively green in the pitching department, a group of seniors, led by Zuiker and others, were poised to have a breakout offensive year, according to Hodag baseball coach Joe Waksmonski.
Zuiker said he saw the potential as well.
"I felt like we were going to have plenty of pitchers this year, because we had struggled with that the past couple of years, just not having that many people to pitch," he said. "A lot of younger guys were going to step up this year, like (Isaac) Bixby and Joe Schneider and all them. They've been practicing a bunch and they were ready for the season."
Come summer, a few experienced arms were set to return from college for their final year of eligibility with the Rebels, leading to hopes that the team could improve on its runner-up finish at last year's regional tournament. The team to Antigo in 10 innings in a game that would have forced a winner-take-all championship game had the Rebels won.
"I was really looking forward to this baseball season with some high hopes," said Zuiker, who led the Hodags last spring with a .353 batting average from the leadoff spot in the lineup. "Last year, I didn't really get everything that I wanted to - getting second-team (all-conference) and some awards like that. I would have really liked to have gotten first-team, maybe some other awards from Legion, like I did last year.
"I had really high hopes of how I was going to be able to do this year and how our team was going to do. That's the most disappointing thing, just not being able to complete it. It just feels unfinished, I guess."
While there was some disappointment for Zuiker in late April when the WIAA canceled all spring prep baseball games and the state tournament, there was still a glimmer of hope that the American Legion Baseball season would proceed, given that it was scheduled for the summer months.
Those hopes were dashed May 9 when the Wisconsin American Legion Baseball Association officially pulled the plug on its season as well.
"I was super disappointed about that," Zuiker said. "That's what I had been hoping, not being able to play our regular (high school) season, I was already super disappointed about that. I was just praying that we'd have that Legion season to fall back on and at least be able to play some games at the end of my career. Finding out about that, that was super disappointing."
Adding to the disappointment for Zuiker was the fact that he lost out on the chance to be in the dugout with his father, Ken, who was set to be back as one of the Rebels' assistant coaches again this summer.
"That would have been awesome," the younger Zuiker said. "He's been doing that for as long as he can, pretty much now. It would have been awesome for him to be there and see me play my last few games."
There was at least some question as to how healthy Zuiker would have been at the start of the season after hurting his arm during the hockey season for the Hodags. Zuiker said he has been doing exercises to keep his arm in shape, but, at the time this interview was conducted, it was still giving him some trouble, especially if he was holding any weight above his head.
When the interview was conducted, there was still hope for an abbreviated high school baseball season, which would have featured a slate of four games next week. The district's pandemic response team nixed those plans June 23 while laying out a plan to gradually reopen district athletic facilities this month as the pandemic lingers.
"It will be nice to get back out on the field," Zuiker said. "Obviously, it won't be the same just because it just won't feel the same. Not everyone's going to be caring as much, I feel like. I don't know, I just feel like I want to get back on the field one more time and just compete one last time.
"That would definitely give some closure to the season. You be at least able to get back on the field and experience it."
Zuiker has tried to stay as busy as he can. That's where fishing comes into the equation.
"I've just been making the most out of it, just staying around as few people as I can, keeping the circle small," he said. "Fishing's been big for me. Hanging out with friends a little more, but it's kind of hard right now."
Whether at home or on the water, Zuiker has had plenty of time to reflect on his unique situation. For him, it has been about controlling the controllable and dealing with the uncontrollable.
"Stuff like this is going to go on. Hopefully, we don't have anything as bad as what's happened to us go on any more, but just the whole dealing with adversity and just moving on with stuff in life and dealing with all bad stuff," he said. "Keep finding other stuff that makes you happy to do. It's all going to end at some point. Obviously, no one wants to go out this way, but just keep enjoying life and doing stuff you enjoy."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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