Remembering JR Voyles

May 30, 2008   ·   Patrick Hickey, Jr.   ·   Jump to comments

When Zach Lutz went down after two at bats last season, many Cyclones fans wondered who was going to fill the void at third base. However, the wondering didn’t last for long as JR Voyles quickly established himself as a dependable replacement on the field and in the batter’s box. After replacing Lutz on Opening Day, Voyles hit a three-run homer to give the Cyclones their first win of the season and kept the team going in a positive direction after the highest drafted player on the team was injured.

As the season wore on, Voyles became something of a fan favorite, quickly being dubbed J-RBI by Cyclones announcer Warner Fusselle and J-Money by yours truly. However, as the season wore on, Voyles was hit by the injury bug and it hurt his overall production, which could have been immensely better than the .254 batting average and 29 RBI he ended up with by season’s end. He was also drilled in the head by a pitch towards the end of the season in what had to be one of the scariest accidents I have ever seen on a baseball diamond. However, Voyles was back the next game [with a shiner the size of a coconut mind up] and even though he didn’t play, he gave his team the drive to continue their playoff push. A man of few words, Voyles, like a few of his teammates, did his talking on the field.

“It feels good to have an important role on the team,” said Voyles after he began to establish himself with the team, reaching base in eight of the team’s first nine games last season. “Eventually, everyone is going to get hot. Good hitting is contagious.”

While he wasn’t much of a talker, Voyles did say on more than a few occasions that he was happy he was playing so well because he didn’t see himself being more than a pinch-hitter/ defensive replacement on the team that year. Cyclones manager Edgar Alfonzo thought otherwise though.

“I don’t know why he thought he wasn’t going to have a big role here, because right now, he’s so important to this team,” said Alfonzo. “I knew in extended spring training that he was something special and now he’s proving it. He’s a gamer. He does so many things well and he’s been a huge reason why we’ve been so successful this season.”

While so many would quickly point to his stats as the reason why he was so liked by the fans, I beg to differ. Seeing this guy battle for a spot on the team and then go out and make the most of it really made him endearing to the fans and more importantly, his teammates, who looked at him as kind of a spiritual leader. Again, while he wasn’t nearly as successful in the second half of the season, he was the team’s MVP through the first 40 games of the season and was one of the reasons why they made the playoffs.

Currently hitting .260 with 13 hits in 16 games this season for the St. Lucie Mets, Voyles is now proving that he can hit at higher levels in the organization. Able to play second base and shortstop in addition to the hot corner, Voyles may just continue to surprise a few people as he advances through the organization.

Photo by Daniel Wos