Making good use of their spare time
Gyorko masters bean bags during shutdown
Like everyone else who was sheltering at home during the COVID-19 pandemic this spring, Jedd Gyorko was going a little stir crazy.
Sure, as a veteran infielder who'd joined the Milwaukee Brewers in the offseason, there was baseball stuff for him to get done since no one knew when — or if — the game would return.
But once he was through with that, Gyorko found himself searching for something else to pass the time on those seemingly endless days back home in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Namely, cornhole. Bean bags. Sack toss. Whatever
Todd Rosiak Milwaukee Journal Sentinel USA TODAY NETWORK – WISCONSIN
you want to call it.
Gyorko became engaged with the game that you’ll see tailgaters playing everywhere in the Miller Park parking lots over the course of a normal season.
And then the competitiveness and creativity came out.
Straight-up games were all well and good. Crazy trick shots and even livestreamed showdowns with former teammates were even better, leading to Gyorko becoming something of a socialmedia sensation as fans sought something — anything — to entertain them during trying times.
“More than anything, I was just really bored,” Gyorko told reporters Tuesday when asked about the genesis of his pandemic pastime.
“I was cooped up in the house and it just kind of happened. My brother-inlaw came over, we started tossing a little cornhole and next thing you know, I was throwing bags behind my back, over the steps and drinking beer.”
Having been a member of Twitter since first breaking in with the San Diego Padres, Gyorko also created an Instagram account shortly after returning home from spring training.
Not long thereafter came the content we all were waiting for.
The first video was of Gyorko in his man cave knocking down bean-bag shots with both hands.
A day later, it was a no-look, behindthe-back toss followed by a slug of beer. (Is this guy a great fit on the Brewers or
In mid-April, he took on former St. Louis Cardinals teammate Kolten Wong in a game live-streamed on Instagram from each player’s home. It turned out to be a one-sided affair as Gyorko, in slippers, crushed Wong, 3-0.
His dominance established, Gyorko started getting even more creative with his trick shots in the days and weeks to come.
There was the behind-the-head shot Gyorko knocked in from the second floor of his living room. Then a speed round in which he knocked down eight straight shots in 35 seconds while alternating sides. Then, finally, a cross-handed two-bagger complete with kudos from ever-present twin sons, Brody and Kadin.
“It was all legit,” Gyorko said when asked if there were any camera shenanigans going on.
“I don’t know how to do any of that editing stuff. I needed somebody else to film me. The two-hand one took a little bit, but none of them took more than 1015 tries.”
With no live professional sports to broadcast in the spring, ESPN often aired professional cornhole tournaments on its family of networks (and continues to even now with MLB and the NBA ramping up).
Might we find Gyorko quenching his competitive fire on that circuit whenever his baseball playing days are done?
“I’ve talked to a couple of pros and I’ve watched them on TV, but I think I’ll just stick to playing at my house because those guys are pretty freaking good,” Gyorko said with a laugh. “Let’s just get through this season and we’ll see what happens after that.”
The need for social distancing during the pandemic won’t allow Gyorko to enjoy his hobby with his new teammates at Miller Park — “I don’t think that’ll get past (protocol),” he said — but the season opens Friday against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field and all of the focus will turn to trying to make the most of the 60-game sprint.
Gyorko is looking to rebound from his toughest season yet, one in which he hit only .174 with two home runs and nine runs batted in over 62 games (just 15 starts) split between the Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Calf and back injuries were to blame. Even with 2019 factored in, Gyorko’s average season has produced a .245/23/71 line and the Brewers would be thrilled with similar production this year from the 31-year-old.
Gyorko, meanwhile, is thrilled with just feeling healthy once again.
“I feel good,” he said. “One thing I’ve been talking about with a lot of our trainers is for whatever reason I would always pull something in May, so I already got past that part. Hopefully, I can be healthy the rest of the way and be good to go.”
While manager Craig Counsell is loathe to pigeonhole anyone on his roster — referring instead to those nonpitchers as members of his positionplayer group — it would appear Gyorko’s primary role on the Brewers will be as the right-handed-hitting option at third base, platooning with Eric Sogard.
Gyorko has 220 starts at that spot. He’s a natural second baseman who also can play shortstop, first base and even left field in a pinch, more than fitting the bill of the Brewers’ preference for versatile players.
“I haven’t really been told too much yet,” said Gyorko when asked about his potential role.
The Brewers signed him to a oneyear, $2 million deal in January with a club option for 2021.
“I think we’re all just ready to go out there and play,” Gyorko continued. “With the season only being 60 games, it’s got to be all hands on deck every single game. We’re all going to be prepared, we all want to play every single day. I think we’re all anxious to get out there.
“I know Couns is great about putting guys in the best situation to succeed, so I think we’re all excited to get this thing going.”