GOLDEN EAGLE
Luke Gold putting in work as summer ball heats up
BALLSTON SPA, NY » If there’s something that stands out above the rest about Ballston Spa graduate Luke Gold, it’s that he doesn’t take up too much time before showing off his power.
On February 15, 2020, Boston College played their second game of the season and Gold was starting at second base. In the second inning, he launched a three-run home run down the left field line. The freshman would go on to collect 14 hits, with four doubles and the homer, playing in all 15 games for the Eagles prior to their season getting cut short in mid-March.
“Your freshman year of college is really something to look forward to, especially when you’re playing in a good conference with studs all over the field,” Gold said. “I was glad to get a little taste of it, but obviously it stinks getting shut down so quick, in the way that it did. We had the whole season planned out.”
Four months later, Gold finds himself playing in the newly formed Independent Collegiate Baseball League for the Albany Dutch. Yet again, it didn’t take him too long to show off his power. In the second game of the Opening Day double-header on July 6, against the Amsterdam Mohawks, he lined a two-run homer to left in the top of the first inning.
He did it again on July 8 against the Glens Falls Independents. After an injury scare (hamstring) and being removed as a precaution, Gold came back on July 13 and hit another long ball. This time it
would be a three-run shot and his third of the season, putting to bed any concerns on his health.
“I didn’t really want to test it. I’ve never had my hamstring feel like that before, so I just wanted to play it safe,” Gold explained on coming out of the game on July 8.
The infielder has not played a full season of baseball since his senior year of high school. His PGCBL season got cut short last year after getting hit in the face with a pitch. He has since started to wear the c-flap extension on his helmet.
“I started using it in fall ball last year and then at school and it doesn’t obstruct my vision at all. I plan on continuing to use it, just in case anything happens,” he said.
“I think of it a little bit. It’ll get in my head now and then, but it’s not really something that I think about. That specific thing probably can’t happen again because of the c-flap. Sometimes I’ll get brushed up, up and in, and I’ll have to get reset but I can’t let that get to me.”
At the end of the day, all that matters to Gold is that he’s finally able to play baseball again.
“I really just want to use these thirty games to gain as much information that I can about myself. Things that I did well, things I need to improve upon and use that to translate into my fall and sophomore seasons. I think playing in this league is going to help me become a better overall baseball player,” he said.
“Things weren’t looking too good for for awhile and a lot of people had to work hard to make sure that this could happen. I’m really grateful to have the opportunity to play ball this summer.”
In the 15 games Gold played for Boston this spring he batted .246, a mark much lower than he is accustomed to from when he dominated the Suburban Council with .430+ batting averages. Without having a full season of at-bats to see college pitching, he plans on using these games to perfect his in-game mechanics.
“I’m trying to let the ball get deep and put my best swing on it. When I do that so far, I’ve been getting good results. I just have to keep seeing that ball well and keep that approach and hopefully it will continue,” he said.
The key to his success is making sure he doesn’t miss his pitch.
“For me, especially offensively, I have to work on being on-time and not missing as many fastballs. In the spring in college, I was missing a lot of them. I was fouling them straight back. I need to be on time with my swing. I take my best swing pretty much every single time in BP, so I need that to translate to the game, so every time I swing the bat, it’s with my best mechanics and best intent.”
While Gold is naturally a shortstop, something else he’s working on is becoming more versatile, which is something that will help him in the long run, as he dreams of playing at the next level.
“Our head coach at BC, Mike Gambino, is a field coach and luckily he has us work on all three positions: short, second and third. So I really get equal work at all three positions and a ton of reps,” Gold said.
“One of the big things that has helped me was playing a lot of shortstop. I feel like if you can play shortstop, you can play anywhere. I feel like that’s the most difficult position because you’re kind of in charge and have to cover a lot more ground. Since I’m comfortable there, I’ve been able to move over to second and third, wherever I need to.”
Gold is fully aware of the pros that come along with being versatile and he is even open to exploring positions outside the infield, should that improve his chances at playing beyond college.
“I think it’s huge. I played shortstop my whole life and the guys that are really valuable to teams are guys that can play multiple positions. A middle infielder that can move to the corners or even the outfield. As long as I just continue working on my three positions and maybe even in the outfield a little, who knows, I think that’ll be really helpful for me.”
One thing that is for sure, Gold plans on playing baseball for as long as possible. Whether that means getting drafted and signing with a big league team, using his extended year of NCAA eligibility or playing in adult league past college, you can be sure that he’s going to be showing off his power for a long time.
“I’ve always wanted to play the game of baseball for as long as I possibly can. Either a career in the majors or just in a twilight league after I’m done, but I’m going to play as long as I can. If I don’t end up getting drafted or signed at the end of my junior or senior years and I have the opportunity, I would love to take that extra year to continue working really hard and pursuing the dream of getting drafted and playing pro ball, to make that a reality.