Jack, who is from Thousand Oaks, California, was drafted by St. Louis in 1998 and got traded to the Pirates in 2000, which is when he began his professional career. Jake was born a couple of years later, and until 2009, “we spent summers in Pittsburgh,” he said. “All of the offseason was in California, then once it was time for spring training it was down to Florida, and then when the season started it was right back to Pittsburgh. We were traveling a lot growing up.”
Jack was a fan favorite during his time in Pittsburgh, producing a career year in 2004 which resulted in that All-Star nod along with the Silver Slugger, awarded annually to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and National League.
He remembers the buzz around the city when the Penguins won the 2005 NHL Draft Lottery and the right to select Crosby first overall, “and that's really what drew us to come over and see him,” Jack said. “Going over there and watching the Penguins practice and seeing the professionalism that they have and just admiring it, just started watching a lot of hockey games and really focusing on the Penguins.”
The start of Jack’s final season in Pittsburgh is when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2009, “which was amazing. We were always just like, man, we gotta step it up. The Steelers are good, the Penguins are winning Stanley Cups,” Jack recalled with a laugh.
A couple days after the Penguins returned home from celebrating in Detroit, they brought the trophy to PNC Park, stopping in the clubhouse to share it with the Pirates. Jack told Crosby with a laugh that when people ask about his best baseball experience, he replies, ‘When the Penguins showed up with the Cup.”
“We couldn’t believe how relaxed it was before a game. We just walked in and everybody’s hanging out,” Crosby said with a grin.
Jack remembers he had just gotten his uniform on and was all dialed in when Crosby entered, “and we all just lost it,” he smiled. “They delayed the game for like 45 minutes so that they could announce it. We were playing the Tigers, too, so that was even cooler.
“It was one of the best sports moments I've ever been a part of because they didn't tell us anything was happening. So, when Sid walked in with the Cup, just to see the people that came to that game at PNC Park kind of react to them showing up and walking on the field, I still get chills… it was amazing. It was so great for our city. It was really cool.”
Even after Jack got traded to Seattle later that summer, he’s supported the black and gold ever since.
“He was definitely a big Penguins fan, and just a big Pittsburgh fan. Whatever sport it was, I grew up in Pittsburgh, his heart stays there,” Jake said. “So, even now to this day, whatever the Pittsburgh teams are doing, we still follow them.”
They were thrilled the timing worked out for them this year, as Jake has a bit of a break before he reports for spring training in Arizona on Feb. 18. After three years at Grand Canyon State University, the 21-year-old is set to begin the first professional season of his career, and his dad truly couldn’t be more proud.
“He's my best friend. We spend so much time together, and watching him kind of grow into what he's become, and hopefully the career that he wants to have, I just want him to be successful and have fun with it. So, it's been an absolute blast,” Jack said.
“I would never dream of getting to be a first-round pick. It was an amazing thing to go through. So, it's really cool now just to be a super fan and just follow him around and bug him all the time. And like, just watch him grow into an awesome young man and a really good player. Hopefully we'll be here in Vegas in a couple of years with the A's. We'll see what happens.”
