The Duke baseball team is off to the best start in team history, and at the center of it all is senior Mike King. On a team comprised almost entirely of freshmen and sophomores, King finds himself as the lone senior among the everyday players. With that as the case, King by default is left with the task of leading the team, something he chooses to do less by words and more by actions.
"I really try to lead more by example," King said. "I don't try to push players, they just sort of look up to me and the way I play-which is to go out and be a consistent player every day, to play to the best of my ability and have fun."
Apparently, the younger players on the team are paying very close attention to King's style of play because they seem to have adopted their senior centerfielder's approach to the game.
"Mike's always had a great disposition for the game because he is even keel," said head coach Steve Traylor. "This is not an emotional team. No matter how the game is going we try to take the same approach, and that really mirrors Mike's attitude. I think he really needs to take some credit for that."
In high school, King excelled at basketball and soccer in addition to baseball, earning all-district honors in all three sports in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Basketball was King's favorite, but he knew that it was baseball that would take him to college. Duke had originally recruited King during his freshman year of high school-but as a pitcher. It was that early jump in the recruiting process that eventually lured King to Duke.
"I got my first college letter from Duke," King said, "and that always stayed in the back of my mind. That along with the strong academics and a lot of urging from my mom convinced me to come to Duke."
King's career at Duke started strongly as he earned a spot as an everyday player early in his freshman year, playing just about anywhere the team needed him, from catcher to second base to the outfield. King's versatility and .301 batting average over 46 games earned him the team's outstanding rookie award.
King's sophomore year was a learning experience as he maintained his status as a starter but played second fiddle on a Duke team that was loaded with talented players. For the second year in a row, King struggled with an ailing throwing shoulder. Ever since high school he had actively attempted to heal the shoulder through rehabilitation, leery to opt for surgery because he knew that it would mean he could never pitch again. At the end of that second season, team doctors advised King to fix it for good by going under the knife.
"That surgery was probably the best thing that happened to me baseball-wise here at Duke," King says. "It really increased my range of motion and took my arm from 60 percent or so my sophomore year to almost 100 percent now."
The positive results of the surgery were seen through his junior year as he batted .357 and lead the team with 11 home runs and 49 RBIs. This year King has continued to tear it up from the plate, as he has already belted five homers and consistently come through with tough hits in the clutch.
"Mike is a legitimate first-team All-ACC type of player," Traylor said. "Hopefully he'll get his due this year because he is not in anyone's shadow."
King's consistent play, coupled with the productive bats of the young Blue Devil batting order and the strong pitching staff-anchored by seniors Scott Schoeneweis, Craig Starman and David Darwin-give the Blue Devils a legitimate shot at advancing far into the postseason.
"We definitely have a chance to go to regionals," King said. "After my sophomore year where we had a great team, down the road looked like nothing but rebuilding. Now I see us as a complete team. The defense is there, the hitting is there and the pitching is there. In the four years that I've been here, we've never really had that."
When this season comes to an end, King is hoping to have a shot at playing professional baseball. After four quality years in the ACC and several summers spent playing in the Great Lakes and Valley wooden bat leagues, King stands a good chance of being selected in this June's draft.
"You really just have to wait and see," King said. "I've talked to scouts and they are all optimistic, but what happens is really up in the air."
Should the world of professional baseball not be in King's future, he would like to use his degree in economics to pursue a career in business. If baseball does offer even the slightest of chances, however, King will not hesitate to jump at the opportunity.
"Whether I am playing close to the top or way down in the farm system, I would love to play for a couple more years," said King. "It would delay having to enter the real world for a while, and it would be the experience of a lifetime."
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