Jens Deju
Jeff Stanek is a senior first baseman on the SIU baseball team. He is a four-year starter and currently is one of the team leaders in hitting and has helped propel the Salukis to an 11-4 start. He recently took some time off to speak with Jens Deju of the Daily Egyptian.
Daily Egyptian: How would you describe yourself as a player?
Jeff Stanek: Someone that works hard in the weight room and on the field, spends extra time doing work and basically just loves to compete and likes to win.
DE: How would you sum up your four years here?
JS: I'd have to say it started off real well and then had a little trouble in between, got injured in between. Hopefully I'll end it with a bang ... go out with a good season.
DE: How would you describe yourself off the field?
JS: I'm pretty social, have a pretty good social life. I like to hang out with the guys on the team, I have friends and we go out and have a good time.
DE: Do you try to model yourself after any other players?
JS: Cal Ripken is always an inspiration to a lot of baseball players because of how hard he works to be in the game every day. I'd say he's a pretty good inspiration.
DE: What's more exciting, the World Series or the College World Series?
JS: I'd say the College World Series because it's just, the atmosphere with all the students and stuff is just a lot better. In any college sport, it seems like all the college major championships are a lot more exciting, a lot more fun to watch.
DE: What do you think has been the key to the team's quick start this year?
JS: Dedication in everything. Dedication in the weight room, wanting to be here, wanting to do extra work, wanting to win.
DE: What have been the differences between this year and last year?
JS: Depth. The depth we have this year, the amount of pitchers we have, the amount of extra position players ... not only do we have good starters, we have good reserves who can come in and do the job.
DE: How much motivation did being picked second to last in the MVC give you guys?
JS: Without a doubt, it gave us probably the most motivation. You kind of expected it with the year we had last year, but just with everything we had coming back and some of the guys who were ineligible last year coming back, it's kind of like a slap in the face. It's real motivating. We want to really show them what we're made of, what we're worth.
DE: What was the key to the eight-game winning streak you guys had earlier this season?
JS: Playing solid defense, hitting and pitching. We had pretty much all three going for us. Some games pitching was there, some games hitting was there. We just kind of picked each other up.
DE: What do you think of the fact you guys already have 11 wins when you only had 19 last season?
JS: It's nice, but we're kind of disappointed that we let a couple slip away, so we feel we could have a couple more. We're pleased with how many wins we have now, but we kind of want to shoot for more. Play every game to win. Expect to win.
DE: Favorite actor?
JS: I'll say Robert DeNiro.
DE: Favorite movie?
JS: "Casino."
DE: Favorite TV show?
JS: "Seinfeld."
DE: Favorite musician?
JS: I'll say Led Zeppelin.
DE: Favorite local restaurant?
JS: Mary Lou's.
Reporter Jens Deju can be reached at jdeju@dailyegyptian.com
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
