MARSHALL - At the top of his game.
Coon Rapids native, Southwest Minnesota State University alumni and Marshall A's ace Aaron Lindstrom has been around the game of baseball his whole life. So much so, he calls the diamond his home away from home.
"Baseball is the sport that I have always loved," Lindstrom said. "I played a lot of baseball growing up, I was always around the baseball field. That is what we did in the summer. We didn't take family vacations, we went to baseball or softball tournaments. We were always at the ballpark. You get used to it and you love it and I am still doing it."
It doesn't matter if he is on the baseball diamond as a player, coach or volunteer. It doesn't matter if the game is for the League Championship or just a pick-up game with friends, Lindstrom has had a positive impact on the game he loves so much, Marshall A's manager Sean Culhane said.
"Aaron is one of those guys where everything that he does is positive," Culhane said. "He gives us 100 percent every time he goes out on the field and the leadership he gives us is just as great. I appreciate it as a coach and the players appreciate it as well. They know they are going to get a bulldog-outing every time he is on the mound."
Being around the game and at the ballpark is what life is all about for Lindstrom. He said being positive is easy when you love what your doing.
"I think you want to be positive in anything you do, whether it is playing baseball or at work," he said. "You want to bring a positive attitude and have a positive outlook, and that definitely rubs off on other people."
Lindstrom, a three-year starter for SMSU and a four-year starter for the Marshall A's, has grown as a player and person on the baseball field, Culhane said.
"I think his consistency is one of the big things with Aaron," he said. "He is able to start all the time for us - he is constantly keeping our team in ball games. He is one of those people that is a gamer, he wants the ball and he gets stronger as he goes - if he makes it through the first three innings he is pretty golden and he can go the distance."
Lindstrom has been one of the top players in the State for quite sometime, coming out of high school Lindstrom was one of the top 100 players to be recruited, Culhane said.
"What people forget about Aaron is he was recruited to Southwest as a catcher," he said. "You sometimes forget the talent he has, he is a good hitter, he can play anywhere in the field, he is a good all-around baseball player."
Lindstrom said making the change from behind the plate to the pitchers mound wasn't a challenging one and one that he was very open too.
"I was very open to the change because I knew I wasn't going to get a lot of playing time as a catcher," he said. "I wanted to do what was best for my team and they needed me on the mound. Plus being a catcher you know how to pitch to guys and you know where to miss - when you go from catching to pitching it isn't that different, you are just on the other end of the stick."
Lindstrom had no experience pitching, he didn't throw in high school or even Legion ball, in fact his first time on the mound came at the end of his freshman season at SMSU.
"The coaches said I had a pretty good arm behind the plate," he said. "So they decided to put me on the hill. It all kind of started at one practice, I stepped on the mound and threw 85 miles per hour and they said they would find a spot for me in the pen."
Now, Lindstrom on the pitchers mound is a very common sight, he has been pitching in the Marshall area for six years. Culhane said the work-ethic and attitude that he brings to the game of baseball are one in a million.
"He is not overpowering," he said. "He has good pitches and as he has gotten older he has developed more pitchers and that is the sign of a good pitcher. I think Aaron has done a great job, he has matured on the mound. He understands the game of baseball and plays the game how it should be played."
Finesse has been Lindstrom's strong hold since taking over on the mound. Lindstrom said he knows he isn't a strike out pitcher, but his job is to get people out.
"I have always been a finesse pitcher," he said. "I am not going to blow it by anybody, when I do well I establish my fastball - it won't be hard, it will be inside and outside. The games I succeed at are the ones that I clip the outside corners and I don't have to give them a cookie right down the plate. I let them put it into play and my defense will do the work, just as long as they don't put the sweet spot of the bat on it."
One of the highlights of Lindstrom's playing career came last Friday when the A's hosted his hometown team Coon Rapids, who are coach by his Dad. Lindstrom picked up the win on the mound and as a bonus hit a solo shot in front of his friends and family.
"It is always fun when Coon Rapids comes to town," he said. "I played high school ball and Legion ball with them and my old man is the coach and it was a great game. Then to top it off, Sean (Culhane) let me hit and I hit one out of the year, that was a lot of fun and that's what it is all about."
Culhane said Lindstrom has grown into a great baseball player and he is really hitting the peek of his career.
"He understands the game," he said. "He is starting to hit that peek of being a really, really good baseball player and pitcher, not saying he wasn't before. But he has the ability to go out there and throw nine good innings of baseball and hit his spots, and really be the star of any game he is playing in. He is a pleasure to coach and have on the team, I think he is just an unbelievable asset to the Marshall A's."
For Lindstrom though, it is just about being around the game for as long as he can be. He said he can't imagine his life without a baseball diamond and without the game that he loves so much.
"Baseball is what I wake up for," he said. "Baseball is like golf, you can continue to play as long as you take care of yourself. I just love being around the game, that is what you wake up for, you come to the park and you play baseball and when you go out on the mound you don't want lose."
