Suby brothers united on Tracy Express
Matt Suby, Andrew Suby opened season as teammates for first timeDavid Griswold dgriswold@marshallindependent.com
Article Photos
Chemistry can go a long ways on the baseball diamond.
Teams strive to be more than a bustle of players, or even friends - teams strive to be like a band of brothers.
For Andrew Suby and Matt Suby, that relationship already runs in their blood.
The Tracy Express' Andrew Suby, 32, and Matt Suby, 26, for the first time in their baseball careers get to hit the field as teammates.
"It's been pretty special," said Matt Suby. "Andrew is old enough that until this year, we haven't had the chance to play on the same team. I watched him play and he watched me play for a few years, but now its fun to have a teammate you know so well and be able to go out there and play baseball together."
"It's been a blast," Andrew Suby said. "Watching him for years, and I know he's been watching me for years. It's fun being on the same team."
Andrew Suby played high school baseball with Luverne, where he graduated in 1995, but then the family moved to Marshall and Matt Suby was able to play as a Tiger with Marshall High School until 2001.
Both went on to play at the collegiate level as Andrew Suby played for Southwest Minnesota State University and Matt Suby played for Augustana College.
Andrew Suby saw action with the Mustangs in 1997 and 1998 where he played in a total of 13 games, and in just 20-at bats drove in three RBI.
Matt Suby spent four years with Augustana as the Vikings' second baseman. In his junior season he batted .272, including two doubles, while driving in 10 runs and finishing with a fielding percentage of .944.
"I learned a ton," Matt Suby said. "Obviously being in a college program you learn a lot of things, but I had a great experience there."
Outside of playing with the Mustangs, Andrew Suby played with the Marshall A's for five years but had to leave the game as a result of having problems with his arm. He then some time away from baseball, but then last year he hit the field again as a member of the Tracy Express.
"I worked with a lot of guys at U.S. Bank that played for the Tracy Express," he said. "They just kept talking to me and I finally decided to go back out. I knew I was going to be rusty because i hadn't played in a while, but they told me that second base was open - which I thought was probably a pretty good spot with all the arm issues I had."
Matt Suby also spent some time with the Marshall A's before meeting up with his brother in Tracy. He played seven years with Marshall but jumped over to Tracy to start this season with the opportunity to join his brother on the same team.
"The biggest reason was the chance to play with (Andrew) and be on the same team, be on the same field and see what we can do together," said Matt Suby on leaving the A's. "It's just a great group of guys that enjoy playing baseball. They've been great teammates and we've gotten better as the year has gone on."
Last year, in the Express' inaugural season, Tracy won just five games, but this year, with the addition of a few new faces, the Express have three more wins with seven games still remaining on the schedule.
"It's a team that when everybody is there, we're definitely playing better together," Andrew Suby said. "It's a little bit more fun this year, a little bit more relaxed than what we were last year. We still struggle to get everybody there, that's why we're not winning as many games. But it's definitely a much-improved team."
Both the Suby brothers have been key contributors to Tracy's success this season both from the plate and in the field.
Andrew Suby is among the team leaders with a .333 batting average, including six doubles, and has an on-base percentage of .419. He has driven in nine runs thus far in his first season with the Express and has stolen five bases.
"He's had a very solid season," said Tracy manager Aaron Ziemer. "In 75 at bats, he's only struck out six times, so he's a very complete ball player. He's a guy who is solidifying himself as a number three hitter in our batting order."
In the field, Ziemer said his defense is second to none.
Matt Suby has found some success from the plate as well. He matches Andrew Suby's RBI total, while including a triple to his season statistics.
Matt Suby is currently batting .279 and has an on-base percentage of .367.
"It's just been interesting watching them play together," Ziemer said. "Anytime that they turn double plays in the middle infield, we kind of joke about it being like it was (growing up) in the backyard. It's been fun."
In the field, Matt Suby grew up primarily playing second base. Now, with the Express, he plays a versatile role as he is shuffled between playing second base, shortstop or third base.
"It's been a lot of fun," Matt Suby said. "It's been challenging playing new positions, since I haven't played anything but second base for so many years, but it's fun to go out to the field with those guys."
There are some things that are bigger than baseball, and for the Suby brothers it's having the opportunity to play alongside each other as teammates.
"It makes you nervous about how somebody else plays, because you want him (Matt) to do good as well, but it's so much fun," said Andrew Suby. "We've probably turned four or five double plays together, between him being at third and short at different times this year. It just makes it that much more exciting to be out there to do that."
