Talkin’ Turkey: Brown County’s Buss enjoys adventures as hunter and prep baseball player

MT. STERLING, Ill. — Perhaps no conversation better illustrates Brown County senior catcher Jack Buss’ personality than the one he had with Hornets coach Jared Hoots at practice on March 28.

It was the day before youth spring turkey hunting season opened in Illinois. Buss, an avid hunter, planned to get up early the next morning to get time in the woods before the Hornets played Camp Point Central and Canton later that day.

“I was out on the on-deck circle,” Buss said. “Hooty asked me if I was going to get a turkey that weekend, and I said, ‘Yeah, I’m going to get him, then I’m going to bring him here and set him by the on-deck circle every time I go up to bat.’

“Hoots asked me, ‘Why would you do that? You can’t just go up there and strike out then come back and pick up your turkey.’ I said, ‘Well, I could come back and pick up the turkey, and my pride would come back.’”

That interaction between Buss and Hoots is not out of the ordinary.

“He tells me about all his hunts,” Hoots said. “With him being a catcher and with me hitting ground balls and fly balls during in-and-outs, we have plenty of conversations. I know all about his adventures, that’s for sure.”

Buss did not have the chance to show off that turkey during the Hornets’ doubleheader because he didn’t bag one that morning, but he made up for it the next day.

“I was really mad because I almost got him on Saturday, but my time got cut a little short because of the games,” Buss said. “I did get one Sunday.”

Whether he’s in the woods or on the baseball field, Buss has a seemingly endless supply of energy unlike many players Hoots has coached during his 16 seasons at Brown County.

“When he gets there, you know Jack’s there,” Hoots said. “That’s the best way to put it, and it’s a good energy. He’s excited to be there. It’s not fake by any means. He’s not trying to be the cheerleader just to draw attention to himself. He’s that passionate about Hornet baseball and his teammates.

“People wonder why it gets pretty quiet whenever he gets up to the plate. It’s because he’s doing most of the cheering and most of the action in the dugout. He’s definitely in the top five energy kids that I’ve had that brings energy to the game, but he does it in his own unique way.”

Buss is not strictly an “energy guy,” though. He has started behind the plate for the Hornets since his sophomore season, and while he has always been sound defensively, he has had just as much success at the plate this season.  Through 12 games, Buss is batting .333 with a .459 on-base percentage and eight RBIs.

“His hitting has come a long way,” Hoots said.

Buss said limiting distractions has proven to be a key component to his improvement in the batter’s box.

“Going into the season, I promised myself that I wouldn’t look at my batting average one time until the end of the year,” Buss said. “I was really getting into my own head the last two years like, ‘Man, I can’t hit above this number,’ or ‘I can’t get this average.’ At the end of the day, it’s really not about the average.

“I just go out there with the mentality that I’m better than any pitcher out there. That’s just kind of what you have to do — clear your head and just get after it.”

Buss has the same mentality when on a hunt.

“You have to,” Buss said.

Buss started hunting when he was 5 years old. He also enjoys deer hunting and was on the Brown County trap shooting team for two years, but turkey hunting remains at the top of the pecking order.

“I like both of them, but there’s just something about turkey hunting, about being in the woods really early and hearing them gobble,” Buss said. “It’s one of those weird things where even if you get whooped by them, you’re still happy because it’s like, ‘Well, this means I get to chase them another day.’”

Just like he did on the first Sunday of youth season after Saturday did not go according to plan.

“I was like, ‘Man, if I would have dragged that thing out to the on-deck circle, Hooty would have lost it,’” Buss said.

Maybe another time.

“That’s just the personality he has,” Hoots said. “He wants to get that big turkey and show it off to everybody.”