CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Bearcats catcher Kory Klingenbeck grew up with the same goal many young ballplayers in the area have.
"Cincinnati kids want to play for Cincinnati," Klingenbeck said.
It wasn't an easy path, but Klingenbeck is living out his dream.
"They didn't really look at me out of high school. I had the opportunity to come here after junior college. It was just surreal to me that it all came true… what this place means to me is quite insane," Klingenbeck said.
"When he comes out of that locker room every day, it doesn't matter if he went 4-for-4 the last day; he's going to give me a smile, he's going to give me a 'how you doing, coach?' He's going to say 'coach, you look good today.' I know he's lying, but that's OK," Cincinnati baseball head coach Jordan Bischel said.
Inside baseball, Klingenbeck is what's known as the ultimate "clubhouse guy."
"I just want to play for the city and help these guys win as much as I can," Klingenbeck said.
Hear more about Klingenbeck's impact on the Bearcats in the video below:
Last season, he only had one hit.
"I really didn't want to play baseball anymore after last year," Klingenbeck said.
"What's awesome about Kory is when you're a junior and get one hit at this level, you do one thing and you transfer out. You go somewhere else where you're going to play more," Bischel said.
"My family was here. I had all the support here. He came up to me last year in Texas, when we lost to Texas Tech, and he said, I gave him a hug and he said, 'I want you back here.' And that really hit me," Klingenbeck said.
"You have to get his; you have to strike people out, you have to do those things to win. But you need 40 guys who believe in what they are doing and who don't make it about themselves," Bischel said.
Klingenbeck said it's all for the Queen City.
"It's just for this place, it's for Cincinnati. I just love it so much. I just love everybody around it," Klingenbeck said.
Because of the game that raised him, after his baseball career ends this spring, the Elder High School alum will continue to serve the city he loves by joining the Cincinnati Fire Department.
"I just want to help the guy next to me, the guy to the left, the guy to the right," Klingenbeck said.
Before he trades in his catcher's mask for a fire helmet, Klingenbeck has postseason baseball to worry about. The Bearcats are awaiting to find out if and where they will play in their first NCAA regional since 2019.
"The signs on the wall (that show the Bearcats' postseason accomplishments) back there haven't been updated in a while," Klingenbeck said.
Bischel said Klingenbeck has helped the Bearcats "win a heck of a lot more games than most people realize."
"I want to leave this place better than I found it when I first got here," Klingenbeck said.
