Being the 'backbone': How Jared Liebelt's father has been instrumental in his son's baseball career

OMAHA, Neb. — Tim Liebelt had everything he needed right in front of him. 

A microphone, his drum set, a tall glass of water, 1,200 people jamming to his band's tunes and — an iPad? 

A tablet is a device better suited for an office desk or a comfy couch. Not a crowded musical stage at Wrigleyville, the famed entertainment district right outside Wrigley Field in Chicago. That's where Liebelt and his band, the Suburban Cowboys, were playing on May 10. 

Liebelt uses the iPad to control programs for the band during its shows, but sometimes he uses it for something completely unrelated to the band's performance. 

While hundreds of people were focused on the music Liebelt and the four other band members were making on stage, Liebelt's attention often wandered to the screen in front of him. 

His son, Mississippi State senior pitcher Jared Liebelt, was having the game of his life at Swayze Field in Oxford, Mississippi, some 623 miles south of Wrigleyville.

As the elder Liebelt beat on the drums and made people's night with the sound of music, the younger one pounded the strike zone and made Mississippi State fans' night with a four-inning save in a 2-0 win over their bitter rival. 

Tim Liebelt watched all 40 of his son's pitches that night. When Jared threw the last one, the show at Wrigleyville was in an intermission. Liebelt went into an alleyway to let out a loud shout of happiness. 

The Suburban Cowboys played 115 dates in 2018 and will play nearly 100 more this year. Liebelt is also in a band called 'Made in America: A Tribute to Toby Keith' that plays at bigger venues twice per month. 

Somehow, someway, Liebelt has not missed a single pitch his son has thrown all season. 

“Thank God for the internet, and thank God for streaming," Liebelt said. 

Undying dedication 

Liebelt got into music when he was 6. He took private lessons, was a member of his school's drum line in middle school and throughout high school and played in some jazz bands before he found his niche in country music. 

Jared was never too into his father's hobby. 

“He never had a performer’s bone," Liebelt joked. "When he was small enough to sit on my knee, he’d bang around in the basement a little bit but he had no interest in playing at all." 

If he didn't have a performer's bone, he had one for pitching. And if he wasn't interested in playing music, he sure was interested in playing baseball. 

Jared picked the game up when he was 7. His dad, still busy with his day job in the printing industry and his weekend shows on the drums, was his pitching coach from that age until he was 15. 

Liebelt coached his son in the Aurora, Illinois, area until Jared started playing on teams that were good enough for travel tournaments. That's when things got hard balancing his personal life with his son's athletic aspirations. 

But as a good father should, Liebelt stayed with Jared every step of the way. 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he hasn’t missed a single pitch in my entire life," Jared said. 

When Jared was still in high school, Liebelt's band played in a show in a Chicago suburb on a Friday night. Jared was already with his team in Columbus, Indiana, a good four-hour drive from the Windy City. 

Liebelt left his show at midnight. Jared's first game of the tournament started at 8 a.m. Liebelt drove through the night to make sure he'd be there. 

“I made every effort to make every single game, and I have made darn near every game he's played during the course of his whole life,” Liebelt said. 

Making the move to MSU

It's gotten a lot harder for Liebelt to see every game in person since Jared started pitching at Mississippi State in 2018. 

Before getting to State, Jared pitched for two seasons at Waubonsee Community College, which was a short 10-minute drive from Liebelt's home in Aurora. His success there led to his recruitment by former MSU pitching coach Gary Henderson.

Though Liebelt knew accepting an offer from Mississippi State would take his son 10 hours south of where he had lived for essentially his entire life, he also knew it was in Jared's best interest to go. 

"We knew the history of SEC baseball and especially Mississippi State," Liebelt said. "It was almost surreal to think he was getting the opportunity that he was getting. It was fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.” 

When Jared accepted his offer to play ball at State, his dad instantly became a Bulldog for life. Liebelt wears 'M over S' hats during shows and constantly brags about his son's endeavors to his band members, so much so that they too have adopted Mississippi State fandom as well. The musicians frequently send Jared messages of encouragement on social media. 

"They always tell me how proud they are of me and how excited they are being able to watch me play,” Jared said.  

This past January, Liebelt was playing at a bar when the clock struck midnight on Jared's 22nd birthday. Liebelt FaceTimed his son and had his band and the patrons of the bar sing happy birthday to him. 

"Not the same as being there, but we tried," Liebelt said. 

A disappointing, 'fluke' season 

Liebelt only went to two of Mississippi State's series during Jared's first season at State in 2018. He saw his son pitch in one game, and it was his best outing of the year. Jared threw 2.0 scoreless innings against Ole Miss without allowing a walk or a hit. 

The rest of the year simply didn't go Jared's way. 

He had a 13.15 ERA by season's end. He only appeared in 12 games and did not make one appearance at TD Ameritrade Park during the College World Series. The coaching staff didn't trust him enough to throw strikes with a national title hanging in the balance. 

“It was awful," Liebelt said. "I watched every single game. I watched every single pitch. Nothing was ever right, and it was excruciating. There was nothing we could do." 

Liebelt said he tried to talk to his son throughout the season, but he didn't feel like there was anything he could say to turn Jared's performances on the mound around. 

“It’s a helpless feeling when you just can’t do anything," Liebelt said. "As a father, you want to be able to help your kids. It doesn’t matter how old they are or what they’re doing. You want to be able to help them in any way that you can.”

Little did Liebelt know his music would soon do the trick. 

Therapeutic tunes

Jared went home for the entirety of the 2018 summer. He didn't want to think about baseball much after the turbulent season he just endured. 

In July, he went to one of his dad's gigs for the first time in years. Made in America was playing at the 70th annual McHenry Fiesta Days festival in McHenry, Illinois. Jared was accompanied by his girlfriend, his mom Jodi and his sister Jordyn. 

Seeing his dad do what he loves in front of such a large audience was cathartic for Jared. He felt better about his baseball situation with every musical note that reverberated around the venue. 

“There were plenty of good, relaxing vibes," Jared said. "The bands that he’s been in have always been really good and very entertaining. They’re enjoyable to listen to.”

Liebelt loved having his son at a show for a change. He viewed it as a way for Jared to decompress after a stressful season at Mississippi State. He said it was refreshing to see his son wear on a smile on his face after months of hardly seeing one at all. 

The night meant a lot more to Jared than Liebelt initially thought, too. 

Jared said his father had more confidence in him than he had in himself during the 2018 season. He felt like going to the music festival was the perfect way to show how much he appreciated that. 

“It’s always a good time being able to watch him do his thing because he’s always going out of his way to watch me do mine," Jared said. "It’s sort of giving back and being his biggest fan because he’s always been my biggest fan.”

Getting back in the groove 

Jared went back to Starkville with a clear state of mind. A new pitching coach, Scott Foxhall, awaited him. Foxhall saw the numbers from the previous season and wondered if there was a way to improve them. 

MSU hitting coach Jake Gautreau had a conversation with Foxhall that set the tone for fall practices. 

“He said that he had an electricity about him and that he had a chance to really help us," Foxhall said. "I was encouraged from day one after talking to coach Gautreau about Jared.”

Foxhall made an effort to give Jared at least one inning of work in every fall scrimmage. He said each time Jared went to the mound, he brought a little more confidence and, subsequently, a little more effectiveness. 

Soon, Mississippi State's batters lumped Jared into the mix with guys like Ethan Small and JT Ginn when deciding who were the hardest pitchers on the roster to get a hit against. 

When the season came around, Jared proved them right. 

He has pitched more innings in relief (51.2) than any other Mississippi State pitcher this season. His ERA of 2.79 is also the second lowest on the team behind red-shirt junior Tyler Spring, who has only pitched 10.1 innings. 

Liebelt has made five trips to watch his son at Dudy Noble Field this season. He also went to the away series in Arkansas and to the two games MSU played in Frisco, Texas, in March. Foxhall deserves credit for getting Jared back in a groove, but Jared knows his father does too. 

“He's a huge part of me just having confidence in myself and being comfortable with everything that I’m doing," Jared said. "Having a dad be the backbone of everything and knowing that he’s going to support me from 10 hours away is just awesome.”

Nervous excitement 

Mississippi State starts its 2019 College World Series run Sunday night at 6:30 p.m. against Auburn. Liebelt will be in the ballpark, and it just so happens to be Father's Day.

Liebelt knew Mississippi State was fully loaded and ready for another run at Omaha six months ago. There was no way he was going to miss this, especially with Jared poised to play a big role. Like he has been so many times before, Jared could be the first Bulldog out of the bullpen when Small's night is finished Sunday. 

“I talked to our band manager in January and told him, ‘Do not book a show in June because I will not be there,’” Liebelt said. 

Liebelt has seen his son go from pitching on worn out little league fields in Aurora to the scenic serenity of Dudy Noble Field, but watching him pitch at TD Ameritrade might take the cake. 

“I don’t think it gets any better," Liebelt said. "I’m so excited. I’m nervous, but not that he's going to fail. I’m just nervous with excitement.”

Sometimes the crowds at Dudy Noble Field are so large that Jared forgets his family is in attendance. But even with twice as many people in the stands this week, Jared won't forget his father. Not during a moment like this. 

"Father’s Day is a time when you can sit back and remind yourself that him being there is all that matters," Jared said. 

Contact Tyler Horka at thorka@gannett.com. Follow @tbhorka on Twitter. To read more of Tyler's work, subscribe to the Clarion Ledger today!