The Magnificent Levi Jordan: The Bats' Ultimate Utility Man

At just five feet eight inches tall and 170 pounds, it became clear early on that if Levi Jordan wanted to find success in professional baseball, he would have to fight hard for it. Over the course of his career, Jordan has done just that, developing his game into a dynamic and all-encompassing barrage, highlighted by strong positional versatility. In the Louisville Bats’ final game of the 2025 season, the now 30-year-old got a chance to showcase his competitive range by accomplishing a historic feat on the diamond.

Jordan opened the afternoon at a familiar spot, making his 48th start of the season at third base. He shifted to shortstop to begin inning number two, where he had started most of his games this year with 53. Jordan wasn’t simply acting as a placeholder across the diamond, he was getting quite a bit of action. During the second inning, at short, he made a tumbling catch in shallow left field, one for the highlight reel, before fielding a ground ball for the final out of the frame. As he drifted all over the field from inning to inning - third to short, to second, to first, to left, to center, to right - through seven, Jordan was seeing plenty of action, being involved in five plays throughout the afternoon.

INSANE catch by Levi Jordan 🤯 pic.twitter.com/cur6E4ugiA

— Louisville Bats (@LouisvilleBats) September 21, 2025

For Jordan and his manager, longtime skipper Pat Kelly, this rollercoaster was months in the making, but came to fruition less than 24 hours before first pitch of the season finale.

“This was PK’s idea,” said Jordan after the ballgame. “He asked if I wanted to do it yesterday before the game, and of course I said yes. I said something about it months ago. I joked about it with him in, probably July. I was like, ‘hey, it’d be really fun to play all nine the last day of the season,’ but that was all we ever talked about. Then last night he asked ‘hey, you wanna play all nine?’ and I said yes.”

The plan was put into place, and by the middle innings on Sunday, with no consequences surrounding the game between the Bats and the Nashville Sounds, it was clear that there was no turning back. This put things in an interesting spot when the game entered the eighth inning tied, Jordan still needing to hit both sides of the battery to finish his performance.

Kelly stuck to his guns, and Jordan trotted out to the mound to open the eighth. Never having thrown a pitch in his professional career, the plan was simply to have Jordan take on the three-batter minimum before giving the ball to Buck Farmer. Jordan threw just one pitch to each batter he faced, topping out at 50.6 miles per hour, and allowed a hit before a second runner reached on an error. After checking pitcher off the position list, he came off the mound and went right back to third base. When Farmer allowed both inherited runners to score, Jordan found himself on the losing side of the decision despite not allowing an earned run.

“Pitching was fun,” said Jordan. “It was a bummer that I didn’t get out of that inning, or get the chance to stay out there until I got three outs based on where the game was at.”

For his final act, Jordan borrowed catcher’s gear and squatted behind home plate in the ninth, finishing the feat that only two players in Louisville history had accomplished before him. On the hill to work the game’s final frame was catcher Eric Yang, whose gear was being worn by Jordan on the receiving end of his 55 to 62 mile per hour pitches.

Yang allowed five earned runs on four hits and two walks, his first real blowup of the season in his eighth pitching appearance of 2025, allowing the season finale to slip away in what turned out to be an 11-4 final. The focus of the afternoon, however, was on Jordan, who wrapped up his historic performance at a not-so-unfamiliar position.

“I have a little bit of experience catching,” said Jordan. “Not this spring, but last spring training with the Reds, my first spring training. That’s why we did this. I did catch a lot of bullpens, so they know I’m capable. I’m the fourth emergency catcher if we absolutely need a guy, but obviously the guys who put on the gear every day are really good at it. Same with pitchers.”

The opportunity to spend an inning at each position on the diamond lent Jordan some insight into how difficult every position is in its own right, although he had accrued experience everywhere but first base, catcher and pitcher during his professional career prior to the final day of the year. As hitting a baseball is often regarded as one of the hardest things to do in sports, the value of a stalwart defender can sometimes be overlooked.

For Jordan, whose experience as a utilityman prepared him for this challenge in the first place, the afternoon kindled a sense of appreciation for the way that his teammates have held down their forts all over the field.

“I have always thought it’s super important to be able to play multiple positions,” said Jordan, “and I also think that a lot of them are pretty similar. Different footwork, different angles, longer throws. But we have a lot of players on our team who are very good at the position they play defensively, so whether I’m in their position or playing a position that maybe I’m good at, there’s always an appreciation for the difficulty of playing defense. I think a lot of our plus defenders make the game look really easy.”

In his one frame at first base, the top of the fourth, Jordan came up close and personal with the fact that lacking length and height while receiving throws from the infield is less than ideal. Luckily, Louisville has found stability at first base over the last two seasons in a seasoned veteran and World Series champion, giving peace of mind to the Bats’ coaching staff night in and night out.

“First guy that comes to mind, I think Edwin Rios plays an unbelievable first base,” said Jordan. “I got one chance to touch the ball at first base today, but I think you recognize when a good defender is at a spot, because they make it look so easy to make every play.

“For a manager, it’s like, ‘I don’t have to worry about that guy in that spot.’ I hope I’m that guy for PK or any manager I ever played for. I hope I’m that guy at a lot of spots.”

Jordan’s positional versatility undoubtedly helped him reach the big leagues with the Reds for seven games in 2024, and has earned him the trust of the Bats over his last two seasons in Louisville. This season, highlighted by an 11-game winning streak and eight Bats making their Major League debuts, felt special to Jordan, playing his seventh season of Minor League Baseball.

“The good seasons and bad seasons come and go, but what makes a baseball season a good one is the people you’re around most. I can easily say that the group we had this year was by far my favorite that I’ve been around.”

Jordan attributes much of the club’s late-season success to the comradery built in the locker room, a sentiment made evident by the countless smiles cracked and laughs shared by Bats players and coaches throughout 2025.

“From the pitching staff to the position players to the coaching staff, we just had a really good time. Vibes were good off the field and I think we came together the best toward the end of the season, and it showed on the field when we started winning games. I think a lot of us were pulling for each other and rooting for each other in the trenches together. Over the course of a 150-game season, you have to have that support from your teammates, and the clubhouse has to be in good spirits, win or lose. The group this year definitely made it worth it for me.”

After another long season, Jordan feels right at home with the Bats, expressing gratitude to the Reds organization that took a chance on him as his “career was fading” and giving him a chance to live out his Major League dreams. The Pullayup, Washington native reflects fondly on his time in Louisville and looks forward to a promising future.

“Louisville is such a great town for a Triple-A team, and I’ve really enjoyed my time here. The staff at the field is great, the field crew. They just do a really good job. The Reds prioritize the players as an organization and so does the staff on the Louisville Bats. I’m proud to be coached by them and be taken care of by them. It makes it really easy to come to work every day, and [looking back] I’ll be happy about the time I had.”