Senior pre-med biology major John Esparza has been playing baseball since he was eight years old but has been a Chicago Cubs fan since he was only six. Now he pitches for the Blackburn College baseball team.
Through his career playing baseball, Esparza believes his greatest accomplishment to date was winning the state championship on his high school team during his senior year. When he first started playing at the collegiate level Esparza broke his leg and couldn’t play. “It took a good year to get back into the rhythm of being able to run and throw again,” said Esparza. After his recovery he made his way back into practicing day in and day out to make himself better. As a senior he has set goals for becoming a better leader on the team. “A lot of the freshmen and underclassmen look up to you and look to you for guidance,” said Esparza.
He has a high opinion of his fellow teammates as well. “Being on the baseball team, you kinda become family with all the guys because you are with them 24/7,” said Esparza. While playing for the team Esparza has taken away many skills including a highly developed teamwork spirit.
With hopes for one day becoming a doctor, Esparza knows that doctors don’t work alone and teamwork isn’t something to take for granted. Balancing his school work and athletics schedule has not always been easy but Esparza has figured out that time management and independent studying is key. The dream of becoming a doctor has not deterred him from wanting to play baseball after college. “I’ve been playing baseball for 13-14 years and I think it’s going to be hard giving it up,” said Esparza. He believes that he will find some way to keep baseball in his life by joining recreational leagues. Through his whole career Esparza found one particular piece of advice to be the most important: “Never give up.” Though noting its cheesy nature Esparza attributes the phrase’s message to his success both on and off the field.