Pedro Jimenez '21 Recruiting Profile

I have a lot of small goals and aspirations as a student and as an athlete, but if I had to sum it up into a phrase, it would be that I want to be happy with myself.

The thing about having that generalized idea is that there is a lot of goals in-between that need to be achieved. It is that pursuit of each individual goal that makes the end satisfying or worth it. Luckily, I'm willing to do anything to reach my end goal of being happy, and for me, being happy is playing my favorite sport at a high, competitive level, and becoming intellectually capable person that can understand and benefit the world in some way. 

Working hard is what I've been doing ever since I could pick up a bat. I've always been the smallest kid on the team, and judged as so, thought of being weaker and less capable of being in the starting 9. This isn't a sob story, since my father put me into lessons quickly and got my skill level to where its is now. It is that idea of working hard to earn the position that has been instilled in me since I was young, and I'm glad that it has carried on. 

There was one point in my baseball-life that has stuck with me for the longest time. It was in 2014, I had gone to Cooperstown to participate in one of the biggest international 13u tournaments. I worked hard to be in the starting 9, since most of the kids had already hit their growth spurts and were much stronger than I was, being 4' 10". I played right field, and batted ninth, not a very powerful hitter, but consistently hit singles. We were in our last game in the tournament, semi finals (we finished 6th out of 104 teams), and it was a close game. 1 run difference, and we had a runner in scoring position. I was up, in the 9th slot, and was nervous but excited to have my big shot. However, my coach pulled me aside and told me, "We're  switching you out". 

My heart dropped. I didn't know what to feel. It felt insignificant at the moment, since they put a bigger kid in my place and I understood why. However, after the game and on my way back home from New York, it made me hungry. Hungry to evade that moment from ever happening again. 

From then on, I've become even hungrier. Despite having the physical odds against me, not being a very big guy, I want to be able to compete at a high level, no matter if I have to train for 4 hours a day. If it means that I can compete at the highest level, then all the blood, sweat, and injuries would've been worth it. 

This carries on to my academic field. I'm information-hungry, wanting to digest as much as I can, so that I can participate in discussion and expand my curiosity. This makes me maleable, easy to work with, which are desirable traits in a developing athlete. 

Overall, what I offer is a curious, determined, and hungry mindset, despite the constraints I'm confronted with. I would love to work with a team and spread that energy throughout, or feed off of them, since high level collegial athletes have similar determination and hunger for winning and learning. I'm excited for this next phase, and I hope I can share it with you and your team.