- February 2013
Personal Statement
Hello, my name is Joseph Barrons and I am currently a junior at Kingston High School in Kingston, Michigan and getting ready to begin the new baseball season. I am the varsity ace pitcher and have been since my freshman year. . I will send updates as the season games go on. I am also a utility player that can play any other position. Besides my dream of playing college and/or professional baseball, I would also like to major in either sports management or physical or forensic sciences. At the end of my freshman year, since I started right on the varsity team, I was named to 1st Team All District, 2nd Team All Conference, 2nd Team All NCTL and 2nd Team All-Advertiser (County paper). This year I have also raised my batting avg to 353, my OPB to 510 and my slugging % to 559 so far. I also just helped my team by hitting in the winning run for the District Championship and by coming in with bases loaded to close out the game and preserve the win. I also have the honor of being the only pitcher in Kingston High School history with a win at Regional competition and so far this year I have been awarded the Team MVP award, 1st Team All Conference and 1st Team All-District. I also volunteer at a local food pantry and am an acolyte at my church. I help my dad do yard work for a couple of local widows that don't have any other help. I think that if ever anybody was meant be a baseball player, it has to be me. My parents were long time Atlanta Braves fans and I was born during game 5 of the 1995 World Series. At the age of 2 days, I was able to watch David Justice hit a solo home run and Marquis Grissom make the out in left field that would give the Braves their title. From the age of 2 years on, I would sit in front of the television and study every pitcher's wind-up and every batter's stance. I would play catch with my dad with a nerf baseball and call the pitches that I wanted him to throw. Greg Maddux is my pitching idol. At the age of 8, I signed up for the Midwest Baseball Academy and met an amazing pitching coach named Billy Cork that I work out with year round to this day. I practice pitching in the mirror to make sure I'm holding the ball correctly. I drove my parents crazy by putting pillows up against my bedroom door and then throw into them to work on mechanics. I work on pitching outside of football and basketball games and practice during the summer, usually while playing in at least one and sometimes 3 different club or tournament teams. One of my aspirations is to show the SEC, the ACC, the PAC 12 and the other best of the best that yes a pitcher from Michigan, who has literally thrown in a snowbank, can compete with them. I had the honor of throwing out the season-opening pitch for the Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers A-Ball affiliate) when I was 12 years old. I want to take that college or professional mound again as a team member.
Finally, as a Type II Diabetic, I would like to be an example of how other players with illnesses can still play the game. We occasionally need to make special acommodations, but younger players could look up to me and the importance of taking care of your health and your body.
