Name: Jose Garcia
Sport: Baseball
Position: Outfielder
Classification: Senior
Major: Multidisciplinary studies
Age: 21
Hometown: San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico
Who is your favorite athlete? “I think my favorite athlete is “Big Papi,” which is David Ortiz from Boston. I like the way he’s very humble. I like Jose Reyes from the [New York] Mets. They both work hard. One is a contact hitter and one is a power hitter, but I think the humbleness that they play with makes them look good out there.”
Who is your role model? “It would be between my dad and brother. They have both supported me since I moved to the United States. My dad has trained with my brother and me since we were little. We would go weekends and just go and do stuff. My brother has been with me four years and he’s been giving me a lot of advice of college and DI and how to play and academics. Just the way I see those guys is a role to me. They’re always good at what they do, so I’m just following the path.”
What is the best advice you’ve been given and by whom? “My brother tells me, ‘Be you and play you. Don’t play the game that others play. Just play your game, and you’ll be fine.’”
When did you begin playing baseball, and why? “I’ve been playing baseball since I was 3 years old. My dad played a little. He was more basketball, but he loved baseball, so he got my brother and me to play it. So, I saw my brother playing it, and I was like, ‘Well, I want to play, too.’ Back then, I was not good at all. The people in my hometown will say my brother was really good and I was just so-so. At the age of 15 or 16, the roles changed. People would say, ‘Your brother is a little better than you,’ so it was kind of funny.”
What’s your favorite place to hang out on campus? “Does the baseball field count? I love being out here. Being out here just reminds me of where I come from, and it’s a great field.”
What are your academic goals? “I want to, first of all, graduate this semester. One of my goals is to have a 3.5 GPA or above.”
What are your personal goals for this season? “Obviously, I’m trying to get better at every single one, better than last year for sure. Hopefully, I can become accomplished in every single section like average, hits, doubles, home runs. I just got my first two home runs, so that was good. Hopefully, I can get more hits than last year and stolen bases. Just improve on everything baseballwise.”
–Compiled by Sarah Carvajal
