Graduation at Madison College: Seeing the Academic Field
Eduardo Saucedo will be attending Youngstown State University in the fall where he will continue his baseball career.
By Jonathan Gramling
Eduardo Saucedo has his priorities in order. He is passionate about baseball. But he also knows that an education is his ticket to continue to play organized baseball and to pursue his long-term goals in life.
“Growing up, I always enjoyed playing baseball in the backyard and then in Little League,” Saucedo said. “As I grew older, I realized it was something that I wanted to do in college. And I was fortunate to have the opportunity to play at Madison College after high school.”
At the collegiate level, it’s still about the love of the game.
“For the majority of the guys who play on the Madison College team, they aren’t necessarily doing it for the scholarship,” Saucedo said. “They are doing it more just to continue to play and develop and hopefully get more opportunities to play at the next level, which is at a four-year university and whatever division that may be — Division I, Division II or Division III. But it has been a great experience so far.”
Saucedo has learned to balance his athletic and academic pursuits.
“It is definitely an adjustment from high school when you play sports in college,” Saucedo observed. “It’s a lot of hours at the field and then obviously the academic workload increases. For me, it was about not getting behind on any schoolwork, always staying on top of it and doing my best on the baseball field once I knew I was on top of my schoolwork. And I tried to be the best baseball player that I could be. I did that pretty much through the entire year whether it is the fall, winter or spring.”
But again, it’s a question of balance. And Saucedo has kept his eye on the prize.
“It was pretty much not getting distracted with anything that would take me away from my goals,” Saucedo emphasized. “I pretty much focused on whatever would take me towards them, whether it was academically or athletically. Getting the right amount of sleep has been important. Doing what I need to do on the baseball field while also staying on top of schoolwork was really what allowed me to do that. Just staying disciplined and not getting distracted with other things and just focusing on what I needed to do each and every day. I wasn’t tempted to just focus on baseball. I knew that doing well academically was only going to open more options for me athletically. I don’t think doing well academically will ever close any doors athletically. It can only open them. That wasn’t anything that ever tempted me. I have always been a pretty good student and I just wanted to continue to do that in college.”
The hard work has paid off for Saucedo as he received Liberal Arts Transfer diploma last week. But he wasn’t able to attend the graduation ceremony because his Madison College team has also been successful on the field.
“We’ve had a pretty good year,” Saucedo said. “I’m pretty sure we’ve been ranked among the Top Five teams in the country pretty much all season. We were actually ranked Number One in the country for a good portion of the regular season. We’re in the playoffs and the postseason. Right now, it’s about winning every game that we play so we can hopefully make it to the World Series and win a national championship.”
What is standing between Madison and the World Series is winning the regional championship. And due to its record, the regional championship competition will be played on Madison College’s home field.
“The World Series is a lot of fun,” Saucedo exclaimed. “The college game is definitely fast-paced. All of the players are passionate because that’s just the way that college sports are. When you are playing for something like that, it’s a lot of fun.”
Saucedo’s excellence on and off the field has also earned him the chance to play baseball on the next level at Youngstown State University, a Division I school, where he will also be working on a business administration degree. And like any other kid playing baseball, Saucedo would love to play major league ball.
“There is a part of me that hopes I will be drafted by one of the major league teams,” Saucedo said. “That’s the goal, especially going to Youngstown State, which is a Division I program at the NCAA level. I know that if I can continue to develop and continue to play and keep working hard each day, there will definitely be a chance to get drafted and play professionally. Regardless if it happens or not, I just want to enjoy my time, whether it is just in college or continue to play professional baseball. I just enjoy every day that I get to play baseball. I know regardless if I do play professionally or not, it won’t last forever, I’m just enjoying every day that I get to play.”
Saucedo is the catcher for the Madison College team. And while he doesn’t get a lot of acclaim for his batting average — he claims he doesn’t know what his average is — it is his ability to see the entire field and manage the defensive strategy that makes him just as important to the success of Madison College’s team as the low ERA pitcher or home-run hitter.
And it is his vision of the whole playing field that has led him to make plans for the long-term.
“If playing professionally is an option for me, I would love to do that,” Saucedo said. “But regardless, even if I do play professionally, by the time you are 40-years-old, your professional career is over for most players. You still have a lot of your life left ahead of you. And for me, the reason I chose to major in business administration was I wanted to learn what goes in and out of having your own business and what it takes to manage it. What I would like to do is have my own baseball academy where I coach and train players and teach them what I have learned throughout my baseball career, kind of like the coach I wish I had when I was in middle or high school or at the youth level. That is what I would like to do once my playing career is over.”
Eduardo Saucedo has put his passion and intelligence together to make for a winning life.