By Amy Cutillo |Staff Writer|
With the Coyote baseball season over and less than a month left until the MLB Draft, left-handed ace Cory Caruso is waiting to see if he gets the call.
Caruso, who is a senior, was drafted last year by the Florida [now Miami] Marlins, but with good reason he decided to turn down the offer.
“I didn’t sign because I thought I needed to improve, and I wanted to come back even better this year,” said Caruso.
Looks like his hard work is paying off. Recently, he met up with the Marlins, and they are still very interested in him.
“I’d like to sign with the Marlins. They drafted me last year and a lot of it is about loyalty to me.” Other teams interested in drafting Caruso are the Detroit Tigers, Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox.
Caruso, whose father Richard used to toss the ball around to him in the front yard, started playing baseball around the age of eight.
“My dad grew up being a football guy, and I never really played football, only baseball. Him and I both grew up learning about the game of baseball together, and now we both love it.”
His dad’s support and appreciation has served as a major influence for Caruso’s career. “I’d have to say my dad has been one of my biggest influences. He’s such a leader, and he will always support me in whatever I do… even if I wasn’t playing baseball, he’d still be supporting me.”
This star pitcher is one of five children, and the only one in his family to take up baseball. “I have three sisters and one brother, and they all played soccer. Yeah, I was the outcast,” Caruso said as he gave a laugh.
The team-oriented nature of baseball has helped Caruso grow in his professional as well as personal life. “It’s one of the most valuable things I’ve learned. It’s all about putting others before yourself. That can be translated into life, into family, into business. You learn to work with others and how to deal with other people’s issues before your own.”
He lives and breathes the game, which has become a big part of his life. “Baseball is almost like a habit. You get so used to playing everyday that it becomes a way of life. It’s such a humbling game.”
It’s such a way of life for Caruso that he even lives with four other baseball players, who are all up at six everyday to lift weights and other exercises to prepare themselves to perform and play better.
Caruso is a player full of determination and hard work and hopes he can influence others through his never-say-die attitude.
“I didn’t get much playing time in high school. I was on the team but the coach didn’t think I was good enough. I just kept playing. Now I have a chance to get drafted, and I never thought I could do that. My advice is to never give up—and to always play.”
From the way things are going, Caruso’s big league aspirations can soon turn into reality.
You can check out the results of the draft between June 4–6 at MLB.com.