10/25/2016 | Baseball
Sophomore Cesar Salazar had a freshman year that any student-athlete would dream of. After being ruled ineligible for game competition as a high school senior, Salazar had every reason to walk away from baseball.
But Salazar loves the game far too much to do that. Instead, he arrived at Arizona prior to last season hungry to become an instant contributor and leader for the Wildcats.
And in mid-June with his team one win away from advancing to the College World Series, Salazar got the opportunity he had been waiting his whole life for. The 19-year-old freshman stepped up to bat in the bottom of the 11th inning with two outs and the bases loaded in a tie game. Salazar would go on to hit a walk-off single, punch his team's ticket to Omaha, and proceed to be at the bottom of the celebratory dog pile.
The local papers would headline, "All Hail Cesar," accompanied by a photo of the freshman smiling in arms with coach Jay Johnson.
Salazar appeared in, and started seven of the team's eight games in Omaha and helped the pitching staff dominate when stakes were the highest.
After it was all said and done, the Hermosillo, Mexico native's stat line resembled anything other than what a freshman can do. In his first year, he appeared in 62 games and started 54. Only five other Wildcats appeared in more games, three of them were seniors. There was even a point in the season where Salazar had started more than 20 consecutive games, four games being in a 30-hour span. He held the 5th highest batting average on the team with a .276 average on 196 at-bats.
Standing at 5 foot 9 inches, 190 pounds, the stage never got too big for the young Salazar, who would earn himself All-NCAA Lafayette Regional Team honors for his efforts in Louisiana. We sat down with Salazar to talk about the upcoming season, and his wild ride to Omaha.
Q: What did you learn from the CWS run? How are you bringing that into this year?
A: "It was a great and I learned a lot, but I try not to think about it too much. It's like Coach Johnson says, 'take one pitch at a time and let's keep moving forward.' I feel like everybody is doing just that, taking it one pitch at a time and moving forward. I'm focusing on this year, getting better, and moving forward. I feel like everybody is just moving forward, focusing on this year, and getting better every day. We want to formulate a team that will be the best team we can be."
Q: How much has changed in your daily life since the CWS?
A: "I don't feel anything has changed. I feel like I'm just a student at the University of Arizona. It was cool having that feeling, and having made the run we made last year. But we move forward and try not to live in the past."
Q: You went from a senior who struggled with eligibility in a town, and country that wasn't home to a freshman in the CWS that booked the ticket there. Did the moment ever seem too big or did you ever realize that what you were doing would be so big?
A: "It didn't hit me that we won against Mississippi State and that we were going to the College World Series until we got on the plane to Omaha. During some of the big moments, I just tried to stay relaxed. Coach Johnson really emphasizes controlling your breathing, and staying relaxed. We applied those techniques, and were really relaxed throughout the whole thing. Those are the fun situations in baseball and we took advantage of them."
Q: How does Coach Johnson feel about the now famous dugout antics?
A: "He wants the dugout to be home. He wants us to have fun and do whatever they want, to a certain point. The guys know their limits, but he wants the dugout to be home. He doesn't really tell us what to do or what not to do, he just lets us make the dugout home. We think it was a really big part of our success because being in the dugout felt like home."
Q: What do you attribute your maturity to?
A: "I would say it is my work ethic, I feel more mature than others my age. I just try to do everything the coaches tell me to do. When it comes to school, I just try to get good grades. We are student-athletes, and student comes first. I'm just trying to help the team do well, I just want to be the best player I can be to help the team."
Q: How do the pitchers look from a catcher's perspective this fall?
A: "All the pitchers are looking really good. Right now, we've played three times and they've only walked eleven guys. That says a lot about how they manage the strike zone. I can't think of anyone who really stands out above the rest because they've all made great strides. All the new arms are really good, and I think our pitching staff is going to be lit this year and I can't wait for them to start rolling."
But Salazar loves the game far too much to do that. Instead, he arrived at Arizona prior to last season hungry to become an instant contributor and leader for the Wildcats.
And in mid-June with his team one win away from advancing to the College World Series, Salazar got the opportunity he had been waiting his whole life for. The 19-year-old freshman stepped up to bat in the bottom of the 11th inning with two outs and the bases loaded in a tie game. Salazar would go on to hit a walk-off single, punch his team's ticket to Omaha, and proceed to be at the bottom of the celebratory dog pile.
The local papers would headline, "All Hail Cesar," accompanied by a photo of the freshman smiling in arms with coach Jay Johnson.
Salazar appeared in, and started seven of the team's eight games in Omaha and helped the pitching staff dominate when stakes were the highest.
After it was all said and done, the Hermosillo, Mexico native's stat line resembled anything other than what a freshman can do. In his first year, he appeared in 62 games and started 54. Only five other Wildcats appeared in more games, three of them were seniors. There was even a point in the season where Salazar had started more than 20 consecutive games, four games being in a 30-hour span. He held the 5th highest batting average on the team with a .276 average on 196 at-bats.
Standing at 5 foot 9 inches, 190 pounds, the stage never got too big for the young Salazar, who would earn himself All-NCAA Lafayette Regional Team honors for his efforts in Louisiana. We sat down with Salazar to talk about the upcoming season, and his wild ride to Omaha.
Q: What did you learn from the CWS run? How are you bringing that into this year?
A: "It was a great and I learned a lot, but I try not to think about it too much. It's like Coach Johnson says, 'take one pitch at a time and let's keep moving forward.' I feel like everybody is doing just that, taking it one pitch at a time and moving forward. I'm focusing on this year, getting better, and moving forward. I feel like everybody is just moving forward, focusing on this year, and getting better every day. We want to formulate a team that will be the best team we can be."
Q: How much has changed in your daily life since the CWS?
A: "I don't feel anything has changed. I feel like I'm just a student at the University of Arizona. It was cool having that feeling, and having made the run we made last year. But we move forward and try not to live in the past."
Q: You went from a senior who struggled with eligibility in a town, and country that wasn't home to a freshman in the CWS that booked the ticket there. Did the moment ever seem too big or did you ever realize that what you were doing would be so big?
A: "It didn't hit me that we won against Mississippi State and that we were going to the College World Series until we got on the plane to Omaha. During some of the big moments, I just tried to stay relaxed. Coach Johnson really emphasizes controlling your breathing, and staying relaxed. We applied those techniques, and were really relaxed throughout the whole thing. Those are the fun situations in baseball and we took advantage of them."
Q: How does Coach Johnson feel about the now famous dugout antics?
A: "He wants the dugout to be home. He wants us to have fun and do whatever they want, to a certain point. The guys know their limits, but he wants the dugout to be home. He doesn't really tell us what to do or what not to do, he just lets us make the dugout home. We think it was a really big part of our success because being in the dugout felt like home."
Q: What do you attribute your maturity to?
A: "I would say it is my work ethic, I feel more mature than others my age. I just try to do everything the coaches tell me to do. When it comes to school, I just try to get good grades. We are student-athletes, and student comes first. I'm just trying to help the team do well, I just want to be the best player I can be to help the team."
Q: How do the pitchers look from a catcher's perspective this fall?
A: "All the pitchers are looking really good. Right now, we've played three times and they've only walked eleven guys. That says a lot about how they manage the strike zone. I can't think of anyone who really stands out above the rest because they've all made great strides. All the new arms are really good, and I think our pitching staff is going to be lit this year and I can't wait for them to start rolling."
Players Mentioned
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