Posted: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 01:01 PM - 14,364 Readers

By: Rick Cantu

photography by Alberto Martínez

What are your first memories of organized baseball?

I remember doing drills with my dad during practice when I was really young. We would do the same thing over and over, but I didn't mind because it was baseball, and baseball was fun. He was serious about the game but also made normally boring things a lot of fun. At the end of the season, he would let us all line up and throw water balloons at him. I'm not going to say that I aimed for his face, but the balloon usually went in that general direction.

With the success Lake Travis has had in all sports, is there extra pressure for baseball to win?

I don't know that I would call it pressure, but there is added incentive to win. Seeing the success pushes all the other sports, including baseball, to want to play for a state championship. We made it one round further last year than any baseball team in LT history. ... While I know I won't end my high school career with four rings, I would sure like to go away with one.

If you had the choice of being all-state or valedictorian, which would you choose?

I would choose all-state simply because I am already fairly high in my graduating class, but that isn't as impressive to me as being a top player in the state of Texas.

Outside of athletics, what do you enjoy most about Lake Travis?

I really like the people in Lake Travis and I especially like hanging out at the lake with my friends.

What's your favorite baseball memory?

Without a doubt, last year's playoff run encompasses the best baseball memories of my life. There is nothing more exciting, more heart-pounding or more intense than the games we played. Beating Dripping Springs, and (Corpus Christi) Moody was the most exciting thing ever.

If you could have dinner with four people in the history of the world, who would they be?

I would have dinner with Jesus, Alexander the Great, (Scottish social philosopher) Adam Smith and Cosimo de Medici (a ruler of Florence during the Italian Renaissance).

What's the best advice anyone has ever given to you?

I really like this quote: "I don't have a lot of respect for talent. Talent is genetic. It's what you do with it that counts."

If you bought a car to match your personality, what would it be?

I would buy an old-school Chevy Camaro.

Which course have you taken in high school that will help you the most after you graduate?

I think accounting because I want to major in finance. This class also has been an introduction into what my major will hopefully be like.

Tell my something about yourself that most people don't know.

Mr. (Jimmy) Gibbs (a teammate's father) always tells me, "You are the dumbest smart person I know."

Do you have any pregame rituals?

I go to Thundercloud (Subs) to eat, then come back and play an extremely intense game of two-ball with my team. Often there is more yelling and trash talk during two-ball than during the real game