Yanyida Zhang '20 Recruiting Profile

When my mom was watching that baseball game live on TV, from over 6000 miles away in Beijing, she said, “my boy is fearless.” And indeed, I was. 

“First pitch fastball in the middle for a strike,” the commentator spoke, “welcome to Hank Aaron Stadium, and this is the 2019 Babe Ruth World Series between Alabama Rawdogs and MLB China.” The crowd with four thousand people in the audience were shouting. I wasn't sure if that was cheering or booing, but I enjoyed the moment, the moment of standing on the mound at a double-A minor league baseball stadium as the starting pitcher representing my country. The stadium light lightened the sky that night, but I thought it spotted on me only. I knew this is the stage where I belonged and I knew what path I took all the way to this stage. 

My baseball story began when I was in Grade 3. One day my mom asked me if I wanted to try a sport that went all the way back “home”. I didn’t know where she heard of this, but I knew her concern. I was a timid boy at the time and always found it difficult to talk with others. I wanted to be a good boy and said yes, but I didn't know this small ball would transform me into the person I am today. 

“Is that true you got signed by MLB?” my teammate Jordan dropped his baseball bat. “Yes! And with a full scholarship!” I shouted. I couldn’t hide my excitement at that moment. “Attaboy Ray,” others from my District team gathered around me, “Ray, can you get us tickets if you make it to the major league?” “Of course, I will bring this whole family there for sure.” I guaranteed. The cheering voice rose again like the other days when we won those baseball games. 

It was March 16^th 2019, one day before my seventeen-year birthday. I was signed as one of the few Chinese students awarded a full scholarship by Major League Baseball to train and study at MLB Development Center in China.

For a long time, I just cannot help laughing when I thought of the reason why the scout signed me. He says that I am always the one that “yells” the loudest. Well, I cannot deny it. I yell everywhere on the baseball field to unite my teammates. Playing baseball carved me into a “leader” rather than a “manager”, using business terms. Just like my English name “Ray”, I always bring the sunshine and strength to the team as the captain.

“Excuse me, did you see Ray?” “Oh, you mean that baseball guy? He went to his baseball practice.” That was how my classmates described me, “that baseball guy”, because I was the only student athlete in the school. For the past four years, I studied IB curriculum, and it was not a smooth sailing to handle both academic and baseball training. I still remember the torment when I had to continue training the next day after staying overnight for homework. And this is a common practice for the past four years as I don’t want to quit studying like most other Chinese student athletes do. “How can you have a rainbow without a little rain.” I don’t remember where I heard it, but it stays in my head. Every time I feel exhausted, I tell myself that rainbow is ahead and keeps moving forward. 

Finally, the rainbow came. The tailor-made curriculum at MLB Development Center enables me to strike a balance between my academic work and baseball training. 

All these memories flashed back in the blink of an eye. I realized that I was still standing on the world arena of baseball. Four-thousand people were watching, but I was not afraid. I couldn’t wait to start this new journey.