Living his dream: Mendoza puts pro ball on hold, begins life as a 'Nole
Even now, after he’s been on campus for about six months, it all seems a bit surreal for Florida State freshman Drew Mendoza.
His family’s annual trips to Tallahassee are still fresh in his mind. Sitting in the stands at Doak Campbell Stadium as a young child. Sliding over to Dick Howser Stadium to simply look at the field. Picturing in his mind’s eye what it would be like to stand in that batter’s box. To run those bases. To touch that home plate.
In just 10 days, when the No. 5 Florida State baseball team opens the 2017 season against visiting VCU, those dreams will become reality.
“It gives me chills,” said Mendoza, who is expected to start at either first or third base and hit in the middle of the Seminoles’ lineup. “I’ve been waiting for a really long time to do this.”
If he had experienced any other childhood, if he had any other parents, Mendoza might not be here right now. He might not be on any college campus.
After earning All-America honors as a two-sport star at Lake Minneola High in central Florida, many thought Mendoza would be a sure-fire first-round pick in the 2016 MLB amateur draft. An athletic, 6-foot-4, 210-pound shortstop with a sweet left-handed swing, Mendoza was easily one of the nation’s top prospects.
According to FSU’s coaches, some teams had him on the top of their draft boards.
But once it came time to talk with pro scouts, Mendoza’s message was consistent: I don’t want to play minor-league baseball right now. I want to attend Florida State University.
“No knock against high school kids that go to the draft,” explained Mendoza, whose parents both graduated from Florida State. “But that’s not the life I want to live as a 19-year-old kid.”
That is a stance Major League Baseball negotiators hear every year from high school prospects. Sometimes, those players and their families mean it. Usually, it’s a bargaining chip to drive up the proposed signing bonus.
Mendoza never wavered.
“It became a game to me and my family,” said Mendoza, who eventually slid into the later rounds because he was seen as “unsignable.”
“They were like, ‘So what is it really gonna take? What’s the real reason you’re saying that.’ And I’m like, ‘You guys can say what you want. But I know where I’m gonna be my next few years.’ It was a fun time for sure.”
The fun could only be beginning.
Although he missed much of fall practice with a broken jaw sustained in a freak on-field mishap, Mendoza is healthy now and so far has lived up to the hype. Teammates and coaches rave not only about his physical tools, but also his mental makeup.
They compare him in both areas to sophomore catcher Cal Raleigh, who earned Freshman All-America honors last year by hitting .301 with 10 home runs and 50 RBIs.
“I’m excited to see him play and then kind of grow like Cal did,” senior Quincy Nieporte said.
Part of what made Raleigh’s debut season such a success was his maturity. He learned quickly what it took to adjust to the college game. How to be more selective against college pitchers, and how to balance baseball with college academics.
“There’s a curve,” Raleigh said. “All freshmen are gonna learn it. They’re all gonna go through their troubles. They’re all gonna go through their hardships. … He’s gonna have to learn a few things. But he’s very ahead of the curve, I would say. He’s a very good player.”
“Drew has ‘it,’” veteran FSU head coach Mike Martin said. “He reminds me a lot of the players that we’ve had come in here and have a career that Seminoles remember for a long time.”
Martin went on to mention a few of his most recent first-rounders -- Buster Posey, James Ramsey, D.J. Stewart -- to say that Mendoza has that type of potential.
It’s heady stuff for a freshman who has yet to even play a college game.
But Mendoza isn’t a typical first-year player looking to prove himself. He could be playing pro ball already if that was his true desire. Instead, he’s counting down the days 'til he can step onto Mike Martin Field for Opening Day.
“It’s the best feeling in the world,” said Mendoza, who also was the leading scorer on his high school basketball team. “Some guys dream about playing for a major-league club, or this or that. My dream growing up was to put on the Garnet and Gold. So it’s awesome.”
* ALSO SEE: Notes from the start of FSU baseball practice
Mendoza says his only on-field goal this season is helping Florida State make it back to Omaha for the College World Series. Off the field, he plans to soak up all of the college experience. That’s on the advice of his parents, Manny and Rebecca.
For as long as he can remember, Mendoza said, his parents have preached the importance of education while reflecting on how much they loved their time at FSU.
Mendoza’s older sister, Alex, is a star junior on the volleyball team at USF, where she’s majoring in industrial engineering. Drew plans to major in mathematics at Florida State.
He sounds almost as excited about his studies as he does playing baseball.
“Not many people will turn that kind of money down out of high school, just to come to college,” Raleigh said. “That’s awesome, and it’s going to help the team out.”
“We knew he’d be here,” said FSU pitching coach Mike Bell. “This is a guy that from day one -- the start of his senior year -- we knew he was gonna be in Garnet and Gold.”
To hear Mendoza tell it, there wasn’t really a choice. He was always going to play college baseball. And it was always going to be at FSU.
“It’s in my blood,” he said.
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