NOT FOUND: baseball talent.jpgThere is a new kid in town in the world of baseball and his name is Jesus . . . Jesus Berduzco. This talented 17 year old is from Foothill Farms and will be a senior at Foothill High School. North Sac News caught up with him recently for an interview in the midst of his very busy baseball schedule.
Berduzco got his start in baseball as an outfielder at the tender age of 5, with Foothill Farms Little League. He had two great coaches to start out with, his grandfather and uncle. He played with Foothill Farms Little League until he was 7 years old, then at age 8 he began traveling with a team called the “Stray Dogs”. At age 12 he was chosen to travel to Cooperstown, New York, with several other Sacramento area boys to play baseball.
In High School as a freshman he started pitching on the Junior Varsity team, but only got two games in before hurting his arm. Undaunted, he came back in his sophomore year and played for the Varsity team. He pitched 2-3 times, but mostly played in right field, and occasionally first base. His coaches began to develop his pitching talent in his junior year while still playing on the varsity team. It was this year he became a regular starting pitcher, and played in every game.
Foothill High Schools’ head coach, Jim Crum had great things to say about Berduzco. The most impressive thing about Berduzco, according to Crum, is that he has a great baseball attitude. Crum went on to explain that Berduzco always has a good outlook and is “fun to watch play” because of his great love of the game. Crum also emphasized Berduzco’s leadership qualities, which make him a great captain for his team. Berduzco loves to learn the game, but also loves to teach the game to others. He even works with smaller kids to teach them what he knows. While he is willing to give to others, Berduzco has been very fortunate that his Head Coach Jim Crum got him involved in a baseball mentoring program called SLIDE. This local organization has a baseball school and a mentoring program designed to develop talent in young players who might not have the opportunity to train and travel. The baseball school and mentoring program partnership together to make good players even better; their main goal is to bring these young men into training and mentoring so they can get scholarships to attend college.
Currently, Berduzco is playing in SLIDE’s summer program on their wooden bat team. He is their first real player they have helped to propel into the spotlight for scouts and college coaches to see. He recently went to Marietta, GA for a “showcase”. That is where a baseball player, with his team, goes to showcase their talent. Hundreds of scouts and coaches come from all over the United States to pick out players they would like to consider for their college. Berduzco has already had several colleges interested in him!
Berduzco struck out 80 players in regular season, with an average pitch speed of 84 miles per hour, and helped take the Capitol Valley Conference Division 4 Championship, last year.
If you are interested in seeing this left handed strike-out pitcher play, check out Foothill High Schools baseball schedule for games, times and locations.