Talent, hard work and thinking big has paid off for Monte Vista’s “Ace” of the baseball diamond, Jeff Lyman, who was recently drafted by the Atlanta Braves.
“I was pitching for Monte Vista a couple months ago and now I am pitching against the New York Yankees,” said Lyman. “Being in professional baseball is a thrill.”
“He started playing t-ball when he was 6 years old and ironically his first team was the Braves,” said his mother Margy.
“We were hoping this was coming and it is a long process,” she continued. “Jeff had realistic goals about where he wanted to be drafted and how much he wanted as a signing bonus. If that didn’t happen, it was off to Arizona State University. When you are drafted that’s it. You go to whomever picks you. Just so happens, he was chosen by the Atlanta Braves, one of the finest organizations for pitchers.”
Things have been happening fast for Lyman. A few months ago he threw a no-hitter against Mt. Eden in the first round of the North Coast Section playoffs. After being drafted by the Braves, he left right after graduating from high school. Today he is pitching against the Yankees and said the last couple of weeks he’s “thrown with big names like Roger Clemens and Kevin Brown.”
“Being in professional baseball is a thrill,” Lyman said. “We have about seven hours of workouts, practice and games each day so it is a little hard getting adjusted to the daily grind and being off on your own. It is a lot of fun and I am enjoying living my dream.”
He talked about his goals. “My short-term goals are to get adjusted to professional baseball and stay healthy,” he said. “My long-term goal is to make it to the big leagues and be successful there.”
“One thing that makes a pitcher great is his mental make-up,” said Lyman. “Every pitcher in pro baseball has a great arm and good stuff. The ones that separate themselves are the ones that can deal with failure and understand the art of pitching. My greatest challenge right now is to continue staying focused and dedicated during the long practice sessions and be willing to continue to outwork everyone else.”
“I do miss being away from Danville,” he added. “I have an incredible family that has been supportive every step of the way and an amazing group of friends that I miss all of the time. It was tough leaving right after graduation because I didn’t have time to say goodbye to people. Every player here has a similar situation so no one is about to make it harder on anyone else.”
Lyman’s mom said she misses him a lot, too. “He has a strong presence in our house and wonderful friends,” she said.
