“At the end of the day, people who stay in comfortable spots don’t know what they’re capable of,” said Los Medanos College starting pitcher Rocco Borrelli. “You don’t know how much you can grow. Because of the uncomfortable times in your life, we often grow the most.”
For as long as he could remember sports were essential to his family. Being the youngest of four brothers, Borrelli learned the dedication needed to succeed in a sport at an early age.
“I always thank them for setting the standard for what I’m doing now,” he said. “Without them setting a standard, I wouldn’t have been pushed by myself, my dad, and all of them to be who I am today.”
While always balancing more than expected, Borrelli grew up playing football and baseball. However, once he got to the college level, he had to decide where to focus his efforts. Making that choice was not easy as he recalled feeling “split,” but ultimately looked toward the long run to ensure success in his future performance.
“I always loved [baseball] more, but it was hard because I have a very strong attachment to both sports,” he said. “I was losing half of who I was because I’ve done both since I was six years old, it’s almost all I knew.”
Borrelli began playing at San Joaquin Delta College, but redshirted and got cut after that first year. Ahead of the game throughout high school with his brothers paving the path, this decision came unexpectedly.
“I let that comfort slow me down to the point where it took a wake-up call my freshman year to turn around and build a little bit of tough skin,” Borrelli said, adding, “it’s not the end of the world, but what are you going to do about it?”
However, his career took a different form once he transferred. At LMC, Borrelli notes he found “the place where I felt I was going to become the best version of me.”
Only on the team for a year now, his position evolved within two seasons from a teammate to a leader.
His goals have remained since bringing the team far in the playoffs last season. Borrelli described their motivation as “staying in the fire” to grant opportunities to expand his teammates’ careers in the sport.
“I’ve done a good job performance-wise when it comes to keeping guys that haven’t been in the fire, understand that,” he said. “When you’re in the fire, that’s where great things happen.”
With the current season, Borrelli challenges the status quo in the sport as both a pitcher and first baseman. Despite the physical demands of these positions, keeping his mindset the strongest lets him carry a notable performance game after game.
“People tell me it’s a challenge, it’s not going to be easy,” said Borrelli. “But things in life that are easy, aren’t worth doing.”
Looking toward the future, he plans to play baseball professionally “for as long as my body can take it.”
To shape Borrelli’s game it hints at the performance of his favorite memories of the Major Leagues, such as the team chemistry of the San Francisco Giants in the 2012 World Series and the career of Giants former catcher Buster Posey. But nothing beats his family’s role in shaping his passion for the game.
