Rutgers-Newark Athletics

By Jim Hague

It’s a classic example of patiently waiting your turn, then taking advantage of the opportunity. Like standing on line to purchase tickets to see your favorite rock star or waiting to buy stock at the optimum lowest price.

Chris Ballester didn’t get much chance to play regularly for the Rutgers-Newark baseball team when he was a freshman. The Scarlet Raiders’ regular lineup was filled to the brim with experienced veterans. So Ballester had to bide his time on the bench and accept his role as a reserve performer and part-time outfielder.

When the starting first base job opened up upon the graduation of Matt Lingo, Ballester was poised to step up and take first cracks at first base – a position that Ballester played fairly regularly while attending Freehold Township High School.

“I knew that guys like Matt and Anthony (Yeswita, the team’s former designated hitter) were the power guys,” Ballester said. “I was going to try my hardest to fill that slot.”

So Ballester became a workout fiend in the off-season, spending countless hours in the weight room.

“It’s just a place I like to be,” Ballester said. “If I’m not practicing or in class, then that’s where I’ll be, in the weight room. I just like being there.”

“He’s a specimen in the weight room,” Rutgers-Newark head baseball coach Mark Rizzi said. “He works out a lot and it shows.”

It especially shows with Ballester’s immense power, a stroke that enables him to hit the ball out of the park to any field.

In a game last week against Penn State-Abington, a 10-7 Scarlet Raider victory, Ballester hit one homer to left-center field and another deep to right-center, a game where Ballester had three hits and drove in three runs.

“The first homer, I hit to left and I didn’t think I hit it that well,” Ballester said. “I was excited that it went out. The second one was better and it was more important, because it helped us get the win. They were different pitches in different spots.”

Rizzi has enjoyed watching Ballester develop.

“I just think this was a development process for Chris,” Rizzi said. “I didn’t think he was ready to play as a freshman. It was part of the maturation process. Because of his body type, Chris is able to hit the ball and hit it hard to all fields. He also uses that to his advantage. He’s not always trying to pull pitches. Sure, he can turn on a pitch, but he also can hit it hard going the other way. It just took him a little while to get going.”

Rizzi said that Ballester’s power, especially as a left-handed hitter going to left field, is uncanny.

“We’ve never had anyone like that,” Rizzi said. “It’s something he’s always done.”

“I’ve been able to do that all my life,” Ballester said. “I almost never hit the ball to right field.”

These days, Ballester is hitting the ball to all fields and with authority. The slugging junior is hitting at a .600 clip thus far with two homers and seven RBI. Not a bad start at all for the new everyday first baseman.

“I’ve never hit the ball like this before,” said Ballester, who was a .300 hitter for the Scarlet Raiders in each of his first two seasons. “I just want to keep it going. It feels good to have an everyday spot in the lineup, but I’d also encourage the competition, because that always helps. But it’s nice to get off to a good early start. I wasn’t expecting this.”

Rizzi likes Ballester’s approach.

“He sees the ball and hits it and that approach is refreshing,” Rizzi said. “He’s a nice kid who doesn’t talk too much. He’s very humble. But he’s an excellent athlete and we appreciate his athleticism.”

Rizzi knows that Ballester has become a fixture in the lineup, batting cleanup.

“We have a pretty good lineup with Patrick (Reitemeyer) batting third and Chris batting fourth,” Rizzi said. “Right now, we’re going to keep Chris there. He’s going to be able to hold his own there.”

The proof is the excellent start, even if it is only four games.

“I just think he feels more comfortable now,” Rizzi said. “You can see it. We always thought the potential was there. He just needed his shot. A lot of it has to do with his confidence.”

Ballester is majoring in criminal justice at R-N with a minor in political science. Perhaps law school is a possibility after graduation next year.

For now, Ballester will just continue to bat cleanup, hit the ball to all fields and hold the fort at first base. His patience has definitely paid off.