Fresno State Athletics
From the Bay to Fresno -- Francisco Nieves
5/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Senior pitcher Francisco Nieves may look like a seasoned veteran who grew up throwing at targets, but looks can be deceiving. The truth is, Nieves only began consistently pitching a few short years ago in junior college.
Nieves played outfield for Fremont High School in Oakland, Calif., and occasionally his coach would put him on the mound to test his arm.
"In high school I played outfield and I got to hit," said Nieves. "I threw maybe once in a great while, but it wasn't something I wanted to do. I liked playing outfield and I liked to hit."
When he continued his baseball career at Laney (Oakland, Calif.) College, Nieves' coach had a different vision for the traditional outfielder. Much like Nieves' high school coach, he saw his potential in pitching.
"In high school my coach would tell me to go in there and just throw the ball as hard as I could, and that's what I would do," said Nieves. "I seriously tried it out in college. I threw a couple of times and after that I started getting recruited by certain schools."
The right-handed pitcher landed at Fresno State, where as a junior he had a 7-4 record. Nieves' best start last year was against San Jose State on Feb. 17 where he pitched 8.2 innings, allowing only three runs.
Nieves, a criminology major, is set to graduate this year. If the opportunity arises he said he would like continue playing baseball professionally, but if not he is content to pursue other career goals, which include an array of possibilities. Nieves is intrigued by a few different professions like the confiscation of illegalities or a U.S. Marshall.
"You're not situated in one place," said Nieves about being a Marshall. "They send you on cases all over the world. It seems interesting to play the good person role and try to help people out."
Nieves knows a thing or two about being helped out. His baseball career has been full of caring coaches, including Fresno State head coach Bob Bennett. Nieves said being a part of Bennett's team in his last coaching year is unique and special.
"Before I came to Fresno State I didn't know much about Coach Bennett," said Nieves. "But when I got here I learned how much he's done for the program. Being a part of the team in his last coaching year is pretty important."
Nieves appreciates all the knowledge he has gained from his many coaches. "If you keep playing baseball you move up to a different level and you learn different things from different people. If you think you know everything you're fooling yourself. There's always something to learn. All the coaches have helped me a lot, especially Bennett because he's my pitching coach."
Nieves said he will take what he's learned from all of his past and present coaches with him for life.
"Everything all the coaches have taught about baseball transcend to life," said Nieves. "They teach you to be on time and to be responsible for yourself and that's easily applied to all other areas of life."
