Enmanuel De Jesus is staying centered

Sports are one of many things in life that bring people together. Through passion, fandom and pride, lovers of the game cheer for some of the best athletes in the world playing on their favorite team. Whether local, national, or international, sports seem to create some of the strongest, most inspiring and heartwarming stories that only fans can piece together.

Jumbo Shrimp pitcher Enmanuel De Jesus grew up in Valencia, Venezuela, the capital of the state of Carabobo. The state is in northwestern Venezuela and is located on the Río Cabriales River in the central highlands about 1,600 feet above sea level near the western shore of Lake Valencia. Today, it is considered one of Venezuela’s two major industrial centers.

In De Jesus’s native country, people live and die by baseball. It all started thanks to the “Heroes of ’41,” the team that helped the sport establish its roots as the country’s pastime. In 1941, the national team pulled an upset that went down in history for the South American country, defeating Cuba and winning the Amateur World Series championship played in Havana. The heavy favorites going down set Venezuela in a craze and sparked the development of their professional league, Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP), which had its inaugural season just five years later.

“I will say, in Venezuela, the number one sport is baseball,” De Jesus said. “They love the game, and they have a pretty good winnable league there.”

With such a heavy presence, De Jesus had his favorite players he looked up to and still even admires today. Players like him, just from baseball-crazed Venezuela.

“I grew up watching Johan Santana,” said De Jesus. “I was always a big fan of him, especially since he was a left-handed pitcher like me.”

The two-time AL Cy Young winner is one of many stars born in De Jesus’ native country. The now-26-year-old knew he wanted to follow the same path one day as his idol.

“Well, I was playing pool with my dad at home, and I get the call from the manager (Omar López),” De Jesus said. “He said he wanted m,e and I was (in) 100 percent. I told him right away. Yeah, whatever you need, any role you need, I’m going to be 100 percent available for you.”

That call would be for the opportunity to represent his country on one of the biggest stages, the World Baseball Classic.

“That was an unbelievable experience for me. I never thought I was going to be representing with my team at the WBC, De Jesus said. “When I got the call, I was so excited, it was a great opportunity and a great feeling being around all those guys. Growing up watching Miggy (Miguel Cabrera) and a lot of those guys, it was a great experience being a part of that team.”

Being around those Hall of Fame-caliber players speaks volume, but part of the experience is forming those relationships on and off the diamond. One relationship that stuck with De Jesus was Pablo López, a former Jacksonville hurler who grew into a Miami Marlin and now a 2023 All-Star pitcher for the Minnesota Twins.

“We were playing catch up there,” said De Jesus. “I liked the way he managed himself, (the way he) practices and I am trying to pick stuff like that up.”

Going into the WBC, he had talked to the coaching staff and was originally under the impression that he would be on the 50-man roster. However, once he got the call regarding the active roster, it was a dream come true. He knew that with an opportunity like this, he needed to prepare and take full advantage of his resources.

“I was trying to learn a lot from the veteran guys, like, especially, patience-wise,” said De Jesus. “The way they managed themselves, and on the field, the way they take care of themselves, the way they put work in. And I learned a lot of things that I think can help me.”

While the World Baseball Classic may be a peak in De Jesus’ climb to the big leagues, his journey naturally commenced long before that.

“Well, I started playing ball when I was four years old,” De Jesus said. “My mom put me playing ball because I had a lot of energy when I was a kid.”

That little boy grew, taking steps just like Johan Santana and Pablo López did. And when De Jesus was 16, he signed with the Boston Red Sox. From there, he learned quickly that he had to attack every day with a goal.

“I got to move away from my family when I was 16 years old,” said De Jesus. “But I cannot get used to this; I see these days as my job. So, it’s like every year, I know I have to come to the States for a couple of months to do my job, do the best I can trying to get to the big leagues and wait for that call.”

He stays goal-oriented with an approach to attack every day when he arrives at the ballpark.

“I’m trying to give the 100 percent that I can,” De Jesus said. “Trying to get at least one percent better every day.”

Playing now in Triple-A with a WBC appearance under his belt has gotten him steadily closer to his ultimate goal. Those are peaks. And while De Jesus has played professionally for 10 years now, there have been times with bumps in the road and sacrifice. One percent isn’t always easy to achieve.

For example, coming off the lights and glamor of the WBC, De Jesus missed nearly 40 games with an elbow injury, costing him the beginning of the 2023 season. He reiterated his approach of giving his all, his 100 percent, but he also had a plan on attacking the strike zone more.

“Coming back from my elbow injury wasn’t that easy,” said De Jesus. “But (I’m) trying to tie up the hitters, staying with my plan, and hopefully that is going to succeed.”

With adversity comes stress, especially being extremely far from your home and loved ones. Leaning on family and friends is what keeps you going during those trials and tribulations. However, De Jesus refers to one thing his dad always told him when he was growing up.

“My dad always told me I got to be different than everybody,” De Jesus said. “He told me you cannot be like all the other people; you should be a little bit different in a good way.”

He has always taken his dad's advice to heart and implies his role model’s message by trying to talk to everyone, make an impact, and learn along the way.

“I like to talk with everybody, I’m trying to learn everything, something every day, either a new language or something.”

Coming from Venezuela he was forced to learn a different language and used his dad’s moto to understand and be proficient in English.

“I have been playing here for 10 years, I have to learn,” said De Jesus. “I put a lot of work my first couple years here and I put a goal: I got to learn a new language because this one I do to do for a living. I got to learn so I can communicate with the coaches and everybody on the team.”

He did so by talking a lot, and not being afraid to conversate. He also was never afraid to make a mistake because that is a part of the process, just like in his pitching journey.

“I just got the friends talking, I was not afraid to talk,” De Jesus said. “I am never afraid to talk with the guys even though I made some mistakes. I still make mistakes, but I’m not afraid to talk.”

From Valencia, Venezuela to De Jesus’ current location of Jacksonville, he continues to represent his country and family with pride. The “Heroes of ‘41” changed Venezuela, and De Jesus is a product of that change. His work ethic and goal-oriented approach have taken him to Triple-A and the World Baseball Classic. Exploiting that one percent difference every day, are the major leagues next?