By Aidan Shaw
The Commuter
If it weren’t for the Boston Red Sox being Isaac Ferrer’s favorite MLB team, he wouldn’t be on the collegiate sports route he’s on today.
Isaac Ferrer, 20, a second-year student at Frederick Community College, is making an impact on the baseball diamond.
Growing up, Ferrer’s love for America’s favorite sport goes all the way back to when he was just 3 years old.
“My biggest influence on me was my dad who has a huge passion and knowledge for the game of baseball and I’m grateful that he passed that knowledge down to me,” he said.
For most people during the pandemic, they stayed in their homes and played things safe but when COVID struck for Ferrer, he went against the grain and decided to branch out of his bubble.
“I picked FCC due to COVID,” he said during a telephone interview last month from Davenport, Florida, where he and the rest of the Cougars were playing at the Russ Matt invitational.
Pre-pandemic, Ferrer said he had offers from other schools but COVID impacted collegiate sports.
“They pulled those offers and that’s when I got on the phone with Coach (Rodney) Bennett and told me about the program they had at FCC,” he said. “After that, I knew this was the best decision.”
Playing ball far from home
Out of all the nine positions one can play in baseball, He chose to become a catcher, which is a often thought of difficult position to play because the player has to constantly be crouching, which on the knees, as well as being the bullseye for the fast balls from the pitcher. When Ferrer was younger, his dad was the baseball coach and didn’t have anyone to play catcher on the team, so the younger Ferrer stepped up to play for a few games. And from there, he fell in love with being behind the plate.
The adjustment of moving 897 miles from Parkland, Florida, to Frederick, is pretty significant but Ferrer was ready for that change.
Flying is the preferred method of travel from Florida to Maryland, but for the 15-hour trip down to Florida they took a bus.
The invitational was an early spring vacation to visit his family.
“My family came to see me for the weekend, and then on my off days I went out to eat with family and spend time with them at the hotel,” he said.
First year at FCC
Ferrer said the first adjustment was pretty hard with being so far away from family and friends, and not knowing anyone in Frederick.
However, being on a sports team gave him an instant group of people to hang out with. Ferrer said he has a core group of guys on the baseball team who he considers family.
“The restrictions last year made it difficult to make new friends and live the normal college experience but being on the baseball team has given me a group to hang out with,” he said.
One thing Ferrer wished he knew before moving to Maryland was the unpredictability of the weather.
When asked how he’s enjoying Maryland so far, Ferrer said, “Honestly, I really enjoy Maryland. It was tough coming from Florida, the cold is something that’s new to me especially the snow.. But Maryland is a really nice place to be.”
