By Long Beach State has a reputation for turning out top-notch players in the Major League Baseball draft every year. May and June become crucial months for junior and senior Dirtbags, knowing that they have little time left to impress the scouts.
But for some, those two months are bittersweet, as they know that their baseball career is coming to an end. Senior utility infielder AJ Pinocchio is one of those players.
“I’ve kind of got mixed emotions,” Pinocchio said. “I’m kind of ready to move on, but at the same time I’m giving up something I love.”
Pinocchio has often times been the missing link the Dirtbags needed in their lineup this season. With shortstop Danny Espinosa and with first baseman Brandon Godfrey both out for part of the season with injuries, and an inconsistent third base crew, Pinocchio provided the infield with a reliable replacement.
Pinocchio also saw starts as a designated hitter. His bat may not have quite been what it was the previous season when he was batting .339 with 11 runs, 11 RBIs two doubles, two triples and one homerun, but Pinocchio notched several clutch hits for the Dirtbags. This includes driving in the winning run against Cal Poly pitcher and former summer ball teammate Thomas Eager earlier this month – a play Pinocchio said is one of his best memories as a Dirtbag.
While Pinocchio continues to work hard on the field, ultimately he knows that he is about to stop playing the sport he has played all his life. Pinocchio has accepted it, but this wasn’t the place that he expected to be at the start of his collegiate career.
After graduating from Sonora High School, in Sonora, Calif., he chose to play for nearby Merced Junior College. After red-shirting his first season because of a knee surgery, Pinocchio played two seasons at Merced as the starting shortstop. Coming out of junior college, he was named a Northern California All-American, batting .361 with 38 runs, 17 RBIs, 11 doubles and four homeruns.
Although several top Division I schools heavily recruited Pinocchio, he expected to get drafted out of junior college until a shoulder injury prevented it.
“I was supposed to get drafted my sophomore season out of junior college, but my shoulder injury happened like two weeks before the season ended,” Pinocchio said. “It was horrible. I went from being one of the top junior college shortstops in California to not even really having a position on the field.”
But the allure of the top Division I baseball schools was too much for Pinocchio to ignore. Pinocchio said playing for a school like LBSU was something he had always wanted, and he decided to forgo surgery in favor of becoming a Dirtbag.
“Being in a top Division I baseball program – that was my dream,” Pinocchio said. “I never considered taking a medical red-shirt because the surgery would have taken longer than I would have been able to red-shirt.”
In his first season as a Dirtbag, Pinocchio tried to work through the injury and hoped to compete with Espinosa for the position of starting shortstop. Despite being injured, Pinocchio felt he was good enough for the position.
“I was pretty confident in my game. I was pretty cocky, actually, to be honest. Not anymore, though. With my shoulder injury there’s really nothing to be cocky about.”
Pinocchio said he played through a lot of pain, which greatly affected his fielding abilities. Once labeled a top prospect, Pinocchio never even came out of the dugout until mid-April of the 2006 season. And even then, he was utilized almost completely as a designated hitter, making only one start in left field.
“My strength was definitely limited,” Pinocchio said. “A lot of people don’t know this, but when you’re on the field and you have an injury, it messes with your confidence. It’s kind of tough to describe the feeling unless you really know it from being out there.”
But Pinocchio is not one to complain. He played through one more year of pain this season, knowing it was his last chance to play.
“Maybe things would be different if I didn’t have my injury,” Pinocchio said.””But right about now I’ve basically got to do what’s best for me.”
So while his former teammates are getting ready to be shipped off to a new home field, the criminal justice major is interviewing with companies like Target and Enterprise for management positions.
“It’s time to grow up,” Pinocchio said. “It’s time to be responsible and not live off mommy and daddy’s money anymore. I have to earn my own money.”
While he may not be earning his own money in the Class-A leagues, Pinocchio isn’t one to complain, as he is grateful for everything, from the fans at Blair Field to just being able to call himself a Dirtbag.
“Everything about this has just been a great experience for me,” Pinocchio said. “I’ve had a blast. I’ve just been grateful to have this experience and come out here and play with these guys. I never thought I’d be playing in the games I’ve played in, and the amount of fans. And the places I’ve been able to go and travel to and the stadiums I’ve been able to play in. The whole experience has been incredible.”
