‘Jimmy Baseball’ branches out

‘Jimmy Baseball’ branches out
Athlete is an all-around all-star

BY JOHN SULLIVAN
Special to the Rice News

In addition to shining on the baseball diamond, Rice first baseman Jimmy Comerota stands out while performing community service of all sorts in Houston and cheering for Owls of all sports at Rice. An active participant in the Salvation Army and Rice’s Autry Army, Comerota also achieves in the classroom. It’s no wonder that the man who is called “Jimmy Baseball” by his many friends was named one of Tomorrow’s Leaders by Rice Athletics. 

Through his membership with the Rice chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Comerota has participated in various food and clothing drives that benefit the Salvation Army and other charity organizations. As a member of the National Honor Society and NCAA YES program, he performed more than 100 hours of community service, which included work with Habitat for Humanity, hurricane relief and Texas Children’s Hospital.

“There are a lot of great organizations out there doing great work, but they never seem to have enough people,” Comerota said. “They need volunteers. Once you get involved you realize it’s not that hard to help people out, and you find yourself wanting to keep doing what you can when you can. A lot of people just don’t take that first step.”

TOMMY LAVERGNE
During the Owls’ 2006 College World Series trip, Comerota struck up a friendship with an Omaha family. The next year, he casually promised the family that if Rice made it back to Omaha in 2008, his entire Rice Owls team would attend the baseball game of the family’s young son.

In the classroom, on the field

Comerota has continued down the community service path while playing Division I baseball and succeeding in the classroom. The Missouri City Texan, who joined Rice from Hightower High School, has maintained a 3.26 grade point average with a double-major in sport management and economics.

On the field, Comerota is a .291 career hitter, who a year ago shared the team lead in hitting (.417) during the Owls’ run through the NCAA tournament. He batted at an even better pace (.429) last year in Omaha during Rice’s third consecutive appearance in the College World Series.

Rice head coach Wayne Graham said that Comerota is “arguably the most improved college player over the last two years” and that he “is versatile enough to play any position in the infield (except pitcher).”

But it was an off-the-field event orchestrated by Jimmy Baseball that made headlines.

Big day for Little Leaguers

During the Owls’ 2006 College World Series trip, Comerota struck up a friendship with an Omaha family. The next year, he casually promised the family that if Rice made it back to Omaha in 2008, his entire Rice Owls team would attend the baseball game of the family’s young son.

Rice did make it back to the series, but a busy schedule made it hard — but not impossible — for Comerota to deliver on his promise. First the Owls visited patients at the Children’s Hospital of Omaha, signing autographs and handing out Rice baseball goodies.

Though it was their off day, the Rice players then boarded their charter bus and headed over to an Omaha Little League field.

When Owls’ bus arrived, the two Little League teams, all the players’ parents and the teams on neighboring fields looked on in amazement. No other participating College World Series team had ever taken the time during the trip to attend a local Little League game and encourage the next generation of baseball players.

	TOMMY LAVERGNE
	No other participating College World Series team had ever taken the time during the trip to attend a local Little League game and encourage the next generation of baseball players.

“I asked our team to do it,” Comerota said. “Everybody on our team played Little League baseball at some point, and we’re not such big shots that we couldn’t spare a little time for some of these kids. I’ll tell you, we really enjoyed it. For a lot of us it reminded us of when we played baseball for the first time. We all have those great memories.

“The toughest part was the contrast of having just come straight from the children’s hospital,” Comerota said. “Those were two very different experiences to have with kids, but both very rewarding in their own way.”

Comerota said that Rice baseball players try to visit local hospitals at least once a semester, even during the season. 

Cheering others on

Between the community service, Division I baseball and pursuing a double-major, does Jimmy Baseball ever get some time to relax? How does someone who’s so involved in the campus and the community let off a little steam?

Comerota is a proud member — a ringleader actually — of the student spirit section at home sporting events. Wearing his baseball cap turned backward like a catcher, Comerota and his spirited, decibel-raising classmates in the “Autry Army” can make a college basketball game seem like the longest 40 minutes a visiting team will endure all season.