Sam Granoff
"Trust the process, sure, but more importantly trust yourself. You can never be fully prepared for what’s to come, so it’s all about the tools you develop to handle that."
01
What was your experience during the recruiting process? Is there anything you wish you knew back then that you know now?
For any young player, the opportunity to even be considered for the next level should be celebrated. My experience was exciting and mostly positive, although I wish I understood that time was on my side. It’s easy to be rushed. I wanted to be done before decisions got tougher to make.
02
How did you choose which college program you wanted to play at? Did you have multiple offers? What was your most important aspect when choosing a college program?
Truthfully, the best advice (and most important aspect) about choosing a college program is to make sure it’s somewhere you would want to be without [italicized] baseball. That means academics, location, culture, proximity to family, et cetera. This I did do, but behind the fact that I committed to learn under a specific pitching coach—only to have him take another job before I ever set foot on campus.
03
What was your favorite part of college baseball?
Teammates, teammates, teammates. It’s the reason I’m filling this out. Because you’ll end up valuing those friendships over most everything else for four years (and beyond).
04
If you had advice to provide to an amateur player looking to play college baseball and has dreams to play professionally, what would it be?
Trust the process, sure, but more importantly trust yourself. You can never be fully prepared for what’s to come, so it’s all about the tools you develop to handle that. Also, know that in order to be good—I mean, really good—at a higher level, it’s going to take a lot of sacrifice. The odds aren’t ever in your favor; but that’s the fun part.
05
As you have progressed into professional baseball or your next career path; how has your experience in college baseball prepared you for your current endeavors today?
Work ethic, more than anything. A former teammate recently visited a class of mine, and said that “The toughest thing about finishing baseball is spending 24 years of life honing a skill to near-perfection, only to realize that the moment you’re done, that skill is useless in the real world.” It’s tough because in one way, that’s true. Hitting, fielding, throwing; very little will carry over technically—but the process of acquiring those skills will last a lifetime. It is that I’m most thankful for.