A Passionate, Dedicated, Superstitious Leader for McDaniel Baseball: Jake Smith

It’s not exactly health food. The Skittles package has to be purple. And to have a really good game, there had better be a Mountain Dew to wash it down.

That has been McDaniel College outfielder Jake Smith’s tradition since his travel and high school baseball days.

Smith is dedicated to a process that keeps him focused–he eats, breathes, and sleeps baseball. Whatever he does on a nongame day, it’s to prepare for the upcoming game day or to zone into the rhythm of a game day. Smith is dedicated to his play if he intakes more carbs on a non-game day or wakes up early on a game day to focus on the game.

For Smith, playing baseball is all about getting into the zone early on game days—a big part of the mental aspect of baseball. Smith puts a different style of music on to get him focused on the game.

In fact, music plays a huge role during the game itself for Smith. Smith stays focused from batter to batter in the outfield by putting a song on repeat in his mind and playing it repeatedly.

“[Baseball players] are much more successful when they are mentally tough,” said Smith.

Growing up in New Jersey, Smith was a huge Yankee fan, though his favorite player was longtime Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones. “I grew up liking the Braves too, and liked the way Chipper Jones played baseball,” said Smith.

When Smith used to play wiffle ball with his dad, he learned how to switch-hit. “I liked that [Chipper Jones] was a switch hitter,” Smith said.

When Smith started playing baseball competitively, he became a left-handed hitter.

Smith also throws lefty. Sometimes, in baseball, you will see players who throw right-handed and bat left-handed, as all positions on the baseball field, except for the first base, outfield, and pitchers, can be played by lefty throwers.

At 14 years old, Smith became a full-time outfielder. He used to play first base until he lost a significant amount of weight. Smith also pitched until he got to college.

Smith threw about 80 miles per hour as a pitcher, claiming he “wasn’t the best” and “got shelled sometimes.”

Throughout high school and college, Smith became a significantly better hitter. Smith is known amongst his teammates at McDaniel for hitting for average, also known as contact hitting–getting on base, as opposed to hitting for power, such as home runs.

It wasn’t automatic success for Smith in high school, though. In his second high school game ever, and with no base hits, Smith stepped up to the plate. “I struck out, I think, six times in a row,” Smith said. “And one of my former travel teammates was pitching. It was a rivalry game, it was the second game of my freshman year, and I hit a bases clearing double.”

“It’s the one experience I’ll always have,” Smith said. Citing his former teammates for ten or so years being around and witnessing his first hit was what made this experience “so fun.”

As Smith progressed in baseball throughout high school, he also played football and basketball.

Before arriving at McDaniel College, Smith looked at several other schools in the same conference as McDaniel, the Centennial, to play football. Smith was recruited to McDaniel for baseball only.

Smith also had an opportunity to play football at McDaniel as a walk-on to the football team. He liked that he came to McDaniel because he could be a two-sport athlete.

Ultimately, he stuck just to baseball, as two sports would consume too much time and commitment.

Smith, now an experienced college player, doesn’t always value his successes as his favorite memories as a McDaniel baseball player. He is a team player. One of his favorite memories was the success of catcher Matt Purnell, who was a senior during Smith’s freshman season.

Purnell, who was in one of his last games in college, hit a “three-run nuke,” Smith cited that home run as “one of the most electrifying moments I have ever been around.”

Purnell told me he wasn’t even supposed to play that game. A younger player on the team hadn’t been performing, so the coach told Purnell that he would be coming in to pinch hit and come in to catch after, “I was ready,” Purnell said.

“There was not a lot I could do,” Purnell said. He was nearing the end of his college career, but he went into the game thinking the game was tied. However, McDaniel was down one at Washington College. Purnell hit the home run, immediately became a “blur,” said Purnell.

Smith has an unmatched passion for the game. Purnell thinks highly of calling him “intense,” because of how seriously he played the game. “[Smith] played batting practice fly balls like it was the last out of the World Series,” Purnell said. “It’s just who he is.”

In addition to playing baseball, Smith loves making playlists, calling himself “a big playlist guy,” and also plays the video games MLB The Show and Call of Duty.

Smith wants to stay in athletics after he graduates college. However, he doesn’t intend to play baseball competitively after college. However, “you never know where life will take you,” he said.

As a Kinesiology major, Smith wants to be “adaptive” and has his eyes set on being a physical education teacher or a sports coach after his time at McDaniel.

Smith’s passion for the game and his intensity, as Purnell mentioned, is unmatched and makes him a super special presence to be around on and off the field.

He is willing to help anyone in his community and makes his peers want to work harder and be better people.

It is his work ethic, combined with his personable traits, that make Smith who he is, a competitive, hardworking, and intense ball player who strives for the best he can on the field—which will lead him to greatness when he is working in the field of physical education or a sports coach, and that is the dedication within him, the same dedication to eat the purple bag of Skittles and Mountain Dew the night before he plays.