Two weeks ago, McGhee Student Adrian Cardenas let out a life-long built-up sigh of relief as he became a Major League Baseball player for the Chicago Cubs. This is not to imply that his work is complete. “There is a saying in baseball, ‘As hard as it is to get to the major leagues, it’s so much harder to stay there,’” he said. Adrian looks forward to the challenge ahead while relishing the achievement of a dream.
“To be able to combine academics and sports is crucial to me,” he said. “I wanted to be surrounded by intellectuals in an academic environment. This isn’t to say that baseball lacks brilliant people; there are many intelligent people in it, but baseball is about developing a craft. I need the balance.”
Adrian is quite happy to have his feet in both the worlds of academia and sports, the mix, he said, is not as rare as people think. There is a tendency for people to place those who play sports and intellectuals in different boxes. This is a mistake; there is plenty of crossover. He cited examples such as Theo Epstein, president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs who received his undergraduate degree from Yale and then got his J.D. from the University of San Diego Law School; Craig Breslow, a pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks who got a bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale; and Michael Taylor, an Oakland A’s outfielder who graduated from Stanford with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science.
Adrian is interested in film, philosophy, and creative writing – endeavors, he said, that are well fostered at McGhee. Since 2010, he has taken courses on campus in the fall and a course online in the spring. This dovetails well into his baseball seasons and makes New York a steady home in the fall, which Adrian greatly appreciates given the traveling nature of his profession. The McGhee faculty and administration, he said, have been extremely helpful and understanding of his scheduling needs.
A second baseman, Adrian has started in a few games so far. He said there is an element of getting your feet wet and a major difference between playing in front of a minor league audience and a major league stadium full of 45,000-plus people. At 24, Adrian is one of the youngest people on the team. “When I get nervous, I ask myself if I’ve prepared for the big leagues,” he said. “Being able to always genuinely answer yes settles my nerves.”
As for the academic side of his life, Adrian said it fuels his intellectual progress. He speculated about pursuing a master’s degree after he wraps up his bachelor’s and very pleased with his time at McGhee. “I’ve always enjoyed learning,” he said. “Evolving intellectually and creatively are the most passionate goals in my life.”
