In the end, he decided, it’s all about baseball.
Xaverian rising senior Jared Lerner is a talented athlete, but it wasn’t until high school that decided to narrow his focus to a single sport.
“When I got to high school I decided to pick baseball as my sport and just really focus on that,” the Clippers’ outfield standout said. “It’s the one thing that’s always brought me the most joy. I love playing.”
Lerner cemented that decision this summer, spending his vacation competing with the Midville Dodgers. At first, he wasn’t sure Midville would be a good fit; after all, the team consists mostly of Queens-based players, many of whom Lerner competes against during the school season. It didn’t take long, however, for Lerner to hit his stride, and come to appreciate his summertime teammates.
“I thought it’d be weird, playing against all those kids that I’m sort of enemies against in the school season, but it turned out to be great,” Lerner said. “These guys are some of my closest friends now. It’s really, really fun.”
Midville’s schedule also offers Lerner the opportunity to play baseball almost non-stop. He and the Dodgers have crisscrossed the country this summer, just recently returning from multi-day tournaments in Cincinnati and Philadelphia. It’s a change of pace from the school year, but one Lerner knows will only benefit him in the future.
“It’s sort of been an eye-opening experience because it’s kind of how a college team would work,” Lerner said of his time with Midville. “You know, you’re traveling with the team, 12-hour bus rides and hotel rooms with your teammates.”
Of course, Lerner hoped for a bit more than fun this summer; he’d hit for a .326 average with 28 runs scored and a .995 fielding percentage at Xaverian in the spring, but felt there was still plenty of room for improvement in his game.
“Over the school season I sort of struggled with inside pitching,” he said. “So this summer, I really wanted to make that a focal point of my game. I learned [with Midville] how to turn on a pitch and drive it up the line.”
Xaverian clinched a regular-season Brooklyn-Queens title last year, but came up short in its quest for a city championship. In his final season with the Clippers, Lerner would like to help his high school squad achieve that goal.
“It’s been a really great summer,” said Lerner, who’s drawn interest from some Division II schools. “Last year I made second-team All-Brooklyn, so this year I’m hoping to make all-city and win a title.”
