 "Photo:")
Most of us know Johnny Ayers as the guy who roped a double off of the first pitch Dice-K ever threw in America.
The rest of us know him as that kid who plays football and baseball.
And those of us who don't know that have been living under a rock.
While most of Boston College was embarking on spring break excursions last March, the BC baseball team was down in Fort Myers to join the Boston Red Sox in the early stages of spring training. It just so happened that Daisuke Matsuzaka's first preseason start was scheduled for that Friday, and Ayers was the Eagle lucky enough to be batting leadoff.
Well, "lucky" may be the wrong word; facing the nation's most anticipated starting pitcher in his first-ever appearance in a Red Sox uniform would probably have made Albert Pujols squirm.
So imagine the astonishment that swarmed the country when Ayers, a junior infielder from Oakton, Va., from a team whose field is used as a parking lot during football season, rocketed a first-pitch fastball down the left-field line with all of America watching.
"I made it pretty clear I was going to hunt the fastball," said Ayers. "First pitch was a fastball, so I took a hack."
Well then, it was quite a hack; Dice-K's fastball left even A-Rod looking dazed and confused last Friday.
Gene DeFilippo should send Ayers a thank you-note. For a baseball program that gets relatively no attention compared to other ACC powerhouses like Clemson and Florida State, the press coverage that ensued after the Dice-K double was, in a word, unbelievable. ESPN, Fox, USA Today, CNN, The Boston Globe, NESN - they were all there.
Must be pretty flattering to see your name in the same sentence as somebody like Daisuke Matsuzaka.
"I think it was great for our program to get this kind of exposure in Boston and, to a lesser degree, nationwide," Ayers said. "[Ryan Hutchinson, Jared McGuire] and I were the first three to face him, and we all just looked forward to the opportunity to face a pitcher of Dice-K's magnitude. All the reporters calling our cell phones, all the media requests - it was definitely an exciting time in my baseball career," he said.
Oh, and that's just his baseball career. There's a football one, too.
You may recognize Ayers as the place kicker for the football team. So when he's not leading the baseball team in batting average or ranking as the fifth-best kicker in the ACC, what's he doing?
Does the phrase "group project" mean anything to you?
"Juggling both sports and CSOM doesn't come without sacrifices," he admited, "There are a lot of nights when all your friends are out partying and you have to stay in, or you're on a road trip and you have to sit in a hotel room. That's just part of the price you pay when you sign up to be a Division-I athlete. It's really just all about time management," he said.
But picking between football and baseball was never an option, as far as Ayers was concerned.
"I signed here during [basketball season of my senior year] knowing I was going to play both. I had signed a football scholarship, but I met with both coaches and worked out the scenario of how I would play both. All the coaches involved - Coach O'Brien, Coach Hughes, Coach Jags, Coach Aoki - have all been tremendously understanding in giving me this amazing chance to play both."
"There are definitely times where I just wish I could have a weekend off to go home, or just relax and be a normal college student. If I didn't love playing the games so much, it would definitely be a lot harder, but right now I'm just having fun getting to do something only a handful of kids get to do," said Ayers.
Think about how many double-sport athletes there are at Division I schools. (Hint: there aren't many.)
Then, think about how many of them go to a school as academically rigorous as BC. The job isn't easy.
But Ayers isn't asking for any time off.
This summer, as soon as BC's baseball season ends, he'll head down shore to play for Yarmouth-Dennis in the Cape Cod Baseball League. When that ends in August, it's right back to BC to get ready for his last college football season.
Obviously, he can't play both sports forever.
The choice must be made, sooner or later - but when the time comes, will he choose the pigskin or the cowhide?
"Ever heard of Bo Jackson?" he deadpanned. "Just kidding. If I could play either sport at the pro level, that would be an amazing opportunity and truly a blessing. Post-graduation, I'm not close to 100 percent sure on what I want to do. I'll have to see what opportunities are presented to me, and if [sports] aren't the route I want to travel, I'll end up in New York on Wall Street."
Typical CSOMer.
But as long as we're talking about opportunities … maybe somebody can arrange for Randy Moss to pretend to be a kick returner for a day in this year's NFL preseason, and Ayers can send him his first-ever kick in a Patriots uniform.
And maybe he'll drop it.
Be the first to comment on this article!