About

Espanol: Sobre Joakim Soria

For Joakim Soria, life has not been easy. Yet when you see someone who has reached stardom, you always assume that the person was born with a lot of talent and nothing else. But talent alone isn’t enough. Once you have talent, you still have to work hard to achieve your goals.

Since his boyhood, Joakim has shown he has natural abilities. He participated in his first national baseball tournament when he was 5. From that moment on, he wanted to make sure baseball was one of his life’s goals.

Photos from Joakim’s youth:

His parents always supported his love for the sport. They made an effort to follow him and let him grow his baseball career. With his father as the manager of his youth team (the Braves) and his older brother as his role model, Joakim was on a team that had the longest consecutive winning streak in the league.

He also earned recognition as the best pitcher in the league in his first National tournament. He duplicated that effort the second time around and also pitched a perfect game in the tournament.

There was little doubt he had talent aplenty. As he grew up, more responsibilities came his way – so did more pressure. But he remembered the words of one of his coaches:

“If you want to play baseball and be a successful pitcher, you have to do away with temptations like too many parties, too many going out at nights, and stay out of trouble. The life of a pitcher is to run, and run, and run.”

In order to try to reach his goals, Joakim followed this advice and found success along the way. He went to a tryout, which a man named Alberto Joachin organized. Joachin is one of the most respected baseball scouts in Mexico. He signed Esteban Loiaza, Ricardo Rincon, Francisco Cordova and many other pitchers who went on to pitch in the big leagues.

At the tryout, Joakim was able to show his talent, personality and character. The Mexico City Reds signed him to his first professional contract.

His dreams were coming true, little by little. After playing for the Mexico City team, the Los Angeles Dodgers bought his contract. It wasn’t easy for Joakim to transition from playing in his homeland to playing in the United States. Continuing to work hard, he never let his new environment affect him.

The hardest part of his young life, however, was just ahead of him. While with the Dodgers, Joakim hurt his right arm and had to have Tommy John surgery to repair it. “I thought that my career was over and that the operation would send my career backward,” he says. “God knew where I was headed, and thanks to Him, my operation was very helpful.”

After Joakim’s arm healed, he headed back to the Mexico City Reds in the Mexican League. After 39 games, Joakim was picked up by the San Diego Padres organization and sent to Fort Wayne. During the Winter Season, Joakim proved that he was as healthy as ever, and he pitched a perfect game (see photos below) for Obregon!

Photos from Joakim’s Mexican Baseball Teams:

Joakim was not protected by the San Diego Padres and the Kansas City Royals picked him up during the rule 5 draft. He made his Major League debut on April 4, 2007.

Joakim credits much of his success in the big leagues to Luis Fernando Mendez, pitching coach with the Mexican City Reds. Mendez was a star pitcher in the Mexican baseball, and he gained fame for his performances in the Caribbean Series. He taught Joakim both the mental and physical traits needed to succeed as a ballplayer.