Dominic Yumul
DOMINIC Jude Acosta Yumul, an NMI-born college athlete, hit a double to help the St. Joseph’s University, N.Y. (Brooklyn) baseball team trounce Lehman College, 11-2, in Staten Island, N.Y. on Thursday.
After his team, the Bears, scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning, Yumul, 23, connected an RBI double to extend their lead, 3-1.
“The competition in college is 100% more challenging than playing in Saipan,” Yumul said in an interview with Variety. He has been playing for the university for the past three years now.
He said a majority of college baseball players come from high schools throughout America. But of the over 400,000 kids who play baseball in high school, only 36,000 or 7.3% end up playing in college, he added.
“I’ve met really good players in Saipan and give them my upmost respect. However, I feel that in Saipan we treat the game as a past time…to have fun while [stateside] American players treat the game as a job and create a really competitive environment,” Yumul said.
Thursday was actually his rest day, he added. However, the game proved challenging and in the bottom of the sixth, Yumul came in as a pinch hitter with a runner in scoring position. “I waited for my pitch and drove it to right center field allowing my teammate to coast and score.”
Yumul added, “At the moment, I was electric and shouted back to my dugout in excitement and watching my teammates shout back and congratulating me is sensational. Lots of emotions ran through my body because I knew I did my job, and I started the onslaught by passing the torch to my teammates winning 11-2.”
Yumul does not have a set position as a utility player, but he has played every position besides first base. “My coach sees my athleticism and he places me wherever he feels I would be useful to the team. I have a great connection with my coach, and he strongly believes in my potential and my skills to do anything to help the team.”
On Tuesday, Yumul started as the catcher. In previous games, he played as second baseman, shortstop, and left fielder.
Yumul started playing baseball at the age of 10 and now has 13 years of experience.
“I would like to recognize a lot of people because without them I would never have shaped myself to become the player I am today,” he said. “First is my dad Ray Yumul and his brother, my uncle Ralph Yumul, for introducing me to the sport and playing on the team they formed named the Rays. I would also like recognize all my coaches from my past teams in Saipan starting with the Twins, the Jets, the Enforcers, the Blue Jays, and the CNMI All-Stars; Spencer Dickinson, a longtime friend and fellow Saipan-born, with whom I trained with and is now playing baseball at the college level; and everyone else who supported and crossed paths with me via my baseball journey.”
Dominic Yumul aims to go pro when given the opportunity. “Going pro is definitely a dream of mine, but it’s not easy and until my clock runs out from playing college baseball, I’ll give it everything I got in hopes of getting drafted and signed to a professional team. If things don’t work out, I definitely want to spend my free time in developing the youth of Saipan who have dreams and aspirations of playing outside Saipan because we have so much talent that should be recognized and get us on the map!”
