MYRTLE BEACH -- Every baseball player likes being in the right place at the right time because it could brings dividends and this is what Neversink resident and former Tompkins-Cortland Community College (TC3) infielder Rodney Taylor Jester is hoping for.
While playing short stop for coach Luis Reyes league championship Riptide team in the six-week Beach League Junior College Player Showcase League in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Jester and his team mates were visually eyed by former 18-year major league veteran infielder Jose Vizcaino who presently works as a Special Assistant to Baseball Operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers working with minor league infielders.
Vizcaino in a personal interview with us noted that Jester has "excellent skills as an infielder" and wants to be kept advised of where he plays additional college baseball.
Jester noted "he even came out on the field and also worked with me in the batting cage."
Vizcaino along with Darryl Strawberry and Ricky Ledee are the only Major League baseball players to have played for all four (one time) New York teams....the New York Yankees, the New York Mets the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants.
This smooth fielding former major league infielder's career included stints with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1989-1990), Chicago Cubs (1991-1993), New York Mets (1994-1996), Cleveland Indians (1996), San Francisco Giants (1997), return to the Dodgers (1998-2000), New York Yankees (2000), Houston Astros (2001-2005), return to the Giants (2006) and St. Louis Cardinals (2006).
Jose's last year of major league play was 2006 and he joined the Dodger's minor league operations in 2008.
"I played for the love of the game," Jose noted "and the money comes after that."
Vizcaino with the Yankees played in four of the five games in the 2000 World Series against the New York Mets but is most known for his dramatic hit on October 21, 2000, in game 1, when in the bottom of the 12th inning of the then longest game in World Series history, he hit the game winning RBI single.
Jose is more well known for his great defense although he also had the reputation of being a clutch hitter and mostly a singles hitter. He has an overall .270 Major league average.
Vizcaino was also attending the Myrtle Beach Summer Collegiate league to watch his son Johnathon pitch and play third base for the Riptide team. Johnathon is a sophomore at Division III Susquahanna University in Pennsylvania but expects to transfer to another college soon.
Jose's older son, Jose Jr. played college baseball for Santa Clara University and has been drafted by the San Francisco Giants and is presently playing third base in the Single A Northwest Minor league.
The 47-year-old Vizcaino is married with three children and makes his home in San Diego, California.
Jester is Tri-Valley Central School's 2013 MVP, one of the top three hitters on the Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3) 2015 team, was selected to play in the Myrtle Beach Collegiate League by TC3 assistant coach Billy Crowe as a result of his outstanding offensive and defensive play at the Dryden, NY community college where he was named co-captain and also received the honor of having his picture placed on the college's website header, facebook and twitter account which honors the best returning player on each team."
Jester is his freshman year at TC3 batted .333 with an On Base Percentate (OBP) of .349 and a Slugging Average (SLG) of .405.
During his sophomore year at TC3 he ended as one of the top three batters with a batting average of 339, OBP of .402 and SLG of 458. His fielding percentage playing mostly second base was .887 and he completed 20 double plays.
Former Tompkins-Cortland Community College (TC3) infielder Rodney Taylor Jester, left, chats with former 18-year major league infielder Jose Vizcaino at this summers Myrtle Beach Junior College Collegiate Showcase league. Vizcaino is now a Special Assistant to Baseball Operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers working with minor league infielders.
PHOTOS FROM THE MYRTLE BEACH JUNIOR COLLEGE COLLEGIATE SHOWCASE LEAGUE PLAY IN JUNE & JULY 2015
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