Serious injuries often mark the end of many athletes’ careers, but Andrew Liberty, sophomore exercise science major, persevered through an injury to come back to baseball stronger and better than ever.
Originally from Tucson, Arizona, Liberty moved to Boca Raton, Florida, at the age of 5 and began playing baseball. Liberty played baseball for four years at Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Lauderdale.
During his high school career, Liberty suffered leg injuries that sidelined him from baseball for an entire season.
“I broke my femur, tore my ACL, MCL and meniscus. I was out for 11 months and ended up having to wear braces for two years,” said Liberty.
Although coming back to baseball was a tough challenge for Liberty, he did not allow his injuries to hinder the progress he had made so far in his career.
“Coming back was pretty rough,” Liberty said. “After not playing for a year, your timing is thrown off, and I was afraid to use my legs again, so my whole game was a little different. It took a while to get used to it. It took me about a year to fully recover and get back to top speed and where I was playing before. It was pretty traumatic, but I’m back to where I was before.”
I got the chance to sit down with Liberty and ask him a few questions.
How did you get into playing baseball?
“My dad played baseball up until high school, but he had always been my coach up until I was about 15. He was always there, he coached me, and he taught me how to play baseball, so I owe everything to him.”
What do you plan on doing with an exercise science degree?
“I’m not sure yet, but I either want to do speed training at a gym or use my business minor and get into sales, like medical equipment for rehab or physical therapy because I was hurt in high school and had to wear braces. So I’d like to be able to get into that business.”
Do you plan to continue playing baseball after college?
“No, I’ll probably start working right away. I figure I’ve got four years here and I’ve gotten to play, meet some great guys, and build chemistry with the team, so I’ll probably just take my degree and go to work.”
What do you think is the hardest aspect of baseball?
“The hardest part of baseball is probably that even when you succeed or you do something really well, it’s still a game of failure. You have a very small success rate. You could be doing things really well the whole time but still get a bad result, so it’s a really tough mental game. You definitely have to be mentally tough.”
Are there any specific tools that you use to motivate yourself to stay mentally tough during games or practices?
“There are eight other people on the field, so you have to do your role the best you can to support the other guys. You don’t want to let your team down, you don’t want to take a bad at bat and bring it into the field, you always want to be at your best and do your best for the team. Support your brothers, and keep them close.”
Have you had a coach that has influenced or inspired you?
“My dad inspired me throughout my whole life; he’s the reason why I’m still playing. I stayed down here so he could watch me play. My high school coach, Greg Mucerino, really inspired me to continue playing through college, and he’s one of my best friends. He’s a really good guy and a really good mentor for me. He’s inspired me a lot through my years playing baseball.”
Are there any professional athletes who you look up to or enjoy watching?
“I have a few friends in the majors right now from down here. Luke Jackson is one of my good friends, and he just broke into the majors this year. Trea Turner was a role model for me growing up while I was playing with him; he’s really exciting to watch, and he’s one of the fastest guys in the league. I also enjoy watching the smaller guys, like Jose Altuve or Dustin Pedroia, who are like 5 feet5 inches tall, and it gives smaller guys confidence and shows us that we have a shot to play at that level.”
A lot of the other teams on campus are pretty superstitious about pregame or postgame rituals. What about the baseball team?
“We have some pretty weird rituals. Our pregame stretch gets pretty interesting, to say the least. Usually, when the other team is hitting, we’ll be stretching, and if there’s ever a ball hit toward us, we like to see who can get hit by the ball. So that’s a little strange. I also do this thing called ‘Left Field with Lib’ with Michael Callahan to help get people to come out to the game. As for postgame, we celebrate in the locker room, and we usually blast music as loud as possible and rage for about 30 seconds as hard as we can. It gets a little rowdy. Our rituals are a little different, but they’re a lot of fun.”
Can you give us a little more detail about your pregame ritual with Callahan?
“It’s usually a quick 10-second video that he puts on Twitter to help get more people to come out to the game. We don’t have a huge crowd because we play a little farther away from where the dorms are, so people can’t walk to the games, but we use the videos to try to get more people out to watch and get more fans.”
When you’re not playing baseball what do you enjoy doing?
“I like playing golf and beach volleyball. I’ve lived down here for a while, so the beach is a pretty big part of my life, so I’ll go out and play beach volleyball with my friends or play a round of golf with my buddies.”
Did you ever play golf competitively?
“No, never. I wish I had, but I played football and soccer for a little when I was young, but I had to stop playing those after I got hurt. I really just play golf for fun.”
