Laura Gonzalez / Roundup
At five years old, James Wharton hit his first home run and immediately fell in love with baseball.
In just his first year playing at Pierce College, he is leading the team in home runs and RBIs and is considered “one of our best players,” according to head baseball coach Joe Arnold.
This season he has hit 14 home runs, 43 RBIs and has a batting average of .379.
A shy, green-eyed Wharton asserted he likes hitting more than pitching, although coach Arnold said he usually places him in both positions.
“Whenever he is on the mound I feel confident that we have a chance to win,” Arnold said.
The baseball prodigy is reserved, but in the eyes of coach Arnold, that only means he is concentrated on exactly what he is supposed to do.
“He takes care of his business,” Arnold said. “He is one of our best hitters. He is a guy that leads by action.”
To keep in shape, Wharton spends several hours a week at the gym. His teammates labeled him as “a gym rat.”
“He works really hard on his conditioning,” said teammate Jason Barmasse. “Other guys see him running really hard and they want to run hard with him.”
According to Barmasse, besides his innate talent, Wharton also brings stability to the team.
Wharton is not only popular on the field, but outside as well. His teammates and coaches all referred to him as a “nice guy.”
“All his teammates have a ton of respect for him and get along very well with him. He is a great teammate,” Arnold said.
Wharton is on a winning streak and hopes to continue to perform well, although he is modest about it.
“It’s going pretty well,” Wharton said. “Hopefully all goes well until the end of the season.”
Like every good player, Wharton still has room to improve, especially when hitting the ball.
“He still has to learn how to hit a little bit,” Arnold said. “He’s got a great swing. When he swings to good pitches, he hits them hard almost every single time.”
The St. Louis Cardinals fan plans to transfer to a four-year college, but he is still unsure where to go or what his major will be.
While he decides, the Pierce baseball team will count on having a talented player on its side.
Teammate Ryan Gaspora described Wharton in four words: “He is a beast.”
James Wharton is one of the Brahmas offensive leaders. (Gerard Walsh / Roundup)