For Edwardsville’s Chiarodo, baseball dreams are built one step at a time
Joe Chiarodo had a lot on his mind last spring, not much of it good.
An injury to one of his lower legs wouldn’t let him pitch properly, and after a few weeks of thinking it was just growing pains or shin splints, a doctor’s exam proved it to be much worse: hairline fractures. His season as a junior with Edwardsville baseball over.
Would the injury heal itself anytime soon? Would the University of Alabama yank his full-ride baseball scholarship? If so, what the heck would be the plan for a life that had always gone pretty much the way Chiarodo wanted it until that point?
Chiarodo knew he couldn’t forge his way back to the life he wanted by himself, so, with the advice of others, including his parents, he began to see a sports psychologist out of Edwardsville, Dr. Stephanie Cameron.
“Everybody works on their physical game, but the mental part of the game is just as strong, if not stronger,” said Chiarodo, a 5-11, right-handed pitcher and outfielder with Edwardsville. “(Cameron) came in and spoke to my psychology class in school, and I asked for her card. We had an initial meeting, and I realized this is something that I wanted to take seriously.”
Chiarodo’s biggest lesson was to stay in the moment, don’t daydream about the future. Sure, being a Major League Baseball player is something Chiarodo started dreaming about starting at age 6 or 7. But, as he has found, there are just so many walls to scale on the way to the Show. It’s what you’re doing today, to overcome the next wall in front of you, that matters most.
Chiarodo even changed up his diet, cutting way down on the carbs and eating more lean protein and leafy greens. He’s dropped a fair amount of body fat, he said, and feels stronger on the hill. As of Friday, Chiarodo had a 2-2 record with a 2.23 ERA, with 22 strikouts in 18 innings. His fastball has topped out at 93 mph, and he has a sharp-breaking slider that fools many a hitter.
Question for Alabama will be: will Chiarodo be just a full-time pitcher, or a two-way player.?
When the Crimson Tide signed him, they did so knowing he could become a two-way player, or maybe just a full-time hitter. This season, Chiarodo is hitting .500 in 46 at-bats, with four homers, 18 RBI and six stolen bases.
“Some days, honestly, I don’t know what I’m truly best at – pitching or hitting,” Chiarodo said. Longtime Edwardsville coach Tim Funkhouser said the time off from injury last year – as mentally tough as it was for Chiarodo – might turn out to be a good thing in the end.
“I think Joe decided not to sulk, but to try and be another coach in a way, in the dugout,” Funkhouse said. “And his teammates appreciated that.”
That’s where Dr. Cameron’s advice came in well-timed. Either feel sorry for yourself and bemoan the fates, or try to make this a positive somehow, some way. When he chose the latter, Chiarodo just felt better about himself – even though he couldn’t play.
While the Tigers saw their Class 4A state championship run end in last year’s postseason, there’s every reason to think they’ll make it back this season, especially if 2024 All-State pitcher Chase Milburn can return from an arm injury for the playoffs.
Chiarodo will be watching the Major League Baseball draft in July, and he knows there’s a chance his name might be called. But the injury last season took the attention away he might have gotten from scouts, so he knows it’s more likely he’ll need to have a strong career with the Crimson Tide if he is to be drafted into the big leagues.
If it isn’t as a player, Chiarodo wants a career involving sports somehow, either as a coach or maybe even a sports psychologist.
“I used to think too far ahead probably,” Chiarodo said. “Now, it’s one thing at a time.”
