As his career keeps rising, Marlins’ Luzardo ‘super blessed’ to give back with baseball clinic
For a little more than two hours on Saturday, Jesus Luzardo roamed the baseball field at Stoneman Douglas High as about 150 youth baseball players rotated through various drills. The kids, between ages 5 and 12, practiced their infield defense, caught fly balls, learned the proper technique to round first base, took hacks in batting cages and participated in relay races.
As the baseball clinic neared its conclusion, one of the younger participants personally came up to Luzardo to thank him ... and ask for an autograph.
A smile grew on Luzardo’s face.
“Being able to give back and be that person in the community, I feel super blessed just to be in that spot,” Luzardo said. “But I love seeing these kids and how much they enjoy the game. … And we love to see it grow. Every year, I feel like it’s getting better and better and more organized, so hopefully we keep expanding and get better every year.”
Saturday marked the fourth year that Luzardo and Colton Welker, both Stoneman Douglas alums who reached the big leagues, held their baseball clinic at their alma mater.
Luzardo said about 75 kids took part in the first clinic. The participation count has doubled since then and he hopes to have room for about 200 next year.
Joining Luzardo and Welker was a large contingent of MLB players and top prospects.
Among them: Marlins players Anthony Bender and Xavier Edwards, Stoneman Douglas alumnus Coby Mayo (a prospect with the Baltimore Orioles), Braddock alumnus and former Miami Hurricanes standout Yohandy Morales (a prospect with the Washington Nationals), former Marlins pitcher prospect Jake Eder (now with the Chicago White Sox) and outfielder Lewis Brinson (who spent last year in Japan). The Stoneman Douglas baseball team and players from the Lynn University softball team also helped with the event.
“For me, it’s super important just being able to give back and not forget where we came from,” Luzardo said. “This school is super near and dear to my heart. Being able to come back consistently and give back to the community where we grew up in is amazing. We love to see it grow.”
And just as the clinic has grown, so has Luzardo’s stature in Major League Baseball. The 26-year-old is entering his sixth MLB season and third full season with his hometown Marlins after being acquired at the 2021 trade deadline.
Last season, Luzardo made every scheduled start for the first time in his career and also set personal best marks in innings pitched (178 2/3) and strikeouts (208) while pitching to a 3.58 ERA and .239 batting average against to help the Marlins reach the playoffs for the first time in a full season since they won the World Series in 2003. He stepped up as Miami’s ace down the stretch of the season after Sandy Alcantara had a season-ending elbow injury that ultimately needed Tommy John surgery and will sideline him for the 2024 season.
“It gave me a lot of confidence,” Luzardo said. “And obviously we want to do that for the team as starting pitchers; whenever we need to step up, we have to step up. But for me, it gave me a lot of confidence. Obviously it’s something I want to build off of going into 2024, and I think we’re ready for a good year. Last year was a great year for us, and I think that’s the group feeling — that we’re all very excited to be ready to go.”
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