What began as a fun time in his living room playing whiffle ball with his father has turned into being his career path for former Skyline baseball player Jimmy Parque.
Parque, who at age five signed on with his first competitive baseball team, the Pacifica Little League has just signed a major league contract with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Parque attended Serra High School in San Mateo. There he earned the following awards; junior and senior year he was first team all-league, MVP senior year, first team all-metro and second team all-state.
After graduating Serra in 2006, Parque decided to come and play baseball at Skyline because of his relationship with head coach Dino Nomicos.
“I loved playing for Dino,” said Parque. “He was like a second father to me and we created a very strong bond in life and (to have been given the opportunity to play) the game of baseball.”
He continued, “…I would have to the say the best part of playing Skyline baseball was just being treated like we were playing at a Division 1 college level at a junior college…Also, the best moment was being able to attend the playoffs both years I attended Skyline College.”
While playing for Skyline, he met his best friend and eventual roommate Adrian Mull. “Parque and I became best friends within the first 2 weeks of school and he was like a brother to me,” said Mull.
He continued, “Playing on the same team with Jimmy was a blast and made me a better player. Parque was always fired up and ready to go, seeing the way he competed and went about his business made you want to get on his level.”
Mull and Parque not only connected on a baseball level but also a personal and friend level. “Parque is not only an outstanding baseball player, he and his family are some of the greatest people on this earth” said Mull. “The Parque’s had opened their home to me for the duration of my 2 years at Skyline.”
He continued, “I lived in San Jose and would have to commute every day to San Bruno for school and baseball and these kind people allowed me to stay with them and took me in as if I was one of their own family members, which I am still very thankful for today.”
In Parque’s freshman year with Skyline he batted .374 with 40 RBIs, 9 HRs and a slugging percentage of .710. Sophomore year Parque batted .384 with 34 RBIs, 8 HRs and a slugging percentage of .622. (Statistics provided from Coach Borgo.)
“Parque’s strengths as a baseball player are well rounded,” said Mull.
“I’ve played baseball for years and across the nation and still till this very day, I still believe that Parque is the best all-around baseball player I have ever seen or played with.” He continued, “to be honest, his only weakness as a baseball player is his height, but do not let that fool you, because this guy is a gamer!”
Skyline assistant coach Lucas Borgo said that in Parque’s sophomore year with Skyline he was the
talk on both coasts about the annual all-star game. “The whole country was talking about him,” said Borgo. They were curious to who that guy (Parque) was and showed interest. “Baseball-wise, his resume is very good.”
After his two-year stint at Skyline he was drafted in round 40 of the 2008 draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers, which he declined and took a scholarship to St. John’s University.
“…My senior year when we won the Big East championship and earned a berth to the NCAA regionals at the University of Virginia, who was ranked number one in the nation at that time,” said Parque. “We made it all the way to the championship game of the regional having to beat number 1 Virginia twice.”
He continued, “(we) beat them the first night but lost 3-1 the second night. We came one game away from earning a spot in the NCAA superregionals.
It was an awesome end to a great career at St. John’s. ”After finishing and graduating from St. John’s, he played this summer in Las Cruces, New Mexico for the Las Cruces Vaqueros. After the season finished, he got called up to play in the Frontier League for the Rockford Riverhawks in Rockford, Illinois. After playing until the end of the season with Rockford, he got a call from the Cardinals.
In March, Parque will head to Jupiter, Florida, where he will be in Spring training with the Cardinals.
“I am extremely excited to get an opportunity with the Cardinals,” said Parque. “They are a great organization from top to bottom with a great history and always have winning ball clubs. It’s an honor to be playing for such an historic organization like the St. Louis Cardinals.”
He continued, “I am looking forward to getting out to Spring training and seeing how I match up with the Cardinals top draft picks, and I am definitely the underdog and always get overlooked because of my size but I have a lot to prove when I get to Florida. I want them to realize that there is a place in this game for little guys.”
