Jerry Huntzinger, '17, talks baseball with students
Jerry Huntzinger, '17, signed as an undrafted free agent with the Toronto Blue Jays in July 2022. (Photo Credit: Canadian Baseball Network)
Jerry Huntzinger, '17, discusses his time on the baseball diamond, going from a Farrell Lion to a minor leaguer in the Toronto Blue Jays system.
Jerry Huntzinger, '17, was a pivotal figure in Monsignor Farrell’s sports history, as he helped the Lions clinch two city championships. After his time at Farrell, he played baseball at Seton Hall University and Xavier University before signing a minor-league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.
This past February, Monsignor Farrell High School welcomed Huntzinger back to campus for a conversation with students, including current members of the freshman, Junior Varsity, and Varsity baseball teams.
Through his conversation in the Brother Henry S. Wright Learning Commons, he told his story on how he succeeded in playing Farrell baseball and how all his hard work and dedication got him a spot on a minor-league roster.
Jerry Huntzinger, who originally was a catcher before becoming a pitcher, was a member of the Farrell Varsity baseball teams that won city titles in 2015 and 2017. (Photo credit: SILive)
As a freshman, Huntzinger went straight to the Junior Varsity team. Huntzinger was scheduled to return to the JV squad in his sophomore year when Farrell’s starting catcher went down with an injury. This gave Huntzinger an opportunity to play for the varsity team, as he was called up in 2015.
The rest is history, as Huntzinger was part of the Varsity baseball squads that won city championships in 2015 and 2017.
After graduating, Huntzinger spent four years at Seton Hall University before transferring to Xavier University. He worked extremely hard through his college years, moving from the catcher's backstop to the mound, as he tried to better himself as a ball player in hopes of making it to the big leagues.
After college, Jerry was lost and frustrated, as he had thought his baseball career was over. Jerry was sitting on a boat, depressed, when he got the call from the Toronto Blue Jays.
"It was a moment that, that I’ll never forget for the rest of my life," Huntzinger said. "And all my family members were there. So, that was a moment like, 'If baseball doesn’t work out...' I’ll never forget that."
After Farrell, Jerry Huntzinger played at Seton Hall before transferring to Xavier for his final year of college baseball. In 2021, Huntzinger led the Big East with 24 stolen bases and earn first-team conference honors. (Photo Credit: Xavier University)
A couple of Huntzinger’s keys to success include going to the weight room to lift consistently and eating well.
"I was still 180 pounds last year, now I weigh 205," Huntzinger said. "I gained 25 pounds because I became a pitcher, and I was put in the weight room immediately. Go to the weight room, that’s what you’re doing every day until you figure it out."
Monsignor Farrell thanks Mr. Jerry Huntzinger for his words of encouragement and dedicating his time to the students.
The Lion is Monsignor Farrell's student digital newspaper. To read more articles from The Lion, click here.