Jake Faria hangs his grandfather's old work shirt in his locker; 'My grandfather was a hardworking, humble man, he is absolutely my hero'
Our grandparents play such an important role in our lives. They’re wisdom that they carry spans across many generations. They have endless stories that comfort us whether they’re funny, entertaining or meant to bestow knowledge upon us, we cherish those moments and hold them in high regard.
My grandparents played an important role in my life, I will forever be thankful for all the memories and moments I was able to spend with them.
As we get older, we take those memories and we attempt to honor their legacy and last name by trying to fulfill our own lives to the fullest.
All of that leads me to pitcher Jake Faria.
During the WooSox last home stand, I was able to spend time and speak with with the right-hander about his grandfather, Joe Faria.
I got the idea to ask about Jake’s grandfather after reading the WooSox media guide. You see, Jake keeps his grandfather’s old work shirt in his locker during the season. He hangs it in there as reminder of his grandfather’s hard work and sacrifice.
After recording with Jake, I was trying to figure out how I wanted to write this piece. I actually procrastinated writing it because I wanted it to have meaning behind it. My thought was to try and bring you, a little closer to Jake beyond going to his Baseball Reference page.
Jake is a veteran of four big league seasons. He has spent time with the Rays, Brewers, Diamondbacks and Red Sox at the major league level. His stint with the Red Sox was for one game in which he didn’t pitch.
The California native’s professional baseball journey began in 2011 after he was drafted in the 10th round by the Rays out of Richard Gahr High School.
One thing that Joe wanted to see, it was Jake pitch in professional baseball with the “Faria”name on the back of the jersey. Unfortunately, Joe never got to see his grandson pitch in the bigs.
He was able to see Jake sign with the Rays, which is one of the righty’s favorite moments as a baseball player.
“Me signing, I had my whole family there. I was able to give him a jersey after my first instructional league. The Rays got new jerseys, so I took home my old jersey, I got it framed and gave it to him. So he was able to get a jersey with our name on it,” said Faria.
As I was doing more research for this article, I actually came across something that was written on July 3, 2015. Jake wrote guest post on Gabe Kapler’s blog called Kap Lifestyle.
After reading Jake’s blog post, I felt there was only one person who could truly tell the story of what his grandfather meant to him.
Here’s Jake’s own words on Joe impacts him personally and as a professional baseball player.
Enjoy.
Lessons from Family – Jacob Faria
My grandfather, Joe Elias Faria, always told me that his dream was to see the name “Faria” on the back of an MLB jersey.
He had big dreams for me and supported me unconditionally. I promised him I would always try my best to fulfill that dream. On June 7th, 2011, I remember sitting in my living room, my parents next to me. I sat with two computers side by side, anxiously refreshing nonstop as the draft took place. In the 10th round of the 2011 MLB draft, the Tampa Bay Rays made my dream of becoming a professional baseball player a reality and put me one step closer to fulfilling that promise to my grandfather.
That moment was one of the happiest times in my life. However, I can’t help but compare where I was to the position of another 17 year old. 56 years ago, in 1959, my grandfather immigrated to America from Portugal. He looked to not only give himself an opportunity to live the American dream, but he wanted his future family to have the same opportunities.
My grandfather was a hardworking, humble man. He is absolutely my hero. He came to the US and found a job as a janitor in auto body shop in Artesia, California. He worked his way up from those humble origins to run the shop himself for more than 40 years. Eventually, he turned it into a shopping center.
He was always vocal about supporting me, but the important lessons he taught me had nothing to do with baseball, and they were the ones he didn’t need to say verbally. He came to this country with nothing and became a successful business man through hard work and treating people with respect. I learned, by watching him, the importance of those two simple principles. It has helped me tremendously in my career and my life.
One of the lessons my grandfather imparted was that people will forget what you do, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel. Every day I put on the uniform, I strive to be the absolute best I can be, taking those steps towards seeing the name on the back of an MLB jersey. But when I hang up the cleats, I know that people will remember what I did off the field and who I am as a person. It’s nice to have the success on the field, but I’m blessed enough to have been given a platform where I can do more than just play baseball. I want to be able to have as much as an impact off the field as I do on the field.
It is easy to get caught up in the baseball world. It takes effort to remember where you come from. My grandfather never forgot where he started, and he’s passed that along to me. Whether it’s taking time out to sign autographs, to say thank you to a fan, or to spend some time with people in a different place in their lives, I try to have the same attitude that he did.
I am incredibly thankful to have had a great man in my life who taught me all these things, and who put me in the position I am in today. My grandfather unfortunately passed away in February of 2014. Though he isn’t here to see me physically, I know that he always has the best seat in the house for every one of my games. I hope to make him proud of everything I do, whether it’s on the field or off of it.
After talking with Jake, you could tell how much his grandfather helped shape him into the person he is today. The hard work and sacrifice goes down to the core of who he is as a human being.
Everything that Jake does, he does for his family and his wife. Family genuinely means everything to the 29-year-old pitcher.
“It’s everything, everything I do on the field, I don’t do it for me, I do it for my wife, I do it for my family. I do it for whenever we have kids, I’ll do it for my kids. That’s why my grandfather did everything he did. He came to the United States to help his family,” said Faria.
Thank you, Jake for sharing your story.
Follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisHenrique
For additional Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, MLB and NFL content follow Beyond the Monster on Twitter @BeyondtheMnstr.
