Evergreen Park Resident Sean Estand Makes Prestigious Baseball List

When Sean Estand was a kid, he was encouraged by his father to watch a certain type of Major League Baseball player.

“I have the old-school mentality,” Estand said. “My dad taught me to watch the way the older guys play and I just sort of ran with it since I was a little kid. I’m more of a grinder type of player. My hustle is my best attribute.”

The lessons of his father have served the Evergreen Park resident and St. Rita High School graduate well.

Estand, a senior on the Saint Joseph (Rensselaer, Ind.) College baseball team is among the 90 student-athletes on the initial watch list for the 2011 Tino Martinez Award for the most outstanding player in Division II college baseball.

The annual honor is named after the former MLB All-Star and nominations for the award were made by baseball sports information directors and media members.

“It’s really exciting because all of the hard work I put in the past couple of years paid off,” Estand said. “It’s something I’ll look back on and be happy about how I prepared myself for the past couple seasons at St. Joseph. It’s exciting to be a finalist.”

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound shortstop/third baseman garnered plenty of attention after two impressive seasons with the Pumas.

Estand finished the 2010 season with a .347 batting average, a team-high 12 home runs and 59 RBIs. He also led the team with a .611 slugging percentage and 21 stolen bases in 24 attempts. His home run and RBI totals ranked in the top four in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

Estand earned First-Team All-Region honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, Daktronics, Inc., and American Baseball Coaches Association last season. He also was selected to the All-GLVC First Team.

“Everything just started clicking,” Estand said. “Getting older, I’m more aware of how to play the game of baseball. It helps having good teammates because I know pitchers have to pitch to me or other players will hurt them. The ability to see pitches helps me put up the numbers I have.”

As a sophomore, Estand hit .356 with a team-high 47 runs scored, while hitting 12 home runs and stealing 19 bases to earn Daktronics All-Region Second Team and All-GLVC Second Team accolades.

Estand played his freshman season at Eastern Illinois University where he started 14 games, primarily as a third baseman, before transferring to St. Joseph.

“I had pretty high expectations for myself,” Estand said. “After transferring from Eastern Illinois, I didn’t want to let (St. Joseph) coach (Rick) O’Dette down because he gave me a chance. I set high standards for myself and I think I have met them so far. Now, I want to take it to the next level. I love the atmosphere here. It’s more of a family and I’ve made lifelong friends. I’ll never regret making the transfer.”

O’Dette is certainly pleased with Estand’s decision to transfer. He recruited Estand out of St. Rita where he also played football and was on the Mustangs’ Class 7A state championship team in 2006.

“He’s as hard a working kid as it gets,” O’Dette said. “He’s a great leader and there are few kids that are better people or harder workers than Sean. In recruiting, it’s kind of a guess and you hope it’s a good fit and it works out for everybody, but we knew he was a big, physical guy that is athletic and has arm strength. He’s been everything we hoped he would be.”

St. Joseph finished 32-22 overall and 16-12 in the GLVC last season, advancing to the semifinals of the conference tournament.

Estand has his sights set on leading the Pumas to an even better season this year.

“The personal accolades are nice, but I want to have the team accolades to go along with it this year,” Estand said. “I want to help the team get to the next level and have a chance to play for something special at the end of the year. I’m more focused on that. There’s a little more pressure (being on the Watch List). I know I have to perform well for our team to do well. If I go out and play the game like I know how, everything will take care of itself.”