Perfect Game<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cIt was a surreal experience, for sure, going through the whole senior year and the whole draft phase of it,\u201d\u00a0Malamazian\u00a0said. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely\u00a0a lot to handle for a 17,\u00a018\u00a0year\u00a0old\u00a0for sure.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the\u00a0decision\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0about turning down\u00a0baseball;\u00a0it\u00a0was about shaping a different path.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted the college experience,\u201d\u00a0Malamazian\u00a0said. \u201cI wanted to come here to play for a prestigious university like Indiana.\u00a0It’s\u00a0been a dream of mine to play college baseball.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0competitive,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0fun.\u00a0Obviously, I passed on\u00a0a great experience, but I think this\u00a0one’s\u00a0better, and\u00a0it’s\u00a0been well worth it so far.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even after being selected in the MLB Draft, the\u00a0transition to college baseball\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0seamless.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like many\u00a0freshmen, he\u00a0learned\u00a0success at one level\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0guarantee anything at the next.\u00a0He\u00a0struggled during fall workouts.\u00a0The adjustment to faster pitching, harder competition and increased expectations was real.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t the best player, even remotely close to\u00a0being\u00a0a starter that fall,\u201d\u00a0Malamazian\u00a0said. \u201cAnd\u00a0obviously\u00a0it\u00a0takes a lot of hard work and coming in here after hours and before hours, and you get extra work in and work with the coaches.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those hours\u00a0of\u00a0work paid off. By the time the season arrived,\u00a0Malamazian\u00a0had earned his way onto the field.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u00a0started in 46 games\u00a0as a\u00a0freshman.\u00a0Of those,\u00a033\u00a0starts came at shortstop,\u00a0while\u00a0the other 13 were at third base,\u00a0after\u00a0former\u00a0Hoosier\u00a0Josh Pyne medically redshirted the season. He finished the season batting .320 with a .906 OPS in 172 at-bats.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Heading into his sophomore\u00a0year,\u00a0Indiana head coach Jeff Mercer called\u00a0Malamazian\u00a0\u201cpersonable\u201d to the rest of his teammates during the Hoosiers\u2019 media day\u00a0Jan. 28.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCooper had to come in and kind of win out the\u00a0shortstop\u00a0job as a young\u00a0player,\u201d Mercer said.\u00a0\u201cHe was on the main draft circuit and the main stage. When\u00a0he’s\u00a0talking to other young guys who will have to step in and play this year,\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0able to be relatable to them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Malamazian\u00a0struggled at the beginning of his sophomore season.\u00a0He\u00a0committed four errors through the first four contests.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yet in\u00a0the month\u00a0of April,\u00a0he\u00a0has turned the outlook of his season around. He\u00a0has batted\u00a024\u00a0for\u00a065\u00a0(.369)\u00a0and\u00a0held\u00a0a 13-game hit streak\u00a0from April 3\u00a0– April\u00a021\u00a0\u2014\u00a0something that\u00a0hasn’t\u00a0surprised\u00a0Mercer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe stays in the fight. He wants to work,\u201d Mercer said. \u201cHe\u2019s not a guy who feels sorry for himself… he\u2019s really just blossoming as a player and a young man; he takes accountability.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 6-foot-2 infielder is batting .306\u00a0with a .850\u00a0OPS in\u00a0173\u00a0at-bats this season. Still, Mercer believes there is more to be desired.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s really close to opening it up and kind of taking off to another level,\u201d Mercer said. \u201cThere\u2019s a gear, a level, that\u2019s coming really soon for him and he\u2019s working his way there diligently on a day-to-day basis.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even to this day, the game\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0changed for\u00a0Malamazian.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
There are times when the ball\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0fall. Days when nothing feels right. Moments where failure stacks up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s\u00a0when he returns to what he\u2019s built his game on.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A breath. A pause. A glance toward the sky.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s\u00a0a\u00a0small moment, but\u00a0one\u00a0shaped by years of pressure,\u00a0expectation\u00a0and growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe moment can never be too big,\u201d\u00a0Malamazian\u00a0said. \u201cWhen the big at-bats come, the big plays come, you got to just trust yourself and trust your preparation you\u2019ve had your whole life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before he leaves Indiana, whenever that may be,\u00a0Malamazian\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0focused on numbers or accolades.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to get some wins, man,\u201d he said. \u201cIt’s all I care about.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s\u00a0a simple goal, but one that aligns with everything\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0done so far. From a 14-year-old leading a varsity team,\u00a0to a draft pick choosing development over immediacy, to a college shortstop still learning\u00a0and\u00a0growing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a sport where failure is unavoidable,\u00a0Malamazian\u00a0has learned to embrace it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because for him,\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0where the game, and his journey, truly begins.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cooper\u00a0Malamazian\u00a0paused on the dugout step and took a deep breath before stepping onto the turf at\u00a0Wrigley Field\u00a0in Chicago.\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":638800,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,85],"class_list":["post-638799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=638799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638799\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/638800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=638799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=638799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=638799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}