April 19, 2007
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Friends Become Enemies as Vanderbilt Seeks to Get Back on Winning Track
Feature Story By Will Matthews
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| Tim Corbin coached Tennessee baseball standouts Julio Borbon (left) and J.P. Arencibia (right) this summer on Team USA. |
NASHVILLE – Just five minutes prior to the Vanderbilt baseball team’s final practice Thursday before this weekend’s key Southeastern Conference series with rival Tennessee, Head Coach Tim Corbin received a couple of text messages on his cellular phone from a couple of seemingly unlikely sources.
Furthering a relationship that dates back to their playing for Corbin on last summer’s U.S. national team, Tennessee All-SEC players J.P. Arencibia and Julio Borbon chided Corbin about his well-known propensity for working out.
“Arencibia sent me a text saying that I have no abs, and Borbon sent one telling me not to eat the wrong thing at Waffle House,” Corbin said.
It was a playful exchange that exemplifies the level of affection Corbin and the two Tennessee stars have for each other. Factor in the friendship that Arencibia and Borbon cultivated with Vanderbilt standouts and fellow national team members David Price, Pedro Alvarez and Casey Weathers while playing in Cuba last summer, and it is clear that Friday’s series opener at Hawkins Field will be more than a renewal of a rivalry. For Corbin, at least, it will be tantamount to a family reunion.
“I absolutely love those guys,” Corbin said of Borbon and Arencibia. “They were two of the best kids that I have ever coached. I loved that I had three of my own on that team, but with those two guys I really felt as though I had five of my own.”
Borbon, who led the American squad in hits, triples and stolen bases while earning All-Tournament honors in helping the U.S. to a gold medal, said this week that he had a natural affinity for Alvarez, as both originally hail from the Dominican Republic. But the two share more than a culture – Borbon said his initial respect of Alvarez came as a result of what Borbon said is a shared commitment to working hard.
“The kind of relationship that we were able to build both on and off the field is really amazing,” said Borbon, who is considered to be a top-10 pick in this coming June’s amateur draft. “Playing together this summer was great because we were able to root for each other and get to know each other as players a bit better. And the one thing that stood out for me was that we have the same kind of work ethic. It was definitely an experience to remember.”
As the only two Spanish speaking players on the squad, Borbon said he and Alvarez were often called upon to serve as translators during the tournament’s final two weeks which were played in Cuba.
In one particularly comedic moment, Borbon said Corbin was furious at an umpire’s calling a would-be base stealer out at second during a game against the Virgin Islands and enlisted Borbon’s help to ensure the empire was well aware of his ire.
“He had me out there on the field trying to tell the umpire everything he wanted to say,” Borbon said. “It was really funny.”
Price said he and Arencibia talk at least once a week and exchange text messages on a regular basis. And while Price said the conversation usually revolves around baseball, Arencibia said they are not above some good-natured razzing.
“I am always bothering him about being the golden child,” Arencibia said, “and he tells me that I am the golden child and we just talk back and forth and bother each other. He is a real easy going guy and that is one thing that I really like about him.”
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| Corbin and the Commodores open a three-game series with Tennessee starting Friday at 7 p.m. CT at Hawkins FIeld. |
Arencibia hit .302 for the national team and led the club with eight homeruns on his way to being named the world championship’s most valuable player.
“J.P. has got a good sense of humor,” Price said. “He is a funny guy.”
But for all the friendliness that exists off the field, Arencibia said that once the game begins, friendship will take a back seat to competition.
“You have just got to put all that aside and just approach the series the same as every other series,” Arencibia said. “We are all very good friends but once you step in between the lines it is a game and a game that I want to win. I play for Tennessee and so I want to beat Vanderbilt and I am sure it is the same on their side. But as soon as the game is over, it will be the same friendship it was before the game started.”
Price, who will take his regular Friday night turn in the rotation, said his primary focus will be on not focusing on who is digging into the batter’s box against him.
“I try not to look at any Friday being any different than another,” Price said, “Whether I am pitching against Ohio or the New York Yankees, I am just going to go out there and do the same thing and that is pitch my game.”
Vanderbilt will need Price’s very best effort Friday as it seeks to rebound from consecutive mid-week losses to Lipscomb and Middle Tennessee State. But while Corbin said there is not a greater sense of urgency entering the weekend for the Commodores, there is little doubt that the team will be looking to right the ship.
“What happened earlier this week is spilled milk and I got the towel out and wiped that off,” Corbin said. “If I don’t do that then we are going to have issues as a team. But I was honest with the kids when I told them that [Wednesday] night because I am frustrated. I am frustrated for the kids and quite frankly I am frustrated just as a coach that we couldn’t finish the job. But I told them to make sure you come in with a mind change [Friday] and make sure that you are ready to go for the weekend because you can be sure I’m going to take care of my end of the bargain.”
Will Matthews spent three years as an investigative reporter with the Los Angeles Newspaper Group in Southern California. He is currently in his third year at Vanderbilt Divinity School. To email Will your feedback, Click Here
