Hunter Greene: Me In Real Life

Hunter Greene: Me In Real Life

June 9th, 2017

I'm Hunter Greene. I'm 17 years old. I'm a student, a son, an artist and a ballplayer.

Let me start with that last part first. Baseball means a lot of things to me. The number one thing would be connections with people and building a great network of connections. Being a teammate is the most important part, other than just performing on the field. Being able to be a person that's able to lead a team, on the field or off the field, helping people to be the best once they cross those two lines on the field, help them be the best versions of themselves. Off the field, helping them be good, Major League citizens. Being a good person is really important.

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And it's just playing a beautiful game, always being in a great atmosphere with great people, great fans and playing the game I love. Ever since I was seven years old, I've been going out there and competing, having fun with all my brothers and teammates.

When I'm on the mound pitching, I'm a different person, for sure. Off the field, I'm really nice, I'm different. On the mound, I'm a beast, I'm a monster. I put a game face on and I'm ready to go out there and compete and just shove it and pound the zone. I'm always going to go out there and compete and have fun, but it's business. I'm always really focused. I'm the same way in the batter's box. I'm always ready to hit and help the team out and contribute.

It can't be all baseball, all the time. I think everybody needs to have an escape. Art is my escape. I've been taking art since I was a freshman. And I love it. I'm able to express myself and have fun. Every time I need to either relax or express myself in another way, I go to the canvas and I either paint or draw. Being able to make new things every single time I come into the classroom and showing it off to people, whether it's events at school or on social media, it's been a lot of fun.

But more than anything else, it's about family. Family is everything for me, just having a support system and keeping a really tight circle. That's what I've been doing for the last four or five years. I'm really appreciative and blessed to have such a great family and friends to be in my corner, look out for me and help me as much as possible. Staying focused, keeping the main thing the main thing. Having a supportive family, that's going to help me out in the present and the future.
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By now, many of you have heard the story about my sister, with her being diagnosed with leukemia at age five. It was life-changing for all of us. She is such a trooper. She's 12 and she's happy and excited and loving all the time. Every time I wake up and see her, I smile for sure. I'm happy she's doing OK. She's enjoying life. That's the most important part for me, to see her enjoying life and being who she is and being able to express herself and being accepted by other people, it's cool. I love her a lot.
Definitely, my family and my friends around me helped me get to where I am now. Being supportive, always motivating me to work hard. Having a really strong family base and having a good system around me for baseball and for school at a really young age, with my mom supporting me in the classroom, helping me out every single night, preparing for tests, finals and with my dad helping me on the baseball field, he's been my coach since I was seven years old. It's been a lot of fun, him helping me out on the field and pushing me every single time I'm on the field. Being able to perform better and better because of that - I've definitely gotten to where I am now because of my family.
And where I am now is getting ready for the Draft. June 12 is a special day. I've been waiting for that day for a long time. We'll see what happens. I'm excited for the Draft. I can't wait to be around my family and friends and be a part of something special that's going to change my life and my family's life. We're just going to wait for that day and I'm excited.

It's been a lot, but it's been really cool. I've enjoyed the process. My family's been great, my friends, all my teammates here at Notre Dame and in the past with other guys. I've been able to mature over time and really understand and appreciate the things that are around me and what's in store for the future.