JUPITER, Fla. -- To try and give his son, Jos¨¦ Ferm¨ªn, the chance to play big-league baseball someday and advance beyond the Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, sandlot games where he had topped out years earlier, Jos¨¦ Ferm¨ªn Sr. would sit for several minutes at a time, tear corn kernels off the cob and loft them up for his son to hit.
Together, father and son would go through this routine several days a week -- on days when the younger Jos¨¦ had youth league games and even when he wasn¡¯t playing. To ramp up the degree of difficulty, father would have his son swing a sawed-off broomstick. Their thinking, of course, was that if the younger Jos¨¦ could sting a tiny kernel with a broomstick, then a baseball would resemble a beach ball in games.
What was once difficult for younger Jos¨¦ ultimately became rhythmic and routine as he was regularly rapping the kernels off the skinny broomstick. That would lead to dad again trying to make things more difficult.
¡°Obviously, [the corn] was hard to hit, but once I found the rhythm, it got easier,¡± said Ferm¨ªn, who hit his first Spring Training homer for the Cardinals in Tuesday afternoon's 4-4 tie with the Marlins at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. ¡°Then, my dad would be trying to strike me out with the corn. He would be trying to throw curveballs with the corn, but I¡¯d still hit it.
¡°I was 7 years old when we started, and we¡¯d do it every day. It was just a way to get in practice and it was a routine that worked for me.¡±
On days like Monday, when Ferm¨ªn logged two doubles and four RBIs in a 6-2 win against the Nats while taking another step toward locking down an Opening Day roster spot, he thought back to the sacrifices his parents made to help him get to this point.
Sure, D.R. and Cardinals legend Albert Pujols was one of his childhood heroes, but Ferm¨ªn said he likely would have never made it this far without the dedication of a father who loved baseball and once dreamed of living out the journey his son is now on. Undoubtedly, Ferm¨ªn said, the position he is in now is because of the love and devotion his father poured into him.
¡°Not long ago, I was talking to my dad, and I asked him, ¡®Was I always like this as a hitter as a kid?¡¯¡± asked the younger Jos¨¦. "He was like, ¡®Yeah, you didn't ever strike out much and you always put the ball in play.¡¯
¡°I was hitting corn with a broomstick, so maybe that helped me. We would do it every afternoon, especially before games. My dad was like, ¡®Let's take five minutes and hit a few.¡¯ All that helped me so much.¡±
The work Ferm¨ªn put in years earlier helped him reach the big leagues in 2023 and again in ¡®24. Using his elite bat-to-ball skills, Ferm¨ªn left Tuesday¡¯s game with 11 hits (including five doubles and one homer) and nine RBIs in 17 games this spring. His defensive versatility -- he started at third on Monday and in left field on Tuesday -- could push him ahead of Jose Barrero for a roster spot.
In addition to the positional versatility, Ferm¨ªn¡¯s high rate of contact excites manager Oliver Marmol most. For example, when Ferm¨ªn faced a full count and the bases loaded in Monday¡¯s win, the 25-year-old right-handed hitter turned on a fastball and drilled a three-run double down the left-field line. On Tuesday, he smacked a Statcast-projected 366-foot homer that left the bat at 101.6 mph.
Because Ferm¨ªn got just 71 at-bats in 2024, he did not qualify statistically. Had he qualified, his bat-to-ball skills would likely have proven elite. His 35.8% squared-up rate would have ranked fourth in MLB, behind Luis Arraez (43.3%), Steven Kwan (38.6%) and Ernie Clement (36.9%), per Baseball Savant. Also, his whiff rate (10.7%/25%), strikeout rate (13.9%/22.2%) and chase rate (21.7%/28.5%) were noticeably better than MLB averages.
¡°You have a guy that just doesn¡¯t swing and miss, and that¡¯s his superpower -- he finds a way to get the bat on the ball,¡± Marmol marveled. ¡°[On Monday], you have two outs and you¡¯re looking for contact. We talked about it in the morning meeting and then it presented itself in the game. There¡¯s a lot of value in not swinging and missing, and he¡¯s taken advantage of his opportunities.¡±
The dream now for Ferm¨ªn is to stick in the big leagues and reward a father who helped him get there ¡ with corn and a broomstick.
¡°People always told me if I had his bat, I¡¯d make it to the big leagues,¡± the younger Jos¨¦ said. ¡°And he played outfield, so outfield¡¯s got to be in my blood, right?¡±