Finding a Fit at Richland: Perez Connects with Thunderducks
By Jim McCurdy
DALLAS – Eimir Perez can tell you all about second chances.
And third. And fourth.
"I think it's God's way. It's His plan," Perez said. "I just always stay positive, work hard, and then let Him take me where he wants to."
Without question, his journey has taken its share of twists and turns.
Dallas College Richland's sophomore shortstop from Panama City, Panama, Perez was born in Detroit, where his dad was situated for residency training as a doctor. After his father's visa expired, the family moved back to Panama, where he lived until he was 14. Perez then moved to Miami to live with an aunt during high school. In South Florida, he attended LaSalle High School for three years and Elite Squad Academy as a senior.
He was recruited by NCAA Division I Coppin State, where he played 25 games as a freshman in 2022, hitting two home runs and five doubles, while driving in 19 runs. Coppin State advanced to the NCAA Regional Tournament at East Carolina University. That was an experience he'll never forget. However, Coppin State wasn't the place for him. That's why he went shopping for another school.
In the fall of 2022, he ventured off to Wabash Valley College, a National Junior College Athletic Association Division I power in Illinois. There, Perez was competing against the likes of center fielder Richard Bonomolo, who is committed to Alabama, and 6-foot-5 left-handed pitcher Jackson Soucie, a South Carolina pledge.
"At Wabash, I was able to play with one of the best players in the country," Perez said. "When you're competing at that level, you have people that play at such a high level, you want to be like them, try to be better than them. We had intersquad (games) a lot in the fall, and I was able to see good pitching."
But as the fall season came to a close, Perez broke his hand that December, halting his plan to stay at Wabash. Thunderducks outfielder Jouseph Gelpi, a native of Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, and pitcher Vince Ray both spent time at Wabash, too, before transferring to Richland. Gelpi sold Perez to the Thunderducks coaching staff. Richland second-year coach Jimmy Brenneman was down with the idea of reuniting him with Gelpi as a Thunderduck.
"I told the coaches he was really good, and he could help the team," Gelpi said. "We needed more players, so I talked to the coaches about him. He's a good addition. We both spent time at Wabash, and did well there, but we both just needed a chance to play."
Perez, however, opted to transfer to Three Rivers College, another Division I junior college in Missouri. Just as the season was getting ready to get started, Perez rebroke his hand.
Back to Panama he went.
"After breaking your hand, and having to get another surgery, and having to miss another season, the support from my family was always there," said Perez, who is pursuing a degree in business administration. "They kept me up the whole time."
Still, he was looking for another school – his fourth in two years. A little over three months ago, Perez reached out to Brenneman, revisiting the option to come to Richland. He was finally about to become a Thunderduck.
Or was he?
"In mid-December he called me to tell me that he was going to a different school," Brenneman said. "I just had this gut instinct to try to talk him out of it, and I was able to talk him out of going there. I had to put some extra effort to try to get him to come here."
He's here now. And he's bought in to the idea of life as a Thunderduck.
"It feels like home," Perez said. "All the teammates are like brothers. We all connect. We've got great chemistry, and I just love it."
International Love
It's a home run for Gelpi, too.
"The more Hispanics we have, the more you can see our vibe, how loud we are and how we play," Gelpi said through Perez's translation.
Perez says there are times the Spanish-speaking players on the team talk amongst themselves in their native language, leaving the English-speaking players out in left field as to what they're saying. Both Perez and Gelpi can't help but chuckle about that.
"Most of the time during games we just talk to each other in Spanish, just helping each other out, telling each other what to do," Perez said. "We just try to help each other out."
Richland has other players from Texas who can speak Spanish as well. Brenneman has always been a proponent of bringing in players from different places and backgrounds.
"I like the guys from far away because they're usually coming here for business, and they're on a mission," Brenneman said. "That's a big reason why I've always looked near and far for players. The part of the world they come from, there's a lot of good baseball players."
Perez had a hit in his Thunderducks' debut in the season-opening win over The Complete Showcase Post Grad, and then another four days later in a win over Vernon College. He didn't play for most of the rest of the month in February until he was inserted back in the lineup for a road game before Dallas Athletic Conference play began. Immediately, his bat caught fire. Perez had two hits, and drove in a run during a nonconference game at Murray State College. Then he exploded for five hits in both of the first two DAC wins over Dallas College Mountain View, belting two doubles, a triple and eight RBI. He was named the DAC Hitter of the Week following that series.
"I was just staying patient," Perez said. "I knew my time was going to come whenever Coach gave it to me. I just kept working hard. I just feel I needed some time after not playing for a year to get back into it. My plan is just to take one day at a time, one at-bat at a time, keep grinding like I'm trying to win a spot, and then try to help the team win as much as possible, and hopefully go as far as we can."
The Thunderducks were ranked 14th in the NJCAA Division III preseason poll. This week they vaulted to No. 4.
Hitting is Contagious
In 18 games this season, Perez is hitting .396 with 14 RBI, eight stolen bases and a .472 slugging percentage. After re-entering the lineup before conference play began, Perez hit safely in nine of the next 10 games.
"We feel like he's a guy who can hit in the top of our order," Brenneman said. "We're hitting around .370 as a team, so he's kind of stuck with those guys. He's got some power, he runs really well. He kind of fits with the type of style we like to play. Overall, he's done a really good job."
Gelpi isn't a hitter pitchers can afford to make mistakes to, either. He's hitting .404 with 14 doubles, five home runs, 25 RBI and 22 stolen bases. He leads the country in stolen bases, and is tied for second in doubles. With more than half of a season to go, Gelpi's numbers this year mirror his stats from all of last year. As a freshman, Gelpi batted .404 with 18 doubles, five triples, five home runs, 42 RBI and 22 stolen bases, earning First Team All-DAC honors.
"It's kind of contagious for me," Perez said, the luxury of having Guelpi as a teammate again, a distinct advantage. "He had an amazing year last year, and he's still having a great year. The better we play, the more we push each other."
At Wabash, they were two of six Hispanic players that fall. It was a no-nonsense environment with the Warriors. Gelpi recalls the day one their best friends was kicked out of practice and forced to run for five or six hours for wearing the wrong shirt.
"We learned from that," Perez said, both he and Gelpi laughing. "We're like, 'We're never wearing the wrong shirt.'"
These days, they wear the Thunderducks green and purple, and blend in well with a lineup symbolic of last year's World Champion Texas Rangers. It's a lineup without many weaknesses. Adding Perez to the mix, with the likes of Trey Smith, who leads the nation in home runs, Nick Hockemeyer, Hernan Zamora, Noah Pena, Kelton Phillips, Robby Lopez, Trace Chamblee and Connor Haelzle – all who are hitting .318 or better – is a luxury Richland can't get enough of right now. Richland leads the country in RBI (236) and doubles (74) entering Wednesday's series with No. 2 Dallas College Eastfield.
Perez is just a piece of that puzzle.
"There's a lot of guys, they get an injury, and they hang it up," Brenneman said. "Luckily for us, he broke his hand last year. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here right now. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise. I, myself, was a juco guy, so I'm always pulling for these guys to maybe get that second chance, and that's kind of what he has right now."
It's exactly what Perez needed.
"I'm just glad God is with me, God is guiding my life," he said. "I'm trying to keep it up, keep it rolling."