Jakob Guardado continues the family legacy in baseball with Rochester Honkers

(ABC 6 News) – The Northwoods League sees many college baseball players get their first exposure to Major League Baseball when team scouts come to see them play each summer. Rarely though do any come from a baseball family lineage with their dad having played in the Big Leagues before them.

Jakob Guardado is in his second season playing for the Rochester Honkers and he comes from a family where his dad played in the Majors before him. Jakob is the son of former Minnesota Twins reliever and Hall of Famer “Every Day” Eddie Guardado and baseball has been a part of his entire life.

“I’ve been playing baseball since I think I was three or four years old and have just kept at it ever since,” said Jakob Guardado.

Getting to be a part of the Rochester Honkers and playing in the Northwoods League isn’t just a matter of getting to the next level for Jakob Guardado. For him, it’s also about the relationships he builds around him with his teammates.

“I’ve been playing baseball since I think I was three or four years old and have just kept at it ever since,” said Jakob Guardado. It’s always fun. Summer ball makes great relationships. Kind of network with new people, it’s fun to make some new friends outside of school.”

While Jakob enjoys the fun of the game both in the clubhouse and on the field, his dad is the one taking on his nerves for him every time he watches one of his games in the stands.

“I get more nervous watching my son play than I did when I was pitching,” said Eddie Guardado. “That’s how special it is so obviously he’s coming into his own and trying to do the best he can to get to the next level.”

With all the time spent in Major League clubhouses from a young age, Jakob and his brother Niko were taught discipline thereby helping out the team clubhouse managers when they were at the ballpark with their dad.

The discipline Eddie Guardado exposed his sons to at that young age has helped them grow into the young men they are today. And with Jakob following in his dad’s footsteps with baseball, the lessons he learned as early as he can remember from his dad’s days in the Majors are still with him now.

“The game’s taught me more about being a good person rather than just being a ballplayer,” said Jakob Guardado.

“There you go, and I did my job,” responded Eddie.

“Yeah.”

“Well, my wife too, and I got to put her in there too,” said Eddie.

Along with those lessons come the moments where the son of Every Day Eddie can close out games just like his dad did with the Twins.

Jakob’s season came to an end on Monday, July 3 as he left for Tennesse with his family to tour Eastern Tennessee State Univerisity to continue his college baseball career.