When the Texas Rangers won the 2023 World Series, Churchill High School Head Baseball Coach Tom Alfieri was watching.
“When they won, I was just quiet. You can’t put it into words. I just broke down. I was in awe. It seems like he just graduated.”
Seven years before hoisting the Commissioner’s trophy over his head at the 2023 World Series, Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung was playing baseball at MacArthur High School.
Alfieri was his coach.
So, when he saw Jung holding that trophy, the rookie’s entire baseball career flashed before his eyes.
He remembers watching Josh play ball in middle school and inviting him to practice with the varsity team.
He remembers conversations in the dugout at MacArthur before district games.
He remembers when Josh was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year when he went off to play baseball at Texas Tech University.
And Josh getting drafted in the first round by the Texas Rangers in 2019 and then hitting a home run in his first at-bat in the major leagues.
“I drove up to see him the next day,” said Alfieri. “When he was young, you could tell his ceiling was so high, and he was going to get to that ceiling, and the best part was that his fundamentals were just so sound, so he had the best base to build off of. So not only was his ceiling high, but his fundamentals were so solid that he was going to be able to get to that ceiling. And I think he might be there.”
As a high school coach, this is a dream come true. They pour so much of themselves into their athletes. They want them to reach the pinnacle of whatever sport they are playing. And World Series Champion is pretty high up there.
Part of Josh’s training in middle and high school was to read The Art of War, a book written in the 5th century devoted to different skill sets and how they apply to military strategy. But it is often used in sports, business and politics. Alfieri says baseball isn’t just physical; it’s mental, too, and Jung is one of the best when it comes to learning the mental part of the game. You could see it in his focus at third when he dove for a catch in the second game of the World Series and launched the ball across the field to throw out Arizona Diamondbacks’ first baseman, Christian Walker, at one. And how he approaches every at-bat is so cool, calm and collected.
“You would see little emotions in those big plays. He understood how to prepare. He understood the moment and how to get the best out of what he was able to do—attacking one thing and doing that one thing the best you possibly can with the tools you have. His mental preparation through high school was phenomenal. Now, it’s probably off the charts.”
But ask any coach, and athletics is about more than baseball IQ and World Series rings. It’s about being a leader off the field, too. Alfieri says Josh was always that. He isn’t just a standout baseball player; he’s a standup guy.
“This couldn’t have happened to a better person. Nothing was beneath him. He’s very down to earth. He’s really, really humble. He’s just a really good person. And that comes from his family.”
Alfieri hasn’t gotten the chance to talk to Josh since the big win but says they will connect as soon as possible. In the meantime, he’s pouring as much as he can into his current student-athletes at Churchill and letting Josh’s example show them what they can achieve if they work hard and make a plan.
“I’m so happy for him and his family. It was a great moment for him, for MacArthur, the district, for everyone.”
