UNO catcher Jorge Tejeda looks forward to the future

New Orleans Privateers Athletics
By Emma Seely

New Orleans Privateer Baseball’s Jorge Tejeda is no stranger to obstacles. At 14 years old, the incoming third-year catcher and electrical engineering major came to America from his birth country of Cuba. Even though the move promised opportunities away from Cuba’s political and economic restrictions, it wasn’t easy to adjust to a whole new way of life. But like always, for Tejeda, baseball helped.

“I talked to the coach, and he let me in the baseball team my freshman year in high school,” Tejeda said in a Zoom interview. “Having those teammates helped me out. Some spoke Spanish. That basically got my English better.”

During his time at Southwest Miami High School, Tejeda dealt with the challenges of being in a different country, noting that at first he would “[go] to class and would not understand anything.” But all the time he continued to play, and excel, on his school’s baseball team, earning honors like MVP and All-District distinction.

While he was improving as a baseball player, and as an English speaker, Tejeda was working on another goal: to become a United States citizen. As he mentioned, the process takes many years. He had to be a resident of the country for five years before applying for citizenship. But all that waiting paid off when, this year, Tejeda was finally granted his full citizenship. This, of course, was celebrated with baseball.

“It was a big moment,” Tejeda said about celebrating his citizenship on the field with UNO’s baseball team. “Once I told them, they were really excited about me. I was really happy about that. [When] I got in that clubhouse and everybody saw me, it was a really special moment. They made it special.”

He also noted that many parents contributed to this moment for him from just outside the field, shouting out his name in support. “It’s exciting,” he said. “I’m a citizen. [I] can say I’m an American, and that’s something I’m really proud of. You think about all the grinding that went through that, all the hard work.”

Unfortunately, the good feelings didn’t last long for Tejeda. That game would end up being the last one of the season thanks to a premature cancellation due to the Coronavirus pandemic. But even still, Tejeda is just trying to keep it all in perspective.

“[The season’s cancellation] teaches you that you can’t take any game for granted,” he said. “Things like this are going to happen. I enjoyed the moment. Once we finished the game one of my teammates, Murphy, told me it might be the end of the season. Such a good thing happened and then this.”

Tejeda ended his sophomore season – what will be version 1.0 of the sophomore campaign – with a .318 batting average, up from .215 as a freshman, and .483 on-base percentage. In 12 games, he collected three multi-hit performances, including back-to-back two-hit contests in wins over Southland rival Nicholls. Known for his defensive ability, he threw out five baserunners.

Despite any setbacks, Tejeda chooses to remain optimistic about the future, saying that he’s excited to work hard for whichever opportunity might come his way. Right now, he’s trying to protect himself and his family from the virus and continues to train for next season. He was recently named to the Southland Conference Spring Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

“My parents made a lot of sacrifices; they left their lives and careers behind just to get me and my sister to this country. Although I have many goals to accomplish in the near and distant future, one of my priorities is to show that the sacrifices weren’t a small feat. They were to give us a better life.”

It is no surprise, then, when asked what it was like to spend his first 14 years in Cuba, Tejeda reflected positively on the experience, calling it “one of the best life experiences I’ve ever had.”

“Especially with baseball, obviously my family was really together [in Cuba],” he said. “It was tough because of the situation [in Cuba] but growing up over there, struggling over there taught me a lot of things. Now that I’m here, I value things a little more. It was a really good growing experience.”

Tejeda will continue to exemplify these lessons at UNO next year, on the field and off.

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