JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Baseball runs generations deep for the Maldonado family.
Anthony Maldonado, a pitcher for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, has known nothing but baseball for most of his life.
"My dad would pick me up from school, and we'd go to the field every day. Then my mom was enforcing, 'Do your homework when you get home,'" Maldonado said.
His commitment to school paid off, earning him a scholarship to Bethune-Cookman University.
"My dad signed when he was 16, so he didn't really understand the whole college thing," Maldonado said. "But my mom was like, 'You're going to get an education.'"
Maldonado played for Bethune-Cookman for three seasons, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, who both played for the St. Louis Cardinals. He left college early to turn pro.
"I didn't go my senior year. I was a junior when I got drafted by the Marlins in 2019 and then played that half-year," Maldonado said.
Despite his early exit from college, Maldonado still has his sights set on earning a degree.
"I was always a math guy growing up; that was always my strong subject," he said. "So, we'll see. I'd like to be my own finance guy. That would be pretty cool."