Road to the NCAA Show: St. John’s Outfielder Bet On Himself
- Mike Merolle
- May 4, 2023
- 3 min read
An oiled navy Rawlings glove with red lacing. Red and white Rawlings batting gloves. An all-black bat along with grey Nike cleats. That is Paul Orbon’s signature style when he hits the field for St. John’s University.
Orbon has become a familiar face to St. John’s fans as he’s had a career-high 33 appearances thus far in the 2023 season. The left fielder is batting .315 with three home runs and 26 RBI. Orbon received his first Big East Weekly Honor Roll selection in February and was a recipient of the Dr. Michael Pisano Memorial Award for academic excellence at the 77th annual St. John’s Athletic Awards Celebration this past Monday. Although Orbon’s season has been bright, things haven’t always been that way.
Orbon had a sluggish start in his first three years at the collegiate level. With the pandemic halting all sports across the nation in 2020, he did not have a chance to compete. Orbon’s 2021 season featured a .080 batting average in only 15 appearances. His 2022 campaign showed promise as he played in 32 games, made 22 starts, and batted .260.
“My first two years I dealt with a large amount of injuries. In my sophomore year, I started out the year playing and ended up not doing so good in my first couple outings. As a younger guy, I kind of learned from all the upperclassmen which definitely helped me,” Orbon told me outside the gates of Jack Kaiser Stadium. “As a junior, I dealt with injuries early on in the season, and in the second half of the season, I started about 20-25 games. I did really well and gained Big East experience.”
Orbon’s habit of grit and relentlessness did not start in Queens but rather on Long Island at Chaminade High School. The New Hyde Park native won two CHSAA (Catholic High School Athletic Association) All-League selections and was a part of the league championship-winning team in 2019. The promising high school run led to big hopes for a future baseball career until injuries nearly killed it.
“I had hip surgery my senior year in the fall. It was about a six-month recovery. I lost all of my interest and offers so I was going to just go to Ohio State for school. I actually had my deposit in. My brother was already committed here from 10th grade. Then, in August, my travel ball coach asked what I thought about St. John’s. He said they’d take a look at me if I talked to them. I said sure and went to play travel ball at Diamond Nation in New Jersey. I had one of the best tournaments of my life and [St. John’s] gave me a walk-on spot,” Orbon said.
A walk-on chance isn’t a guaranteed spot on the roster but rather a tryout opportunity. Orbon said he had the fall to prove himself and if he didn’t do well, he would be cut. The adversity didn’t stop there as Orbon tore his abductor muscle in his right leg in the midst of the walk-on tryouts. After playing through it, he strained his hamstring and got stitches on a cut hand just two weeks later.
“It was a long battle but they appreciated my work ethic and knew I had the skills. I was a good student obviously coming from Chaminade. Taking that all into account, this was when [Ed] Blankmeyer was still here, he was kind enough to allow me to stay on the team.”
St. John’s head coach, Mike Hampton, praised Orbon when asked about his impact on the team. “Paul is a great player and works hard at his game every day. He is a competitor and does his best every time he is in there.”
Orbon has started in 28 of the 43 games St. John’s has played so far this season. Hampton gave clarity to the reason he doesn’t start more. “Paul has been working on trying to reduce the number of strikeouts and trying to improve his arm strength as he gets stronger every year and gets experience.”
Orbon’s eyes are set on finishing the season strong in hopes of a deep run in the Big East Tournament. He will be back with the Red Storm next season for his fifth year as a Johnny.
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