JOE PINA

BASEBALL

Joe Pina was raised in east Stockton in the Stribley Park area and in migrant labor camps until he was eleven years old. At that point, Joe became interested in sports, which became a passion for him. He worked hard to catch

up with his peers, who had started playing sports at earlier ages. He shot baskets for hours at a time at Fair Oaks School and practiced pitching and hitting at Stribley Park. Realizing that he was behind his peers in skill levels motivated Joe to work harder. Joe was one of the last to be selected to a Babe Ruth team and worked very hard to improve and ultimately became a Babe Ruth All-Star pitcher and outfielder. This brought him gratification and taught him the “lifelong lesson” that if you work hard you will be able to attain your goals.

At Franklin High School, Joe tried out for the varsity baseball team. As a sophomore he made the team as a pitcher. He was a starting pitcher his junior and senior seasons and played outfield when he was not pitching.

Joe also played basketball on the junior varsity his sophomore year and became the starting guard as a junior and senior. He helped his team tie Edison for the league championship his senior year. The season’s final game against Edison was the first high school game ever played at the Civic Auditorium. Franklin won on pure determination and hard work. After his season was over, Joe was named to the 10-man All-City Team by the Record. He was a finalist for Amateur Athlete of the Year as named by the Jester’s Club in both basketball and baseball.

After high school, Joe played baseball for the Lodi Guild Club during the summer. In the fall he enrolled at Delta Junior College (Stockton College) and was the starting guard on the basketball team. His coaches were Frank Boyle (freshman) and Ernie Marcopulos (sophomore). As a sophomore, the basketball team was the co-champion of the Valley Conference. Joe was named the team’s “Most Improved Player.” He scored 23 points in the upset of Fresno City College to tie for the league championship.

In baseball Joe had an 11-4 record as a pitcher and batted over .300 each year as an outfielder. He was named to the All-Valley Conference baseball team his sophomore year and also named by the Stockton Record as the College All-Around Athlete of the Year.

Joe played in the Cal-Mex League with the Latin American Club. His first year he was 11-0 as a pitcher and batted .455 as his team won the league championship. He was named the MVP of the league that year. Later playing with the Club Mexico team in the same league, he led “The Club” to seven championships.

Joe worked in the food distribution industry in the Stockton area for various firms, working his way up to vice president of several firms and finally to president and CEO.