10/05/2026
Playing professional baseball wasn’t always the plan for Cleveland Guardians’ Steven Kwan: “You gotta understand: I’m a baseball lifer. What I’m doing now, playing ball … it’s literally all I’ve ever wanted to do. Growing up, I didn’t like school that much. I didn’t really have any hobbies. Baseball was my entire identity....
I wasn’t destined to be a major leaguer. Not by any stretch.
I mean, yeah, of course, as a kid I’d told everyone who’d listen that I’d be playing pro ball one day. But not a lot of people believed me. And the ones who said that they did … I’m pretty sure they were just humoring me.
Because they’d look at me and … basically, it didn’t compute.
I’ve always been pretty short. I don’t run particularly fast. I’m not someone who’s hitting bombs. I wasn’t, as they like to say, ‘projectable.’ If you see me now and think, Wait, this guy plays in the majors? This guy is an All-Star? … just imagine looking at me back when I was seven, or 12, or 15.
To say I had doubters would be a massive, massive understatement.
When I was a kid and dreaming about the big leagues, even my own mom was like … ‘Um, yeeeeeah. I don’t know, honey.’
Now look, don’t get me wrong, I love my mom dearly. She’s great. But she’s also like … how do I put this … she’s like what a lot of people think of when they picture a traditional Asian mom, or when you see that character on a TV show. Super realist, very pragmatic, direct. Not wanting to pump me up too much.
So when I told Mom that I wanted to be a pro ballplayer, she was basically like: ‘Well, you’re probably not going to be that … so let’s think of something else more realistic.’
In high school, when I was going to all these baseball showcases, and totally showing out, and still not getting recognized, I remember my mom being like: ‘It is what it is. You’re not the biggest person, you know. Let’s just try to find a college that will take you on so you can get your degree for free.’
Not long after that, when the exact scenario my mom was angling for ended up actually happening, it literally only came to pass by accident. The coach who recruited me to Oregon State, Nate Yeskie, went to a showcase to watch Michael Kopech pitch, and I happened to have two solid hits that day, so I got an opportunity. He saw something in me, and he decided to take a chance on me. I had always believed in myself, but I really needed someone else to believe, too. Nate was that person for me.
And, from there, trust me when I tell you that I was someone who had to absolutely grind. Like crazy. I had to work my ass off to show that the kid who was too short and too slow and too skinny was still worth betting on.
I put in work. Day in and day out. And I’ve been that way ever since.
It’s one of the main reasons why I feel like me and Cleveland are a perfect fit.”
📸: Michael Turner
Read the full story: playerstribu.ne/StevenKwan
