Playing 1st base looks easy when you do it right. Ground ball…get to the bag and catch the throw. Except, sometimes the throw is up the line and you have to make a decision about stretching for the catch and a collision, or coming off the bag and catching and making a tag simultaneously. The next time the throw is low and you have a few hundredths of a second to decide if you should stretch for a short-hop or stay back and read the bounce(all while feeling the runner coming down the line and deciding if you even have a play). Ground ball to your right…do you go to make the play and rely on your pitcher running the route and receiving the throw on the run or do you retreat to the bag because you know that your 2nd baseman has a beat on it? Aviel is as good as they come at making the right decision. Aviel has been an anchor in the infield for the last 2 years. He has 2 of the most important personality traits for playing first base well: he’s smart, and he’s calm…ALWAYS calm. That may not sound like high praise. But as a head coach, smart and calm are music to your ears. We’ve never been short on “big personalities” in our program, so having someone like Aviel to balance that out is critical to our success. He is always where he is supposed to be, when he is supposed to be there, and doing what he is supposed to be doing…and he seems to always be having a great time doing it. Aviel’s contributions on the field have led to many big wins the last couple of seasons, but they won’t typically show up in the box score or end of the season stats...and I’m not sure that really matters to him very much. In fact, if you watch Aviel after a game you won’t be able to tell if he had a great game, terrible game, or was out of the lineup for the day. Some people might confuse that with lack of caring, but those of us around the program know that definitely isn’t the case. Aviel just has a great perspective. I’m sure he’s had a bad day in the last 3 years that I’ve known him, but I couldn’t possibly tell you when that was. The other thing that stands out to me when I think about Aviel Santos and the legacy that he will leave behind here is his strong family connections. I’ve had the privilege of coaching many of Aviel’s cousins including several current players and our managers, Daizy and Jasmin. He’s so close to his brother Kelby(current JR) that he decided not to play his freshman season so that they could start their career’s together(I’m kidding, I haven’t really forgiven him for not playing that first year). After high school, Aviel is going to Purdue to study construction management. The same things that he has contributed to the baseball program: His infectious personality, fantastic perspective, and willingness to be present every day and do whatever is asked of him, are going to continue to make him a success at Purdue and beyond.