Tuero Back in the Swing of Things
No. 7 Miami (11-4, 3-0 ACC) vs. No. 12 UCF (15-2)
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Mar. 11, 2020| 6:00 p.m.
John Euliano Park | Orlando, Fla.
By Josh White
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Luis Tuero sat on the bench and could only watch a season ago.
Game after game, day after day, all he could do was look on.
After providing the Hurricanes with a valuable bat in the lineup, Tuero’s freshman year was cut short.
The Hialeah, Fla. native sustained a season-ending left knee injury while participating in drills during practice ahead of a weekend series in 2019.
Nearly a year later, Tuero has become a fixture in the Canes’ order again. Heading into Wednesday’s game at No. 12 UCF, he is riding an eight-game hit streak, batting .455 over that stretch.
“It was devastating,” Tuero said. “Being out six to eight months without playing the game I loved hurt.”
The Monsignor Pace product hit .333 across 14 games, including 11 starts, last year.
However, playing time wasn’t so easy to obtain.
After playing second base the majority of his freshman fall, Miami’s coaching staff told Tuero just three weeks before his rookie campaign he would be moving to the outfield.
He played infield his entire high school career but would have to learn a new position. Tuero picked the brains of veterans, worked on his routes to fly balls and asked questions about his new spot.
And when his opportunity came, his newly acquired skills helped him get in the lineup and his bat kept him there.
“His strength is putting the bat on the ball,” UM head coach Gino DiMare said. “He has always been a contact guy. He’s had some clutch hits for us. …He’s another guy down in the lineup that sprays the ball all over the field.”
Tuero, a first generation Cuban-American, was born in South Florida. By the age of four, he picked up baseball and never looked back.
Playing on travel teams growing up, his strength was always hitting. He established a hitting routine, training with his father, Emilio.
“We are there every day in the offseason trying to get better hitting off of a tee in the park,” Tuero said. “After, we just go home and then hit little beans.”
Those drills have helped Tuero’s premier contact skills. He is a career .349 hitter and has struck out just six times in 26 games.
His impressive work ethic that was instilled in him at a young age was as prevalent as ever this past year.
He arrived in the early hours of the day and didn’t leave until most of his teammates were gone. Tuero worked tirelessly to recover from his torn anterior cruciate ligament and get back to the player he was.
“He was working hard,” Miami junior infielder Anthony Vilar said. “You can tell he’s getting better and better. His confidence is slowly but surely getting back.”
Once he got back to full strength, Tuero fine-tuned his defense at second base and, of course, stuck with his consistent and reliable approach at the plate.
While his scar on his left knee will stay there forever, it provides Tuero with a constant reminder.
“Don’t take any pitch for granted,” he said. “One pitch and you could be out. I play every game like it’s my last and I have fun.”
With Tuero thankful to be back in the Miami lineup, he’s focused on helping the Hurricanes win.
“It definitely makes me work harder,” Tuero said. “There have been a lot of great teams here but only four have won the national championship. We want to be the fifth team that gets remembered forever.”
