A new-look Chris Paris came about in 2018 with one goal in mind.
“I’ve always played baseball, but I never started because I was never fast enough,” said Paris, a recent Crown Point graduate. “I wanted to get in better shape so I could start.”
Starting at 5:30 a.m. every day before heading to school his senior year, he ran on his home treadmill. Once the bell rang to end the day, he paid a visit to the school’s weight room. He also made changes to his diet.
“Sometimes I really wanted to dig into the cookie jar, but I knew I couldn’t,” Paris said.
With his newfound commitment to changing his body, Paris lost 50 pounds and achieved his desired status of starting third baseman with the NWI Rippers. He said his new frame has helped him on the diamond.
“I could tell right away that I was lighter on my feet,” he said. “My range has improved and so has my overall speed. I’m throwing harder because I’d been working out so much.”
Rippers coach Mike Schalasky has known Paris since he was 9, having coached him off and on through the years.
“Chris is just a great all-around player and person from a fantastic family,” Schalasky said.
Schalasky noted this year has been the biggest jump he’s seen in Paris, who’s in his first year with the Rippers.
“He’s played an outstanding third base and it’s all because of his new body,” Schalasky said. “The talent’s always been there, but the mobility has really helped him. He’s been one of the best third baseman I’ve seen this season. He makes the routine plays as well as the phenomenal ones.”
Even though baseball at the high school level never panned out after being cut his freshman year, the game has subsequently worked out for him. He’ll play in the Babe Ruth (16-18) World Series starting at 11 a.m. Saturday in Jamestown, N.Y. The tournament concludes Aug. 11.
“I really wanted to play with these guys, they’re my boys,” Paris said. “It’s been a great feeling to be with all of my old friends that I hadn’t played with in a while. I expect to see some really good baseball here and I think if we play our game, we’ll be fine. The whole experience of playing in this is what I’m really looking forward to.”
Later this month, Paris, 18, will attend Purdue Northwest to major in electrical engineering. Some expenses will be covered by the Alec Matalin Scholarship that Paris received through the Crown Point Community Foundation.
The scholarship was named for a Crown Point student who died in July 2017 at age 17.
“That meant the world to me,” Paris said of the scholarship. “Alec and I were so close and that happening was heartbreaking. I still talk to his parents all the time and to see them after I got the award meant so much to me.”
CJ Peters is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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