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In a continuing series, we're catching up with former Cerritos College student-athletes and this time it's baseball player Alex Carbajal. After spending the 1996 season as a red-shirt, Carbajal was used as a left-handed relief pitcher for the Falcons, as the team qualified for the Southern California Regional Playoffs both seasons. In 1997, they finished in second place in the South Coast Conference and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The team came back the following season and won the conference championship and came within one win of advancing to the state tournament.

After his sophomore year, Carbajal wasn't quite sure what was going to happen to him. He came on in the Southern California Regionals and pitched very well against Saddleback College. Chico State University head coach Lindsay Meggs, who was scouting the game, liked what he saw in Carbajal and asked Falcons head coach Ken Gaylord about his availability.

Although his appearances and innings were limited in his time wearing the Falcon pinstripes, Meggs, a former Long Beach City College head coach, was looking for another left-hander out of the bullpen at Chico State University and Carbajal fit the role. His name was called upon more often and he helped play a role in the Wildcats winning the NCAA Division II National Championship in 1999. After pitching very well in middle relief his junior year, Carbajal was looked upon to provide a more expanded role on the team. As a relief pitcher his senior year, he posted a 0.00 ERA in relief before being inserted as a starter. He threw five innings of shutout ball in his first outing, but he had already opened the eyes of his teammates and some scouts. At some outings, Carbajal had 10-15 scouts out to watch him pitch. He finished his senior season second in the nation in ERA at 1.43 (minimum 50 innings pitched), and helped the team win the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) title and finished with a 45-12 record. In his two seasons at Chico State, the team posted a 95-29 record, but his collegiate career didn't have another national title in the cards, as they were eliminated in the NCAA West Region Tournament.

In the National Championship year, Carbajal (pictured, above left with son Xavier at the 20-year annversary of the title) was unable to participate in any of the games due to tendonitis in his elbow. However, he did feel that being on a winning team where all the players got along and worked together for a common goal was very rewarding. Carbajal did earn the win in the game that propelled his team to the National Championship World Series. He stated that the camaraderie also held true at Cerritos, but it was different at Chico State because of all the travel that was involved.

When it came time for Carbajal to move on after his senior year, he found out that he was immediately a free agent. Due to his red-shirt season at Cerritos, he was a fifth-year senior and did not fall under the same guidelines that four-year seniors did. So, in effect, it became a bidding war for his services and he could sign a contract with any team before the draft. After being courted by numerous teams, Carbajal decided to sign with Tampa Bay Devil Rays scout Charles Scott, whom he felt showed the most interest.

The minor leagues were next for Carbajal, but the daily grind turned out to be as much real work as it was fun.

"Every kid grows up saying that they want to play professional sports, and I was no different," Carbajal told Beckett.com. "I worked very hard, and I sacrificed many things to get as far as I did. When my dream came true and I signed with Tampa Bay, that is when the real sacrifice came. The sport you love now becomes your full-time job, and with any job, if you want to keep it, you have to put in the work. Professional sports are very cutthroat and the room for error is very small. Every day you are competing to keep your job. The highs and lows are severe but you have to ride them like a roller coaster and enjoy every minute of it. The second you don't, it will make you sick to your stomach. So how do I sum up my playing days? It was a roller coaster ride and I enjoyed every second of it."

His career took him from Hudson Valley (NY) to Bakersfield and then Sarasota as a member of the Boston Red Sox organization. Carbajal then spent three seasons in the Independent Leagues with the Lincoln Saltdogs and ended playing one season with the Chico Outlaws, their only year of existence. Coaching was then his calling after one of his managers, Mark Parent, invited him to be a player/coach, as Carbajal was recovering from an injury. After realizing his playing days were over, Carbajal emersed himself into coaching players just a few years younger than he.

Reminiscing on his playing career, Carbajal stated, "It was amazing to have people recognize you and ask for your autograph. At Hudson Valley, their stadium held 4,000 and they would have about 3,500 each game. It was a great atmosphere. Everyone knew your name. They even knew your nickname! There were baseball cards with my face on it and the fans wanted autographs. That was such a great feeling to have people recognize you and come to you and talk to you like you were their friend. It was amazing and I really loved it."

But when he finally hung up his cleats and put the glove away, it was time to enter the 9-to-5 workforce. He and his fiancee Karrlie (now his wife) ended up in San Diego, where he was hired by sports trading card company Upper Deck. After three years, he was lured away for a management position in the athlete acquisitions department by his current company, Panini America, which is based in Irving, TX. Alex and Karrlie, along with their son, Xavier and dog Riley, currently reside in Dallas.

So the guy who was so amazed that kids were interested in getting his autograph, is now tasked with getting autographs of baseball players, soccer players and NASCAR racers for their trading card company.

Here is a Q&A interview with Alex Carbajal:

What made you decide to attend Cerritos College after graduating from Rosemead High?
(Cerritos assistant) Coach Rey Sanchez went to a couple of my games when I was in high school and invited me to play in their summer league that was being played at Long Beach State at that time. After a good summer league I was asked to come to Cerritos and play for the Birds.

You were a red-shirt in your first season with the Falcons. How did you maintain your focus on being part of the team and your future with the program?
That was the toughest season for me mentally. I was 17 when I graduated high school and wasn't mentally ready to attend college. My first semester was wasted, and after a conversation with Coach (Ken) Gaylord, I decided that I must devote myself to baseball and attending classes. At that time, commuting from home was a big distraction.

You had limited appearances in your freshman season, but were called upon more as a sophomore. Did you make any adjustments to your throwing motion that made a difference? (Carbajal in the player in the middle)
I just kept maturing as a player and kept getting stronger. It is hard to improve when you are not getting innings. But I kept grinding and grinding and I knew that I would get my shot, I just had to prepare myself physically and mentally. Nothing is handed to you. You have to work hard to get a chance, but working hard doesn't mean you will still get your chance. It's doing the little things that no one else does that made the difference for me. I remember volunteering to work on the field, getting rid of weeds, watering the field, and working on the mound. That was a character builder for me. I would do shadow drills when no one was around, I would visualize myself playing in a game and knew my time would come.

What do you remember most about your time with the Falcons?
I remember the long days… School, then practice and lifting weights for the first time. I remember fall ball feeling like a full MLB season. I remember the baseball tourney's - that was a bonding period with my teammates. I remember early Saturday mornings and remember running up and down the football stadium, that sucked! Oh, and of course, working the press box with my man, JVG! (Cerritos College Sports Information Director John Van Gaston)

The Cerritos College baseball team is proud of their saying, "Once A Falcon, Always A Bird". What does it mean to be a "Bird"?
There is certain lingo that follows you throughout your career. So if you meet someone that played sports in California either at the community college level or even certain Cal State schools. You mention you were a Bird and the conversations open up immediately. It is a prestigious club that I am very happy to be a part of.

How did the college prepare you to compete at the next level, both on the baseball field and in the classroom?
Cerritos was the foundation of my success. If it wasn't for the coaches and teachers working on my mental and physical dedication, I don't think I would have gone as far as I did in my career. When I left Cerritos, my foundation was hard as cement and there was no cracking that foundation. It was now time to build the house.

Even with your limited innings, you were able to transfer to Chico State. What was the process like with you signing with them?
Coach Gaylord kept seeing that I was improving and saw late in my Cerritos career that there was more left in my career. Coach was a tough read, and I thought that he didn't like me for a long time. But what I saw was that he expected more from me. He spoke to (head coach) Lindsay Meggs about me and told him that I was a great talent with much potential.

In your junior year with Chico State, the team swept through the College World Series and won the NCAA DII National Championship. What was that experience like for you?
That was one of the best years of my life. That is when I saw everything start clicking for me. The hard work, the long days starting to pay off, and moving away from home was the best experience ever! I loved going to school, I loved the hard work, and bought into the Chico baseball way of life. My short stop at Cerritos, George Pena, was my roommate and we had fun and competed hard! We all had one goal, that goal was to win a National Championship. In order to do that, you had to work harder than everyone in the nation, and make the best of your opportunities.

Your post-collegiate career took you through the minor leagues for several years, which included stops in Hudson Valley, Bakersfield and Sarasota. How did you end up signing with Tampa Bay and what was the transition like for you?
My senior year was no different. I kept improving and improving. I was used out of the pen and starting. At the end of the regular season, I had the 2nd lowest ERA in the nation. My mental attitude was that I work harder than my opponents and I deserve my success. I had offers from five MLB organizations. I ended up signing with Tampa Bay and was named Pitcher of the Year for my team.

After spending a season in the Boston Red Sox organization and two more in an independent league, you ended up coaching at both Chico State and in the minor leagues. How did that come about?
I hurt my shoulder when I was playing with Boston and couldn't get my arm back to what it was. When I played with the Chico Outlaws, the Manager, Mark Parent, saw my leadership and asked me if I wanted to be a player/coach. During their spring training, I realized my arm wasn't going to get better, and I needed to hang them up. So I decided to just coach instead. That was also a great experience and I learned so much about coaching and mentoring. Those life skills are used to this day!

When you were with the Chico Outlaws in 2005, you got a chance to bat a few times and even hit a double. What was your approach coming to the plate?
Ha! The majority of the time it was dropping a bunt, but I loved taking batting practice, and when I got the swing away sign, I would make sure to take my hacks!

Did you find that trying to impart your wisdom to younger players reminded you of when your pitching coaches worked with you?
What worked with me as a player, was definitely part of my teachings and drills. I wanted them to work hard, but have fun. You cannot control if you play or not, but you can control what you do when you get the chance. The outcome is not important, but the work you put in does usually show up as an end result.

At the conclusion of your baseball career, you ended up working for Panini America, which manufactures sports cards. How does the retired baseball player get fortunate enough to continue working in sports?
When I was done coaching, my fiancée, now wife (Karrlie) decided that the grind was too much as a coach, and after working so hard as a player and not having a normal work schedule, I wanted a 9-5. So we decided to move to San Diego and I got a job at Upper Deck, another trading card company. I worked in their athlete relations department. Three years later, Panini offered me a management position in their athlete acquisitions department.

What do you do for the company?
I wear a lot of hats, but the nuts and bolts is I negotiate and manage the athlete contracts for Panini. My main focus currently is Baseball, NASCAR, and Soccer Global. When you see an autograph on a Panini trading card, it is cool to know that it came from me or my work teammates. I currently manage about five to six hundred player contracts at one time. My teammates at work also share one goal, to get as many autographs as we can have in product, and have the best of the best athletes in our sets.

I would assume there are some good perks that come with working for a collectible sports card company. What are some highlights of games/events you've been able to attend?
I haven't paid for a ticket to a sporting event in over 13 years, so pretty good perks. I have attended finals games, playoffs, all-star games, attended athlete and agency parties and met or worked with every athlete you can imagine.

As someone who works for a trading card company, do you have a copy of all your trading cards as a player and coach?
Yes, I do have all of my cards. Not many of each, but was able to save a few of each.

You and your wife Karrlie went through a scare when your son Xavier was born. Are you willing to share that experience?
I would love to share this experience. When my wife was 20 weeks into the pregnancy, a high-risk doctor noticed something with our baby's heart. We visited the cardiologist and they told us that he had a hole in his heart, in-between his left and right ventricle. To add to that, when he was born, they say that his pulmonary valve needed to be replaced. So Xavier has Tetralogy of Fallot with Pulmonary Artesia. He has a donor valve, and at one week old had open-heart surgery to repair the hole and install the donor valve.

At birth, we were able to spend a couple of hours with him before Xavier was transported to Children's Hospital. While my wife was recovering from her c-section, I was making trips to two hospitals. Five days into his stay, his surgeon felt that he was strong enough to fix the hole and replace with the donor valve. The surgery took seven hours and time felt like it was standing still for Karrlie and I. The surgery was a success and is doing great! He has a heart condition that we will need to monitor his whole life, and will have future procedures but we will not let that set him back. He can do whatever he wants in life, and will encourage him to go after his goals in life!

How is Xavier doing these days?
He is doing wonderfully, he has so much spunk, and is fearless! He is a typical boy, loves to get dirty, loves trucks and is already throwing with his left arm! We'll see if that sticks.