Stepping up to bat, the player with the bolded number 15 on his back surveys the enormous green field. Less than two outs and he can practically feel the pressure of over 48,000 fans staring at him, waiting for his next move.

As he goes to swing, his mind can’t help but go back to his high school days that prepared him for professional play. Outfielder Michael Choice only hoped that he would end up back home playing for the team he grew up watching, the Texas Rangers.

“We had a good group of guys when I was there (at Timberview),” Choice said. “Head Coach Robert Owens (now at Southwest H.S.) did a great job handling everyone, on and off the field. Everyone looked up to him as a role model as well as a coach. He always preached work hard, have fun and have good grades.”

Choice, a former graduate who also attended UTA, was traded to the Rangers from the Oakland Athletics on Dec. 3.

“It didn’t surprise me because (in) Oakland they like to do a lot of trading,” he said. “Pretty much everybody knows that you are not going to finish your career there.”

Initially, Michael’s mother Charea Choice thought that her son and daughter-in-law were pulling a prank when they informed her of the trade.

“It took them about 20 minutes to convince me that it was true,” she said. “I couldn’t say anything for about another hour. I was about to pop inside. A very happy pop.”

Coming back to Texas, was an easy choice for Michael.

“I love Texas; I grew up here,” he said. “This metroplex has a ton of things to offer.”

Michael, now 24, started playing baseball when he was 4.

“I have been an avid fan for 20 years,” Charea said. “Even at (a young) age his level of play was higher than expected, so (as a mom) you just kind of laugh and keep encouraging.”

Playing professionally didn’t become a realistic expectation until he reached his goal of being on a college team, Michael said.

“Having that college experience was a huge stepping-stone for me, it gives you time to mature and figure out who you really are as a person,” he said. “It’s really hard for guys to sign out of high school. Professional baseball is not designed for an 18-year old to know how to do the correct things. They really have to have somebody older there with them to help them mature.”

Michael found his own personal mentor in player Torii Hunter.

“The scout that signed me with Oakland hooked me up with him,” Michael said. “I got a chance to go hang out and work out with him after I got drafted. He definitely was a positive influence on me.”

Michael said he was grateful to be traded.

“Every guy out here would love to play for the team that they grew up watching,” he said. “You know the chances of it are so small because 25 guys make the team.”

When the school was opened, Michael was among the students that were transferred from Summit High School.

“It hindered the higher level players because the school was not really being looked at for higher caliber players,” Charea said. “(Timberview) was new.”

Charea said, no matter what, the Choice family believes all things happen for a reason.

“He was supposed to attend UTA, he was to be drafted by the Oakland A’s and now he is supposed to be home (as) a Texas Ranger,” she said. “We are loving it.”

Michael said the way his family raised him is a huge reason for his success.

“They always stressed making good grades and striving in school,” he said. “That was a huge step to help me get to where I wanted to for college.”

After playing both basketball and baseball through most of high school, Michael quit basketball his senior year in order to focus on baseball.

“I had the privilege of coaching (him) in basketball,” Coach Robert Johnson said. “Michael is a very coachable kid. He wants to learn and once he gets it, he stores it in his memory.

Robert said it is a great feeling to see Michael playing professional baseball.

“It’s always good to have former students and athletes live out their dreams,” he said.

To young boys who aspire to play professionally, Michael offers his advice.

“Keep working hard and have fun while you’re doing it because the moment you stop having fun in this game is probably the moment when your career is coming close to an end,” he said. “You can’t really play this game and not have fun.”

Though Michael said he only keeps in touch with a few teachers, he did come up to the school earlier in the year to help promote the Toys for Tots Drive.

“I am proud of the man Michael has become,” Robert said. “I am also proud of the way he comes back to build relationships with the kids.”

Michael said one of the most undervalued things that people in high school don’t realize is how much the staff, who he said deserve more appreciation, cares about the students.

“I don’t think students realize that they (faculty members) are not making that much money to do what they do,” he said. “It, their guidance and help, is more impactful on that person’s life than they would even know until they are gone from high school.”