Eric Sim chats with his excited fans during his visit to Diamond Nation.
By Sean Reilly
Colin Swingle of the Locked In Baseball Expos 13U Black was excited to be competing over the weekend at Diamond Nation in the Spring Classic, Powered By Victus.
His excitement went to another level on Friday, when he learned that famed baseball influencer and content creator Eric Sim would be making an appearance on Saturday afternoon at ‘The Nation’ in Flemington.
Sim, an ex-player turned content creator/social media personality, has over 1.4 million followers on TikTok, 880,000 subscribers on YouTube and 644,000 followers on Instagram. He’s extremely popular with youth baseball players such as Swingle and hundreds of others who swarmed him during his visit to Diamond Nation.
“He has a ton of followers and he’s really funny,” Swingle said. “When I found out he was coming, I was very fired up.”
Sim came to Flemington after attending the Arizona Diamondbacks at Philadelphia Phillies game on Friday night, where he mingled with the likes of Bryce Harper on the field before the game and then with fans throughout the night at Citizens Bank Park.
Eric Sim signed hundreds of items; bats, balls, hats and belts, during his appearance at ‘The Nation.’
His appearance at Diamond Nation was in conjunction with Victus Sports, which is a regular vendor at Diamond Nation, and aside from sponsoring the Spring Classic, makes the Official Bat of Major League Baseball and also manufactures Sim’s JUCO Mint bat model.
“This was awesome,” Sim said of his time at Diamond Nation. “It’s a really nice facility and I love spending time with the kids. The kids were great, and it’s always good to see that. It was a really cool event.”
The kids certainly loved their time around Sim, who was mobbed immediately upon arrival by a large crowd gathered around the Victus merchandise area, where he signed just about everything the players could think of, including bats, balls, gloves, hats, belts… you name it.
After that, he walked over to the batting cages, where he took cuts with his JUCO Mint bat and engaged in more dialogue with his excited fans.
Next, he walked around the grounds at the complex, where he drew more crowds who also followed him as if he was a pied piper. That was followed by more autographs and pictures at the Victus stand.
“We’re grateful to Victus for inviting Eric Sim and bringing an extra layer of excitement to the Diamond Nation experience for our players and teams,” said Diamond Nation Tournament Director Mike Buckelew. “His presence brought energy to the complex, sparked great conversations, and gave our players a memorable experience.”
So who is Eric Sim?
Lucas Daszkowski (left) and Charlie Bonanno (right) of the Rumson-Fair Haven Diamond Dawgs were all smiles after getting baseballs autographed by Eric Sim.
He was born in South Korea in 1989, and moved to Canada with his family at age 13. He played two years at Colby Community College in Kansas before moving on to the University of South Florida, where he was drafted after one season by the San Francisco Giants.
He played in the Giants system from 2010 through 2015, reaching as high as the Triple A level.
After playing a year of Independent ball, he returned home to British Columbia, where he worked in his family’s hotel business.
It was during the Covid outbreak when he threw baseballs during idle time, and was surprised to see he could only throw a baseball 77 MPH. He set a goal of throwing 95 MPH, which he ultimately met after he posted many workout videos, gaining him a substantial online following.
From that, his online presence grew and grew, thanks in part to his personality and exchanges with fans and MLB players, including Fernando Tatis Jr, Jackson Merrill, Harper and others.
Based on his own experience in the sport, he is also a strong supporter of Junior College baseball, hence his King of JUCO moniker.
“He’s a big content creator, and I’m extremely excited that he’s here at Diamond Nation,” said Cooper Ralston, who plays for the Diamond Jacks Super 12U. “All baseball players know him. He’s really funny.”
Eric Sim takes some cuts in the Diamond Nation batting cages with his Victus JUCO Mint model bat.
Lucas Daszkowski of the Rumson-Fair Haven Diamond Dawgs 12U got to meet Sim soon after his team won a game in which he singled and scored a run.
So which was more exciting?
“Both,” he said. “I was very excited to find out after the game that he was going to be here. I want to get a picture and an autograph. This has been a very cool day.”
That’s exactly what the people from Victus hoped for in scheduling the visit, which had a very nice bonus — kids wearing many different uniforms gathered as one big group, talking and mixing with each other.
“We’re really excited for this,” said Nick Fiola of Victus. “Diamond Nation has always been a great spot for us to get our newest products and our most exciting stuff out to the people. Everyone here has been great, so we figured this was a great opportunity to have Eric Sim come in, help promote our new bats but also provide something for Diamond Nation specifically that really isn’t happening anywhere else. It’s a perfect opportunity for us. He’s definitely a draw, all the kids know who he is and he’s a great entertainer.