Jasvir Rakkar brought himself within throwing distance of changing that—and earning a place in baseball history in the process. The Brampton, Ont., pitcher was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 26th round of the 2012 draft and spent four years in the club’s system before he was released at the end of spring training in March. Prior to that he pitched in the College World Series in 2012 and won gold with Team Canada at the 2015 Pan American Games. Much of his life has been spent as the lone South Asian between the foul lines. “That’s safe to say for any baseball team that I’ve played for outside of Brampton,” Rakkar says.

The six-foot-two right-hander, who currently plays for Les Capitales de Quebec of the independent Can-Am League, routinely receives messages on Facebook and Twitter from South Asian youth across Canada asking for tips and advice on pursuing a career in baseball. If he has the opportunity and the kid is nearby, Rakkar will make an effort to meet with them or attend their practices. “If anything, I would hope my career opened up some young South Asians’ eyes and kind of gave them hope they can have success pursuing this sport even though it’s not really one that most people think that we’d play,” he says.

Rakkar believes one reason there aren’t more South Asians in baseball is because of a cultural emphasis on education over athletics. “A lot of parents focus more on the education and school,” he says, “and there’s nothing wrong with that. But if a kid is good at sports, maybe they could balance both and hopefully pursue it.”

Rakkar’s family was an exception, embracing baseball wholeheartedly. He followed the game to college in the States, as did his younger brother, Barinder, and two of his older cousins. His 12-year-old sister, Amita, plays rep softball for Brampton.

Rakkar’s parents—his father is a furniture plant supervisor, his mother an elementary school teacher—are originally from Punjab, India. Typically, South Asian parents shepherd their children into business-, science- or math-related fields, but Rakkar says his parents bucked that trend. “They never really forced me and said ‘You can’t play baseball because we want you to do this,’” says Rakkar, who studied business management with a minor in mathematics at Stony Brook University in New York. “When I run into guys who I played with who are South Asian, they would say, ‘Oh man, your parents really supported you through it all.’”

The Rakkars took an active role in their boys’ athletic pursuits as well. When Jasvir and Barinder were in high school, their parents would divide the driving, delivering each son to his respective practice or game. Amita was also in tow, soaking up the sights and sounds of the diamond as a two-year-old. Family events even took a backseat to baseball, and that included missing some important weddings—almost a cardinal sin in Indian culture. “They knew we had to travel if we wanted to make it,” says Rakkar. “It’s just the way my parents were; I got lucky.”