San Diego Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla is known as the coach with the magic touch. Players in the clubhouse say he is the guy who can mold, develop, and push pitchers to be great.
He confidently walks to the mound during games with the ability to instantly change the momentum of an inning, bringing an excitement that has always been there for him, even as a young kid.
"Some people can just make it as a job, but with him he wants to make people feel comfortable, and I think that's something that he does really well," said Padres relief pitcher Jeremiah Estrada.
"You start off at that young age of you know this is a pretty cool sport. I love doing this and hopefully I can do it for a really long time," Ruben said.
That passion to play ball has stayed with him ever since, which led to him meeting the love of his life, Stephanie, in junior college. She was a softball player.
"Practice fields were right next to one another; we would go support them, they'd come support us hang out after games their games and that's kind of where we hit it off," Ruben said.
"I'm getting baseballs thrown at me from the baseball field onto the softball field. They were back to back," said Stephanie.
I spent some time with Stephanie in their hometown of El Centro, where she laid out how they juggled a constant long-distance relationship as each chased their own dreams.
"We keep our values, we keep our faith," Stephanie said.
Ruben earned a scholarship to play baseball at Azusa Pacific, and Stephanie followed her passion to become a high school softball coach and teacher, which landed her at San Diego State University. The couple eventually married and had two children — daughter Jaelyn and son Johrden.
All of this happened while Ruben was the assistant pitching coach for the then-Cleveland Indians, and Stephanie was coaching softball at Southwest High School in El Centro. For almost 20 baseball seasons, the family was separated.
"So they would fly us out whenever the kids needed to see dad, or we would take off as soon as school was out. We would ship boxes over there because we'd spend the entire summer there until both kids started playing travel ball," Stephanie said.
With the help of other family members, Stephanie held down the fort at home while Ruben was on the road.
Ruben tells me often the most difficult part of his job isn't what happens on the field; instead, it's about making sure he's there for his kids, something he's been able to do with the help of his wife.
"A blessing to have her as my partner, we have a strong bond and we've made it work and we're happy," Ruben said.
From the very start, their kids followed in their parents' footsteps. Jaelyn played softball and Jordan played baseball, both dominating in their sports with their parents coaching them along the way. Stephanie was right there in the dugout with Jaelyn.
"She was like you're a freshman but you're gonna hold yourself. But I need you to hold yourself not just because you're a freshman because you're my daughter," Jaelyn said.
For Johrden, it was the conversations he had with his dad that kept his head in the game.
"He would always try and call every night I would talk to him about my day and he would give me advice or keep hyping me up," Johrden Niebla said.
Then, Ruben got the call that changed his family's life when he was offered the pitching job with the San Diego Padres, allowing him to be closer to his family. It came at the perfect time as Jaelyn started school at San Diego State.
"Oh, it was wonderful, it was like he was home," Stephanie Niebla said.
Though Ruben is physically closer, the challenges that come with working for a Major League Baseball team remain the same.
"We spend a lot of time with the team and being away and traveling and that is without a doubt, you know, the toughest part of our job," Ruben Niebla said.
But the Nieblas make it work as both Ruben and Stephanie continue making a difference in the lives of so many athletes, from the professional level to high school.
"We have a joke at home that I'm the second-best coach in the household. My wife she got inducted into the CIF Hall of Fame, which is a great tribute, a great honor," Ruben Niebla said.
That dynamic naturally fuels the competitiveness in this family.
"The kids have never been given a break, and it usually turns into an argument here and there," Stephanie said.
"The most competitive person in our family is my mom. It's just like a friendly game we're playing like she takes everything serious if she doesn't win," Johrden said.
"If she doesn't win she'll be like no like that was rigged. But I will say now my dad's a little more competitive too," Jaelyn added.
A recent family trip to Hawaii supports that, especially during heated games of Uno.
"It became a joke where it's like 3-4 days into the vacation and they're going like, 'Dad, have you won a game yet?' I'm like, 'You had to bring it up,'" Ruben said.
As another season of Padres baseball starts, the Nieblas say sports is more than just a passion for them; it is what brings them all together.
"I love my family and what we've built," Stephanie Niebla said.
"I'm hoping we can look back and really enjoy our times together, because I think that baseball and softball is gonna be in our family for generations to come," Ruben Niebla said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
