If Ed Gutierrez had any concerns about his team’s mentality heading into the spring, the answer came in the form of numerous phone calls and text messages from his players during the winter.
“Last year we were young and immature in our approach to the game in general,” the All Hallows coach said. “We’ve been waiting all winter for this year.”
The Gaels are looking to put a frustrating 2009 behind them, when Gutierrez said they lost nine one-run games and missed the playoffs for the first time since moving up to the ‘A’ division after winning the ‘B’ title in 2006. They turned things around in the fall – although those exhibitions aren’t always a good indicator of what will happen in the spring – and went 8-1.
“We’re working hard, that’s for sure,” Gutierrez said. “I can’t wait to see how we do in division. I think we’ll compete, there’s a lot of parity in the division. If our pitching holds up and we make the routine plays, we’ll be fine.”
Pitching is a strong suit for All Hallows, which returns nearly its entire deep staff, including senior ace Jason Perez, who has offers from Fairleigh Dickinson University, Iona College and Baruch College on the table.
“He’s a skinny kid, a finesse pitcher who has a good fastball, over the top breaking pitch and a good change-up,” Gutierrez said of Perez, who also plays center.
Irwin Zorilla, a hard-throwing 6-foot-2 senior also returns and will likely be the Gaels No. 2 starter.
“If he’s throwing strikes, he’s really tough,” Gutierrez said. “He’s got a good breaking pitch, but he needs to learn how to change speeds. He’s probably the hardest throwing kid we have. I like him, he gets it done.”
The one pitcher, though, that Gutierrez thinks can possibly be the best to ever play at the South Bronx school is Alexis Torres, who will also play in the outfield when not pitching and will bat third in the lineup.
Gutierrez said Torres reminds him of Raymond Frias, who went on to play at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and said is the best to ever play at All Hallows.
“He has a lot of poise and throws strikes, first and foremost,” Gutierrez said. “His ball jumps, he has a lot of live movement and he’s not afraid to come inside unlike a lot of high school kids. He’s also not afraid to throw breaking pitch behind in a count. He’s got a great demeanor, he just improves as he goes along.”
Gutierrez said he doesn’t usually bring sophomores up to varsity because he believes they’re usually not mature enough to handle it. Torres struggled academically last year, but the improvement he made him the classroom convinced Gutierrez that Torres was ready for the jump.
“Last year we struggled to guide him on the right track in classroom,” Gutierrez said. “His concentration, focus and attention span weren’t too good, but now he’s the hardest working kid we have, his GPA is up to 87.”
Junior James Norwood, who will also start at third base and bat cleanup, is another pitcher Gutierrez has high hopes for this year.
“He’s a big kid and what I like about him is his work ethic,” Gutierrez said. “He’s not most athletic kid, but he throws a heavy ball and has a lot of late movement. He throws strikes and has a lot of poise, good mechanics.”
Second baseman Gilbert Gonzalez is a hard-throwing junior who will also come out of the bullpen. While Gutierrez is confident in his impressive pitching arsenal, the jury is still out on whether or not the Gaels will hit this year.
“I’m optimistic,” Gutierrez said. “We have a great group of kids, but I need them to toughen up a bit. Sometimes they’re too (nice), but they’re working.”