Adam Droz never talks big. He never looks ahead. He prefers to take every game, every inning, every pitch in fact, as it comes. This may be the perfect team for the Lehman baseball coach.
After consecutive Bronx A West titles and back-to-back PSAL Class AA semifinal berths, the Lions are working in an extremely new, young and inexperienced team.
Center fielder/pitcher Steve Pinales (13 RBIs, 13 runs scored, two wins on the mound last year) and first baseman Jesse Garcia are all that is left from last year’s final four club.
“We’re relying on them to set the tone for the new guys this year,” Droz said. “[Steven] is very important to show the young guys on the team what it takes [to succeed]. He has a lot of experience. He’s been involved with being in a championship game.”
Droz is high on third baseman Christopher Lopez and outfielder Anthony Delgado along with pitchers Elvis Haziraj and Jerry Ramirez. He hopes to challenge for a division title.
“Now it’s time for the younger kids to step up and do as well as the other players that were involved in the program the last few years,” Droz said. “We’re a pretty young team, but if the team listens to what the staff is trying to show them and teach them, we should be OK.”
Charis Britt doesn’t want his players to talk about last year or think about last year. The Taft coach wants them to forget about their successful first season in Bronx A East, their upset of Cardozo in the second round of the city playoffs.
“We’re not going to live on last year’s accomplishments,” he said.
The Eagles, after all, should be able to create their own memories this spring. While Taft lacks the depth it has enjoyed in past years, it does return plenty of starters. Pedro Pereyra is back and will move over from second base to shortstop. So is third baseman/catcher Rudy Romero, outfielders Anthony Ferrer and Moises Alejo and pitcher/center fielder Brian Vidal.
After a two-year absence, catcher Laiky Uribe is expected to contribute and junior varsity call-up Jairon Concepcion will see time at various infield spots.
“Our goal is to make the playoffs,” Britt said. “We’re going to work towards that. If we stay healthy – we’re not as deep as we were last year – and play to the potential we have, we should be in the dance again. … We’re going to do what we always do, we’ll compete. We’ll play fundamentally sound baseball, we’ll make the plays we’re supposed to play. Hopefully we’ll win games we’re supposed to win and we’ll win a few games we’re not supposed to win.”
Jason Norman didn’t have any expectations this spring. After losing several key seniors and going 5-11, he figured Walton would be rebuilding. Following a season-opening sweep of DeWitt Clinton, he’s singing a different tune.
“A lot of the older kids from last year learned a lot, probably more than I anticipated, and some of the new kids might be a little raw, but they are very athletic,” he said. “They’re playing very well. I just hope it continues.”
In each win, the Wildcats received a solid start from hard-throwing co-aces Bruce Valentin and Robert Velasquez, an impressive freshman. Norman has 6-foot-4 senior Kenny Berihuete penciled in at No. 3.
“I have good pitchers that throw a lot of strikes and hard strikes,” he said.
Junior catcher Larry Campusano is the anchor to the lineup, a third-year varsity player who has come out of the gate on fire, Norman said, and hit .404 with 17 RBIs last year. When Valentin isn’t on the mound, he’ll be at shortstop and junior Alex Jimenez is in centerfield. Norman raved about the speedy and skilled outfielder’s potential.
“He’s really a dynamic ballplayer,” the coach said. “He has a lot of ability.”
Just as coach John Reingold predicted, Riverdale/Kingsbridge competed in its first year moving up to Bronx A West last spring. The Tigers finished a win shy of the playoffs, but did defeat Walton and South Bronx and could take another step forward this year. They return a solid nucleus, led by third baseman Bryan Suarez, center fielder Sage Cheren and lefthander/first baseman Jason Araujo.
Morris took a major step back in its second season in Bronx A East, going 8-8 and getting eliminated by eventual champion George Washington in the opening round of the city playoffs. It might be another trying season for coach Richie Corbo as he has a very young team to worth with. He has seven underclassmen and will need a lot of production out of junior pitcher/outfielder Deon Sanders, junior third baseman Randy Perez and senior staff ace/infielder Luis Sterling, the team’s best athlete, Corbo said.
A four-year contributor for Evander Childs, Jose Rosa will wear a lot of different hats. The senior is one of the youthful Tigers’ top pitchers, one of its biggest bats and also a key defender. Evander needs a big year out of him to return to the playoffs after a long absence. It did get off to a nice start with an 11-10, league-opening win over Columbus in which Jairo Caba, Rondal Delgado, Brandon Henriquez and David Delgado each had two RBIs.
Mott Haven, Gompers and Columbus round out the borough and should be dangerous if all goes right.