Alvarez Puts His Worries Aside : Preps: After garnering attention from college and pro scouts, Bishop Amat’s star infielder decides on college choice early in his senior year.

For anyone who has seen Gabriel Alvarez smoothly handle a ground ball, confidently throw across the infield or matter-of-factly hit a pitch into a gap in the outfield, it might be hard to believe that he has ever been nervous on a baseball field.

It happened last summer, though, when college and professional scouts were closely watching the 6-foot-1, 175-pound Alvarez.

“There was a short period of time when he was kind of jumpy,” Bishop Amat Coach Glenn Martinez said. “Because of that, his performances were kind of erratic. But once he got through that, he settled down and showed them what he could do.”

Alvarez, a senior infielder, demonstrated enough skill and poise to earn scholarship offers from Cal State Fullerton, Pepperdine, California and USC. In November, Alvarez committed to USC.

“That was what I wanted to do all along,” said Alvarez, who is batting .445 this season. “I wanted to get that decision out of the way so I wouldn’t have to worry about it.”

These days, the only people worrying are opposing pitchers, who must attempt to retire a hitter who looks and conducts himself as if he was born to play the game. Alvarez, the son of former major leaguer Manny Alvarez, lives in El Monte and has been a fixture at San Gabriel Valley diamonds for as long as anyone can remember.

“I think he started playing for the Senior Babe Ruth team his Dad coaches from the time he could walk,” a scout said.

At a school that has recently produced such outstanding players as J. R. Phillips, Ken Kendrena and John Jackson, Alvarez’s background enabled him to become what is believed to be the first player in Bishop Amat history to start for the varsity for four consecutive seasons.

“When he came in as a freshman, you could tell he was head and shoulders above the other kids at that stage,” Martinez said. “We don’t look for a freshman to come up and contribute, but we had a couple of holes and he helped us fill them.”

Alvarez played second base as a freshman and batted .300.

“I struggled a little bit on defense, but even when things weren’t going well, I always had enough confidence in myself to know that I could play,” Alvarez said.

As a sophomore, Alvarez switched off between second and third base and raised his batting average to .390. He also helped Bishop Amat reach the quarterfinals of the Southern Section playoffs, where they lost to Westlake.

“I knew what to expect my sophomore year,” Alvarez said. “I was more mature and was able to just relax and play.”

Last season, Alvarez moved to shortstop and took an even bigger developmental step. He batted .444 and emerged as one of the top high school players in Southern California.

“He’s as solid as anyone,” a local scout said. “He’s a high-profile player with a good bat. He can play shortstop, but I don’t think anyone is projecting him to play that position in the major leagues. His one weakness is his speed. With his arm, he could be catcher and really become a premium player.”

USC Coach Mike Gillespie said Alvarez will probably play shortstop or another infield position for the Trojans if he does not sign a professional contract. The amateur draft is in June.

“The guy has no flaws as far as I’m concerned,” Gillespie said. “He’s got a great arm, he can hit and he can hit with power.”

For now, however, Alvarez said his main goal is to help Bishop Amat return to the playoffs. The Lancers entered the week 10-3 and 5-2 in the Angelus League, which put them in second place behind Mater Dei.

“The team is starting to come together,” Alvarez said. “I just want to do well the rest of the season. We’ll see what happens after that.”