Magdaleno Earns Reputation as Braves’ Good-Hands Man : Preps: He has distinguished himself athletically as a football receiver and baseball shortstop.

The biggest hit of Rick Magdaleno’s burgeoning baseball career probably occurred last fall during the Baldwin Park High football team’s season opener against Rosemead.

After spending two years playing baseball, Magdaleno had decided to lend his athletic talents to the football team. His hand-eye coordination made him an ideal receiver, but Magdaleno was wary of bone-jarring collisions that threatened his body and baseball career.

It wasn’t until he caught his first pass, and sustained his first pile-driving tackle, that Magdaleno was able to relax. He sprang from the turf unscathed and, perhaps more importantly, uninhibited. From that moment on, Magdaleno played with an abandon that helped carry the Braves to the Southern Section Division IV championship.

The aggressiveness and strength Magdaleno gained playing football have translated well to the baseball field. This season, his fourth as the Braves’ starting shortstop, he has reinforced his status as one of the most highly regarded prep prospects in the San Gabriel Valley. Next month, Magdaleno is expected to be selected in the amateur baseball draft.

“The attitude I had during football carried over this season,” Magdaleno said. “It helped a lot, in all areas of my game.”

The 6-foot, 180-pound Magdaleno is batting .476 for the Braves, who finished third in the Sierra League and lost to San Gabriel, 3-0, Tuesday in a Southern Section 5-A wild-card game. Baldwin Park ended its season 11-12.

As a relief pitcher, Magdaleno is 2-1 with four saves.

“He’s head and shoulders above anyone else in the area in terms of strength,” said one major league scout. “He also has good hands, good arm strength and he swings the bat well. Put that all together and you have a pretty good prospect.”

Magdaleno has been an impact player for Baldwin Park since his freshman season, when he was called up to the varsity after the regular shortstop injured his hand. Magdaleno batted .300. He also served notice that the shortstop position would be his for the next three years.

“There was no reason to be intimidated,” Magdaleno said. “Everything felt natural. It was just baseball, something I had been doing all my life.”

Magdaleno batted .418 as a sophomore and .490 last season when the Braves won the Sierra League title. After the season, he played in the Area Code all-star games and for a U.S. junior team that played a goodwill series against teams from Korea and Japan.

“Throughout his career here, he has given us whatever we need,” Baldwin Park baseball Coach Kevin Smith said.

Magdaleno’s decision to play football was not surprising. He played the sport as a freshman and was eager to join friends on a team that figured to rely on the pass.

“He came up to me and said, ‘What do you think coach?’ ” Smith said. “I said, ‘It’s your decision and I think you’ll have a lot of fun playing football.’

“As a baseball coach, you worry. But kids need to do as many things as they can when they are in high school. At our school, we don’t have a group of football, basketball and baseball players. Everyone plays everything.”

Magdaleno was one of several talented receivers who caught a total of more than 40 passes during the Braves’ drive to the Southern Section championship.

“At the beginning, I think he was kind of wondering, ‘What’s happening here? Am I going to mess up a possible baseball career,’ ” Baldwin Park football Coach Tony Zane said. “But after that first game, he was as aggressive as heck, not only catching passes but tackling people after interceptions and recovering fumbles.”

Magdaleno has also put worry aside this baseball season. Many young players are apt to wilt under the pressure of trying to impress professional scouts. Magdaleno, however, seems to have thrived.

“During the summer there were scouts watching my games, so I just told myself I had to get used to it, play my game and not worry about anything,” he said.

“Now I’m looking forward to see what will happen. I want to start (playing professionally), but it depends on what round I’m drafted in.”