All-Star Team: A Mound of Talent : Baseball: Crenshaw, South Gate and Verbum Dei pitchers are named to the squad. Roosevelt’s Ruiz, South Gate’s Ryan are the year’s top player and coach.

The 1992-93 baseball season marked the year of the pitcher.

Shutouts and no-hitters were the benchmarks for the season. The dominance from the mound is reflected in the inaugural City Times all-star baseball team, which includes three pitchers.

Leading the list is Crenshaw senior Mark Jones, who was selected City Times pitcher of the year. Jones went 16-0 during the regular season to lead the Cougars to the City Section 3-A Division finals for the second consecutive season.

Jones suffered his only loss of the year in the finals, losing 9-5 to South Gate. But that defeat did not diminish a year in which Jones posted a 1.00 earned run average, highlighted by back-to-back no-hit performances against San Pedro and Gardena. Jones was voted most valuable player in the City Section 3-A Division.

Roosevelt third baseman Ramon Ruiz was named the City Times Player of the Year, and South Gate’s Mike Ryan, who led the Rams (26-5) to the City 3-A championship, is Coach of the Year.

The other members of the first team are:

Peter Cervantes, Lincoln--Cervantes was named to the 3-A team and to the All-Northeast League first team. The senior center fielder batted .477 with one home run and 30 RBIs. Cervantes had at least one hit in all but two of Lincoln’s games and had a team-best 20-game hitting streak.

Roland Gomez, Bell--The senior second baseman made his third consecutive appearance on the 3-A team. Gomez was also named to the All-Southeastern Conference team for the fourth year in a row. Gomez batted .429 with two home runs and 16 RBIs, stole 15 bases and made only two errors during the season.

Dion Jackson, Verbum Dei--The senior pitcher had a 7-4 record with an ERA of 0.88. Jackson batted .450 on the year with three home runs. He was named to the All-Santa Fe League first team for the third consecutive year and was selected league Most Valuable Player.

Alonso Lopez, South Gate--He helped the Rams finish atop the league. Lopez was the ace of the staff, finishing the regular season with an 11-0 record and a 1.81 ERA. The junior right-hander struck out 57 batters, walked 13 and pitched seven complete games. Lopez was also named to the 3-A team.

Pedro Loza, Bell Gardens--The junior outfielder, who batted .526 with 14 RBIs, was selected to the All-Almont League first team. He was most effective on the base paths, where he stole 32 bases in 35 attempts, including 27 straight in league play.

Jose Montenegro, South Gate--The junior shortstop was named Co-Player of the Year, along with Roosevelt’s Ramon Ruiz, in the Southeastern Conference. Montenegro led the Rams in batting average and RBIs, hitting .444 and driving in 34 runs. Montenegro was also a 3-A selection.

Terrance Parker, Washington--The senior shortstop hit .423 with three home runs and 17 RBIs. Parker stole 15 of 16 bases on the season and was 4-3 as a pitcher. He was named to the All-Southern League first team and was also a member of the 3-A team.

Wesley Rachels, Loyola--Rachels was a unanimous All-Mission League first-team selection for the second consecutive season. The junior shortstop hit .493 with 30 RBIs, four home runs, nine stolen bases and had a .746 slugging percentage. He was Loyola’s leader in each of these categories. Rachels was also nominated to Collegiate Baseball’s High School All-America Team as an honorable mention selection.

Ramon Ruiz, Roosevelt--Ruiz led the Southeastern Conference in hitting with an astonishing .606 batting average. He also had 10 home runs and 45 RBIs. The senior third baseman was named to the All-City Section 3-A team and was “the best player I have ever had,” according to Coach Ernie Rodriguez. Ruiz was named City Times Player of the Year.

Filiberto Valido, Huntington Park--The All-Southeastern Conference first-team selection had the highest batting average among catchers in the conference at .427. Valido also hit three home runs and had 21 RBIs. The senior was also named to the 3-A team.

Aaron Willard, Crenshaw--The senior leadoff hitter batted .380 with two home runs and eight RBIs. Willard was arguably the best defensive outfielder in the city. He made first-team All-Southern Pacific Conference honors and was also selected to the 3-A team.

Mike Ryan, South Gate--The Rams’ coach was named the first City Times Coach of the Year. Ryan has been the varsity baseball coach at South Gate for six years, during which he has amassed an overall record of 101-37. The Rams have made the playoffs every year of Ryan’s coaching tenure. South Gate made it to the 3-A semifinals in 1989 and 1990, and they defeated Crenshaw in the City final this year for the school’s first championship.

1993 PREP BASEBALL ALL CITY TEAM Name: Mark Jones School: Crenshaw Position: Pitcher Year: Senior ERA: 1.00 *Name: Alonso Lopez School: South Gate Position: Pitcher Year: Junior ERA: 1.81 *Name: Filiberto Valido School: Huntington Park Position: Catcher Year: Senior AVG.: .427 *Name: Jose Montenegro School: South Gate Position: Infielder Year: Senior AVG.: .500 *Name: Ramon Ruiz School: Roosevelt Position: Infielder Year: Senior AVG.: .606 *Name: Roland Gomez School: Bell Position: Infielder Year: Senior AVG.: .429 *Name: Peter Cervantes School: Lincoln Position: Outfielder Year: Senior AVG.: .477 *Name: Wesley Rachels School: Loyola Position: Infielder Year: Senior AVG.: .493 *Name: Pedro Loza School: Bell Gardens Position: Utility Year: Junior AVG.: .526 *Name: Aaron Willard School: Crenshaw Position: Outfielder Year: Senior AVG.: .380 *Name: Terrance Parker School: Washington Position: Outfielder Year: Senior AVG.: .423 *Name: Dion Jackson School: Verbum Dei Position: Pitcher Year: Senior ERA: 0.88

City Times Second Team

PLAYER POSITION SCHOOL YEAR AVG./ERA Jorge Arellano Infielder Jefferson Senior .439 Hector Chavez Infielder Locke Senior .483 Dustin Engel Outfielder Loyola Senior .425 Ed Fernandez Infielder Salesian Junior .345 Smiley Lopez Outfielder South Gate Senior .375 Fidencio Madero Infielder Wilson Senior .487 Jesse Monares Pitcher Roosevelt Senior 1.85 John Moreno Pitcher Bell Senior 0.90 Damien Porter Outfielder Crenshaw Senior .360 Gerardo Reyes Infielder Fremont Senior .420 Alex Rodriguez Catcher Roosevelt Junior .372 Jesse Torres DH South Gate Junior .427