Don’t Sell These Guys Short

They are the size of jockeys but play baseball like teenage mutant infielders.

Marcus Alvarado, 5 feet 2 in cleats and 115 pounds soaking wet, starts at second base for Kennedy High.

The shortstop is his good friend and lunch partner, Manny Bernal, who’s 5-9 and 125 pounds.

“Together, they make a decent-sized linebacker,” Cougar Coach Manny Alvarado said.

At Canyon High, the shortstop is 5-4, 123-pound Ted Atler. The second baseman is 5-9, 125-pound Ben Metcalf.

“There’s not much meat on their bones, but they’re dynamite defensive players, and Ben has been hitting the ball like a wild man,” Cowboy Coach Scott Willis said.

Welcome to the baseball world of short people, where underestimating their ability is the rule but exceeding expectations is the norm.

Look at 5-5, 128-pound senior outfielder Edson Gonzales of Sylmar. At first glance, he’s dismissed as someone who resembles a junior varsity player. But his .389 batting average for the Spartans (7-1) indicates how he plays the game.

“You don’t have to be tall to have a big heart,” Gonzales said. “That’s what makes up for your size. You go hard at everything.

“Small guys don’t hit home runs, they hit for average. My job is to get on base.”

Sylmar Coach Gary Donatella is used to players who are so thin they might be blown away in the wind.

“I tell them to make sure they are hooked up to a fence and to put a few extra baseballs in their pocket,” he said. “You should see some of the guys on the frosh-soph team. I’ve got a 4-11, 90-pound guy.”

Donatella judges players by how hard they work rather than by their size.

“I’ve got a couple small guys on the JV team,” he said. “They’re always diving, always wanting to know about the game.

“They’re going to play varsity baseball someday.”

Canyon’s Metcalf is as fun to watch as it is to hear him speak. He isn’t happy unless his face is covered with dirt.

He talks nonstop and displays an impressive knowledge of baseball slang.

“No one thinks I can go yard,” he said, referring to hitting a ball over a fence. “But I can. I went yard in practice.

“We try hard, us little guys. I don’t wish I’d be bigger, but if I was, I’d hit bombs.”

Atler, Metcalf’s infield mate, doesn’t mind when people joke about their lack of size.

“Some of the umpires say, ‘You’re the smallest infielders I’ve ever seen,’ ” Atler said.

“I kind of like it. Pitchers see me and throw mostly fastballs. That just helps me.”

Asked if he and Metcalf work out in the weight room to develop their muscles, Atler replied, “We lift little dumbbells.”

Don’t laugh. Metcalf is batting .524 with five doubles and Atler is batting .316. That’s the impact of little guys training with dumbbells.

There’s no starting varsity player smaller than Alvarado, the son of Kennedy Coach Manny Alvarado.

Last season, a Chaminade fan yelled, “Who left the hat on the field?” referring to Alvarado.

But Alvarado is one of Kennedy’s strongest players. He works out with the school’s football players and can bench press 225 pounds.

“I try my hardest to compete with the big guys,” said Alvarado, who’s batting .318 in the leadoff spot.

Alvarado and Bernal have strengthened Kennedy’s defense up the middle with their quickness.

“They don’t play small,” Manny Alvarado said. “There’s not an ounce of fat on them.”

Bernal, batting .389, ignores those who judge him based on size.

“People tell you, ‘You can’t do too much,’ but you can’t believe what anybody says,” Bernal said.

“You just have to believe in yourself and you can do anything.”

There are a lot of players who are 140 pounds or under making an impact at the varsity level.

Center fielder Justin Collins (5-8, 140) of Camarillo is a speedster.

Outfielder Ryan Soroka (5-6, 135) of Chaminade is a potential hit machine.

Outfielder Danny Mariscal (5-5, 135) of Burroughs is a sophomore batting .666.

“A lot of people underestimate me,” Metcalf said. “It’s kind of cool.

“I get nice pitches. A lot of pitchers throw me fastballs right down the gut.”

So give those little guys respect.

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Eric Sondheimer’s local column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422.