Weight Loss Led Miranda to Big Gains

Shane Miranda of Camarillo High is roughly 80% of the player he was a year ago.

And that’s a good thing.

At the request of Coach Scott Cline, Miranda lost 40 pounds from last season. The 6-foot-1 senior weighs a svelte 195 pounds and is feeling better than ever.

Miranda, who will play for the West in the 23rd annual Bernie Milligan all-star baseball game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Stengel Field in Glendale, has always had a body built for power hitting.

But he was built for little else during his junior season, when the once-versatile player was relegated to designated hitter.

After batting .365 in what Miranda referred to as a “down” year, he was called into Cline’s office for a chat.

“I told him, ‘They don’t have 235-pound third basemen who are 6-foot-1,’ ” Cline said. “He still had the power, still had the swing, but he needed to get down to 205 to be the most productive and he did it.”

Always big for his age, Miranda weighed 210 pounds as a sophomore, when he pitched and was a part-time first baseman for Camarillo.

But tendinitis in his right elbow left Miranda feeling lost before his junior season. Unable to throw, Miranda lost his position in the field, became depressed and stopped working out.

“I think I just went through a lazy period,” Miranda said. “I think I felt sorry for myself.”

Miranda ballooned to 235 pounds, but Cline didn’t say anything about his weight until after the season.

Miranda, who always dreamed of playing college and professional baseball, took Cline’s advice to heart. He began working out again but didn’t lose weight until he started a protein diet and lost 30 pounds in six weeks.

It was the beginning of Miranda’s comeback.

“It set me back a couple of years,” Miranda said of his weight gain. “I think I had to prove myself after my junior year.”

Although Miranda started slowly this season, he finished strong. He finished batting .418 with 12 doubles, nine home runs and 32 runs batted in, and was chosen Pacific View League co-most valuable player with teammate Garrett Valencia.

UCLA offered a partial scholarship midway through the season and Miranda didn’t balk.

“I’ve always wanted to go to UCLA,” said Miranda, who was wearing a UCLA shirt.

With his weight in check, Miranda, who lost another 10 pounds during the season, is back at the top of his game.

He hopes to parlay his versatility and arm strength into a job as UCLA’s catcher, though he has little experience at the position.

“He hasn’t been back there for a few years, but if he works on a few mechanics here and there, he’s going to be fine,” Cline said.

Miranda has accepted playing catcher as his future.

“It sounds strange, but I always thought that’s where I would end up,” he said. “I always thought that was my most natural position.”

Yet, considering his 84-mph fastball, pitcher could be another.

“He could still end up being a pitcher,” Cline said. “But his bat is going to be in the lineup.

“He has a chance to do some great things at UCLA with his bat. . . . Give him another year or two and he’s going to be someone we’re all reading about.”