Stanford Education Is Payoff for Molina

Jose Molina starts every school day with the same instructions to his son, Randy.

“I say, ‘Work hard and stay out of trouble,’ ” Jose said.

When his son tells him, “Dad, I know,” Jose responds, “Randy, that’s my job to remind you every day school is to learn.”

Jose Molina should be a father-of-the-year candidate, considering what his son has accomplished.

Randy has a 3.97 grade-point average at South Gate High. He is a 6-foot-3, 210-pound senior with outstanding baseball skills. He was an All-City infielder last season who batted above .400.

On Wednesday, Randy will sign a letter of intent with Stanford, fulfilling a family goal made more remarkable by the fact his mother and father came from Mexico, spoke no English and had little formal education.

“My mom went up to sixth grade and my dad fourth or fifth grade,” Randy said. “It’s been hard work since the day he got here, keeping me and my brothers on the right track. I can’t put in words how hard he’s worked.”

Jose and his wife, Bertha, own a two-bedroom house in South Gate and have raised three sons. The oldest is 29 and works for a bank. The middle son is 28, has two children and is an electrician. Then there’s the baby, Randy, 17, who wants to be a major leaguer but knows what education means to his parents.

He thought of his parents’ sacrifice while walking around the Stanford campus last month on a recruiting visit.

“I was definitely thinking that nobody else in my family was able to do this and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them,” he said.

Randy doesn’t require daily reminders to study or avoid trouble because he has never been in trouble and always studies. But Jose feels it’s part of his fatherly obligations to keep stressing his expectations.

“There’s a time to learn and a time to fool around,” Jose said.

Said Randy: “I’m staying focused with what I have to do, and it’s an idea my dad instilled early in life, telling me to work hard so later on it will be easier because he has to work 10 times as hard now to get by because he didn’t get the education.”

His father has trusted his youngest so much that he wrote a $400 check for him to attend the Stanford baseball camp during the summer, even though there was no guarantee Randy’s presence would translate into a scholarship.

“My dad had to bite the bullet and write the check,” Randy said. “It was a big gamble.”

Jose works for a towing company after spending more than 20 years working for a furniture business. Randy admires his dedication to family and respects his judgment.

Asked if he worries what his father would do if he broke any family rules, Randy said, “It’s not what he would do to me. It’s what he would stop doing for me. If I need cleats and I’m getting in trouble, he wouldn’t go to the trouble of buying me cleats.”

Baseball is what Randy loves.

“It’s been my dream since I picked up a baseball to be a major leaguer,” he said.

Teachers at South Gate joke with him about remembering them and getting them tickets when he’s playing for the Dodgers or Angels.

Professional scouts could try to sign Randy next June, but his father makes it clear that passing up a Stanford education isn’t going to happen unless the signing bonus is very lucrative.

“You can give him a million in cash and it could be spent, but if you can give him an education, no one can take it away,” he said.

While Jose has been the one whispering and shouting encouragement into his son’s ears, Randy was the one making the right choices.

“Playing baseball as much as I did, there was always that obstacle of getting my homework done and going to sleep early,” he said. “It goes back to sacrifice, giving up going to movies with friends to finish a paper.”

Few families will be celebrating as much Wednesday than the Molinas when Randy signs with Stanford.

“I’m crying right now,” Jose said. “I’m very proud.”

Asked how he pulled it off, Randy said, “I guess in the words of my Dad, ‘Working hard and staying out of trouble.’ ”

Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.