Pitcher’s Diligence Duly Appreciated

As a young boy in Cuba, Robert Vargas remembers playing baseball in the streets with an improvised and crude collection of equipment.

Rolled-up socks were used as baseballs. Pieces of lumber were carved into bats. Bare hands outnumbered those wearing gloves.

“You had to make your own stuff,” Vargas recalled. “If you wanted a scooter, you basically had to build it out of wood.”

That do-it-yourself spirit has served Vargas well in the United States, helping the Alhambra High senior overcome obstacles to become a respected student and one of the top pitchers in the San Gabriel Valley.

The 5-foot-9, 198-pound right-hander has a 4-1 record, a 2.21 earned-run average and is among the Southland’s leaders in strikeouts with 55 in 31 2/3 innings.

He wasn’t always a power pitcher but through hard work was able to improve his strength and endurance in the last two years.

Alhambra Coach Steve Gewecke said Vargas’ success was the result of following instructions and applying them to his daily routine.

“He does what you ask him to do,” Gewecke said. “It’s amazing how much better he’s gotten in a short amount of time.”

Vargas’ diligence extends beyond the baseball field.

Gewecke calls Vargas “Mr. Alhambra” because of his school pride -- he wears his letterman’s jacket even on hot days -- and the way he reaches out to others.

“When he walks down campus, everybody knows him,” Gewecke said. “He says hello to everybody.

“His teachers love him to death because he works hard and participates in class. He’s just your all-American kid.”

However, Vargas knew little of American ways when he and his family moved to Alhambra from Cuba eight years ago, when he was 9. His family already had relatives living in the Alhambra area.

Vargas remembers flying into Los Angeles for the first time.

“In Cuba, you don’t see a lot of lights,” he said. “Coming in on the plane, we looked down and saw a bunch of lights. I was just amazed by it.”

Vargas also was dumbstruck by the variety of food and goods found in U.S. stores, compared to those in Cuba. He vividly recalled the first time he went to a supersized toy store.

“My eyes got all big,” he said. “I just wanted to take the whole store with me.”

When Vargas came to the U.S., he knew two words of English: mother and father. But it didn’t take him long to learn a new language. Within two years, by the time he was in sixth grade, he was able to converse in English, he said.

He also jumped right into Little League baseball. Vargas’ uncle gave him his first glove, and he quickly distinguished himself as a capable player.

But he initially had reservations about being a pitcher.

“I wasn’t going to be a pitcher, because when you watch the major leagues, the pitcher always bats last,” he said.

Vargas changed his mind when coaches assured him that pitchers did not have to bat ninth in the order.

He bats cleanup for Alhambra and is hitting .340 with four doubles and nine runs batted in. He plays third base when not pitching. The Moors (10-5, 3-2 in league play) are in second place in the Almont League, a game behind Montebello.

Several colleges have expressed interest in Vargas as a pitcher, Gewecke said, including Kentucky, UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Los Angeles and Cal Baptist.

It wasn’t until last year at this time that Vargas showed he could be a dominant pitcher at the varsity level. After struggling early in his junior season, Vargas said he responded to a challenge from Gewecke.

“Coach told me he was going to send me down” to junior varsity, he said. “I was like, ‘Whoa, I’ve got to step it up.’ ”

Vargas slowed down his delivery, and the results were immediate -- he struck out 12 in a game against Lancaster Paraclete. This season, he had 14 strikeouts against Montebello Schurr in a league opener March 19, and he struck out 11 while throwing two-hitters against El Monte Mountain View on March 12 and against Pasadena Muir on March 5 in the Arcadia Elks tournament.

“It helped me stay back and not lunge forward,” Vargas said of slowing his pitching motion. “It relaxes me. Sometimes when I’m pitching, the intensity gets to me. I get so pumped up, I start throwing too quick.”

Vargas says he feels in command on the mound.

“I love pitching; I feel so powerful,” he said. “The batter has to hit what I throw. I get up there and say, ‘Oh, man, you’re not going to touch this.’ ”

Gewecke, a former relief pitcher for USC, said Vargas’ confidence and leadership qualities reminded him of one of his Trojan teammates -- Rodney Peete, who played baseball and football at USC before becoming an NFL quarterback.

“He’s macho, but not in a sense of being arrogant,” Gewecke said of Vargas. “It doesn’t matter if you’re the best player on the varsity or the lowest player on the freshman team, Robert treats you the same.

“He lifts everybody’s spirits.”