Picking It Up, Going Along

The baseball skills Alex Gonzalez learned in his native Mexico easily translated when he moved to the United States.

But the language barrier was as difficult to overcome as trying to hit a 100-mph fastball.

Gonzalez spoke virtually no English when his family moved to Montebello in 2000, before the start of his freshman year of high school.

At first, Gonzalez clung to Spanish like a security blanket. It wasn’t long, however, before his baseball coaches at Montebello High decided to pull it away. Coaches and players would address Gonzalez only in English, and he could answer only in English.

“Right away, we told him, ‘Hey, you’ve got to learn the language in this country. If not, you’re going to struggle,’ ” Montebello Coach Rafael Gutierrez said.

Gonzalez, now a senior, has come a long way since then. He speaks Spanish on those rare occasions when he can’t come up with a translation.

“He even cheers in English,” Gutierrez said.

A good deal of Montebello’s cheering this season has been for Gonzalez, who has excelled as a leadoff hitter, center fielder and relief pitcher.

He is batting .514 with 32 runs and 15 stolen bases -- all team bests -- for the Oilers (17-6, 11-3 in the league), who have clinched at least a tie for their second consecutive Almont League title and can win it outright with a victory at home Friday against second-place Bell Gardens in a league finale.

A three-year varsity starter, Gonzalez said his family made the sacrifice to move to the U.S. so he could “become a better baseball player.”

Shortly after he started playing baseball at age 7, Gonzalez said his father, Hiram, told him that the family, which includes mother Maria and older sisters Ruth and Alma, would eventually leave Mexico.

“He said it would be better for me to play in the United States,” Alex said.

With his smooth swing, strong throwing arm and above-average speed, Gonzalez quickly made an impact playing for Montebello’s freshman team.

He was brought up to the varsity as a sophomore, starting in left field. Coaches admired Gonzalez’s play, but they grew weary of having to speak to him in Spanish, even though all of the coaches and players at the school, which is about 95% Latino, can speak Spanish.

“Everybody else spoke English and everybody stopped to talk to him in Spanish,” Gutierrez recalled. “I told him that I grew up speaking Spanish, and the only way I learned was by speaking English with neighbors and friends. Little by little, you pick up the language.

“I told him, ‘I don’t care if it makes you feel uncomfortable. But you’ve got to get used to it.’ ”

Gonzalez laughed at the memory of suddenly being immersed in English on the baseball team. At the time, nearly all of his classes were taught in Spanish.

“It was very difficult,” he said. “My coaches would always get on me. They’d speak to me in English, and I was like, ‘What?’ But I had to learn.”

Sometimes instructions would get lost in translation. Gonzalez recalled a game when a coach called for him to bunt. The only problem was that Gonzalez had no idea what “bunt” meant.

Thinking the coach had called for a hit-and-run play, Gonzalez swung and missed the ball. The coach told him to step out of the batter’s box and explained to him in Spanish.

Mostly, though, the team adhered to its English-only rule.

“Once in a while he’d answer us in Spanish, and we’d be like, ‘What’d you say?’ ” Gutierrez recalled. “He’d get embarrassed. He just had to try.”

Quiet and humble, Gonzalez good-naturedly endured the playful teasing.

“At first it was a struggle for him to speak English, but being around us, he got the hang of it,” said senior Oscar DeLeon, who, like Gonzalez, is a three-year starter.

Gonzalez, 5 feet 10 and 155 pounds, has demonstrated his resourcefulness in other areas. After exclusively batting right-handed as a sophomore, he started switch-hitting as a junior after coaches noticed he had a natural left-handed swing. This season, nearly all of his at-bats have been from the left side. He throws right-handed.

Though his English has improved dramatically in the last two years, Gonzalez knows he still has a long way to go. He hopes to continue his education and baseball career next fall at East Los Angeles College, with an eye toward eventually playing at a four-year college.

“I’m going to keep working hard,” he said. “That’s what it’s all about.”