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Thursday, April 24, 2008

Pinto Aims for the Big Leagues

By Harold Smith/
Mountain View Telegraph
      Ben Gonzales looked tired.
       Moriarty High’s star center fielder and left-handed pitcher sat in the corner of the dugout after the conclusion of the Pintos’ doubleheader sweep at Albuquerque Academy on Saturday. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound senior had given his all.
       “He was exhausted,” said his mother, Erma Gonzales. “I thought he might pass out. When he was 15, his (club) team won a national Super Series (tournament), and he blacked out on the field. I think he thought he might do that again.”
       Ben Gonzales, not one to readily expound on his achievements anyway, didn’t say a word after his team edged the rival Chargers 8-7 and 12-11 in a crucial District 5-4A twinbill.
       But the 18-year-old, who signed in November with both the University of New Mexico and New Mexico Junior College, did sit down for an interview on Friday, after some urging.
       The first-team, all-state outfielder — he also was a first-team, all-state running back — has hopes of being drafted by a Major League Baseball organization. Though he was one of the keys to Moriarty’s victories in the second game as the winning pitcher, he wants to play in the outfield as a pro.
       “I love to hit the ball,” he said. “And I love playing the field.”
       Gonzales, the Pintos’ leading rusher for Moriarty’s football team this past fall, can cover some ground. He makes plays on fly balls like an interceptor missile.
       “Mostly, you need to see the ball right away off the bat and get a good jump off and then know how to catch the ball, just squeeze it when it comes into the glove,” he said. “You usually take the first step back (to avoid misjudging the flight of the ball). That’s what they teach us.”
       Gonzales has extraordinary athletic ability. But what makes him special is that he has come this far despite the death of his father, Bobby, of Lou Gehrig’s disease when the younger Gonzales was only in the sixth grade.
       “His dad would be very proud of him,” Erma Gonzales said. “He used to come to all the games in a wheelchair. Ben started playing when he was 3 years old. They let him play T-ball at 3 years old. He was around baseball at an early age. Ben had a (solo) triple play at that age. I had it on film, but the film got cut.”
       Pro scouts have been observing.
       “I’ve heard that the Red Sox, White Sox, Blue Jays, Marlins and Padres have been out to watch me,” he said. “The White Sox and Blue Jays talked to me. They watched me take some batting practice when we played Highland.”
       But he said the attention doesn’t make him nervous.
       “I feel that I can make it to the big show,” he said quietly.
       The Pintos look to him for leadership.
       “It’s been pretty tough,” he said. “We know we’re good. We haven’t come through (prior to Saturday). But I think our time will come.”
       Harold Smith can be reached by phone at 823-7104 or by e-mail at hsmith@mvtelegraph.com.>   

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