Sophomore dream of getting moved up to varsity and for Leyden junior Adrian Perez, the call came about a third of the way through last spring.
The problem was, Perez only needed to bring his glove.
Perez struggled with varsity pitching, so head coach Rob Hamann elected to use a designated hitter for Perez when he was playing center field or occasionally pitching.
“It was mechanics mostly,” Perez said. “I could get away with stuff on the sophomore level, but on the varsity level, the pitching was a lot harder. They’re a lot stronger and they throw a lot more curveballs. I needed to learn to play within myself, trust my hands and stay back on the ball.”
New to the varsity, Perez was fine with his limited role. But after the season ended, he became determined to make an impact at the plate as a junior.
Morning, noon or night, he kept on swinging. The only two days he took off between seasons were Christmas Day and New Years Day.
Whether it was at the batting cages, playing for his club team the Downers Grove Longshots, or summer league games, Perez worked to improve his hitting.
“I loved having a bat in my hand and I wanted to be out here, playing a big role for Leyden,” Perez said. “I didn’t want to just be content with playing center field and getting DH’d for. I wanted to be something more than that.”
Wishes and dreams don’t mean much if they don’t come true. But because of his diligent work, Perez was plopped right into the middle of the order, batting fifth for the varsity early this spring.
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Then his reward got even better. After a hot start, Perez was moved into the clean-up spot.
“I wanted to prove I deserved to be up on varsity,” he said. “This is validation that all my hard work in the offseason paid off.”
Perez, who is also one of Leyden’s top three starting pitchers, is currently hitting around .300 with an on-base percentage about .500.
Coaches and players are impressed with what Perez has been able to provide this season.
“Adrian has really stepped up for us this year,” Hamann said. “He’s made huge strides and that four spot is a hard one because you don’t see many fastballs in the four spot. He’s adjusted well and has been able to recognize (pitches) and still get hits and he’s really become a leader for our team as a junior.”
“We needed a guy like Adrian hitting in our four spot and he’s been doing really good this season,” teammate Matt Bach said. “I think his approach at the plate is more aggressive and he’s more comfortable at the varsity level.”
Having achieved his goal so quickly, Perez hopes to continue improving and find his way onto a Division I team after he graduates in 2016.
Leyden is off to some success early, especially in conference. The Eagles (6-6) lost to Hinsdale Central 14-6 on April 19, but was 5-1 in the West Suburban Gold.
Valentin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.