Movin’ on up!

Photo / William Wilczewski

Nogales Tribe club team (Ariz.) and Nogales High School catcher Gabriel Mada signed a scholarship on Jan. 15 to play for the South Mountain Community College Cougars in Phoenix next season after he graduates in May.

Movin’ on up!

Senior catcher has future lined up in PHX

Feature story by William Wilczewski

Imagine, if you will, being a reporter in his 40s—(ME!)—and getting blown off by a high school senior baseball player.

Okay, a Nogales (Ariz.) catcher didn’t actually blow me off on Wednesday, but if HE had, I couldn’t do much about it anyway because not only is Gabriel Mada as big as a Jiffy Lube (actually, 6-foot, 195 pounds), but also—like he always is—Mada was getting ready to play ball—this time for the Nogales Tribe club team—and he wasn’t about to be distracted.

Mada, though, is also the-coming-on-fourth-year varsity Nogales High School catcher and third baseman whose unreal and reporter-dodging work ethic—coupled with his talent—has paid off more than Desert Diamond Casino.

You see, the youngster signed a scholarship on Jan. 15 to play next year for the South Mountain Community College Cougars in Phoenix—his second home, as well as that of his parents Gabriel Sr. and Marbella, who have spent the last four years traveling the state and beyond showcasing their son’s left-handed bat, and catching and third base skills.

“He’s always working out,” club team and Nogales High head coach O.J. Favela explained. “He lifts weights. I don’t even think he’s had weights at the school, but you look at his frame and you know he’s always working out and running, hitting and doing other things—and yeah, this exposure isn’t important to him. Baseball’s important, and that’s always been his attitude as long as I’ve known him; since he was a little kid.

“He’s definitely one of the guys that loves the game,” Favela added, “and he’ll hopefully thrive with this opportunity.”

If Mada continues to play like he has—especially like he did at the Martin Luther King Southwest Classic in Phoenix on Jan. 19—he will likely more than thrive.

“It’s the most consistent I’ve seen him in a six-game period,” Favela said. “His leadership is also what really impressed me. Not only the things he’s saying … but he’d get his glove and just sprint out to third base and he’d sprint in—and he played every single inning. I mean, he didn’t complain, when other kids, you see they got tired. But his leadership was just unbelievable, and I can see the potential of what could occur these next few months.

“I’ve been waiting to see the consistency,” Favela added, “and as far as the performance goes, he’s had his moments of brilliance and super-stardom.”

In fact, in the MLKSWC, Mada had the Tribe’s high batting average, although Favela didn’t know it exactly off-hand.

“But baseball’s about peaks and valleys,” the skipper said, “so it’s how soon he’s going to get out of those valleys and stay on top of his game, but he’s definitely put in the time, so I’m happy for him and his family, because it’s a big commitment; going all over the place. It’s a big financial commitment, too.”

That commitment has seen Mada routinely travel to Tucson and Phoenix, including the Junior Olympic Tournament for the last three years, plus the Arizona Junior Sunbelt (Midwestern) Tournament.

“And he’s been a mainstay for the Apaches for the past three years (and going on four),” Favela said, “but he’s played a lot of baseball in a lot of other places with club teams.

“It’s about the exposure; you put yourself out there,” he added. “You never know, and the more chances you give yourself and the more exposure you give yourself, the better chance you get to sign with a team or a school. The fruits of the labor are paying off.”

Those same fruits gave Mada a .308 batting average last season, which the youngster was more disappointed with then a box of fireworks getting wet, according to Favela, “but even so, his performance and what he did in big games; that’s what why the coaches from Phoenix called me and said, ‘Hey, we want your catcher up here.’ And he’s been a good role model for the kids.”

SIDENOTE: Those kids are still warming up, so Mada is still blowing me off …

What SMCC head coach Todd Eastin saw in Mada, aside from raw talent, was his big frame—another advantage No. 23 has over some other prospects—along with his 3.8 GPA and 1190 SAT score.

“You see, a left-handed hitting catcher with his size, obviously it’s a plus,” Favela said of Jiffy Lube, “and he can also play third base. But, a left-handed hitting catcher that can hit for power is a big plus—and that’s what scouts want … maybe because porches are shorter in right field for most teams, but he’s got a really good frame.”

Mada also has a quiet and humble soul, so when he was done warming up, he FINALLY came over to talk …

“He’s just excited having me, signing a catcher and left-handed hitter, too,” the senior said of a recent conversation he had with Eastin. “He’s just looking forward to next year like me.

“It felt great,” he added about signing day, “All that hard work came out in something, so I’m just going to keep working hard, and hopefully have a good year next year and sign with a D-I college after those two years. I just want to play baseball. I want to be a pro, just so I can keep going at it.”

But, can he keep up the consistency that Favela mentioned in regards to the MLKSWC?

“You have to keep working,” Mada said. “It’s an every day process, because if you stop working on something, you lose it; the momentum that comes easy with practice and practice and practice.

“You (also) just have to keep doing your homework, and especially listening in class,” he added. “I want to get those good grades in class next year, too, so I can keep going and keep playing baseball.”

When he keeps playing next season, though, Mada—who also had offers from Odessa CC (Texas), Cochise CC, Yuma CC and Pima CC—will have to ditch the maroon and gold uniform he’d worn for four full years for royal blue and black.

“It’s no big deal,” he said after a short pause, “but I thought, hopefully for (my junior and senior) years, I can go to the same (maroon and gold) colors again for (D-I) ASU.

“I just want this year to be over with,” he added, “so I can go play (college ball).”

‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, there, Gabe!’ I said. ‘What about the coming season for the Apaches?’

His reply: “I want to just make the team better so hopefully we can go to the playoffs (which we missed last year),” he said, eyeing his teammates taking the field—and giving me the hint that he needed to get out there with them. “We have a pretty good pitching staff—and hitting, too.”

I wasn’t quite done yet, though, because I had two more IMPORTANT questions: ‘What do your parents think about of all this?’ was the first.

“They feel pretty proud of me,” he said. “They just want me to keep going and just follow my dream.”

Second question: ‘What’s that around your neck?’ I asked him pointing at the Eskimo- or Native American-type medallion and necklace he’s had around that tree stump of his for about a year now.

“My Dad gave it to me,” he said. “It (symbolizes) protection, courage and strength—and I always play with it. It’s like a good luck charm.”

Seems like it’s been working pretty good so far, huh?