Ramirez Carries Weight of Success for Rio Mesa

OXNARD — Rio Mesa High pitcher Greg Ramirez is a shining--and shrinking--example of how hard work breeds success.

The 6-foot-3 junior has a 3.93 grade-point average, a region-leading 86 strikeouts and a closet-full of clothes that no longer fit him.

“I was up to 209 [pounds] during Christmas vacation but now I’m down to 182,” said Ramirez, a dedicated off-season weightlifter whose efforts on the diamond wear him down. “I eat as much as I can. But when I’m not pitching, I’m playing left field or I’m running. I can’t help it.”

With a long, lean body, Ramirez (8-2) has become the Spartans’ workhorse, throwing complete games in nine of his 11 starts and averaging between 110-120 pitches per outing.

Ramirez threw 140 pitches in one game and beat Camarillo with a 163-pitch performance in which he grew stronger as the game progressed. He has allowed 68 hits in 68 innings, walked 22 and has a 2.99 earned-run average.

Rio Mesa (21-7) won its ninth Channel League title in 14 seasons and hosts Valencia (16-10), the Foothill League’s third-place team, today at 3:15 p.m. in a Southern Section Division II first-round playoff game.

Ramirez’s skills have impressed opponents. More than one Camarillo player left the batter’s box shaking his head after facing Ramirez last month. Scorpion Coach Scott Cline is a Ramirez fan.

“I think Ramirez and [Thousand Oaks junior] Matt Rogers are the two best pitchers in [Ventura] County,” Cline said. “[Ramirez] can throw any one of three pitches for strikes any time in the count. You go up there against him looking to make contact, not trying to drive something. It’s a different type of philosophy when you face him.”

Hueneme Coach Reg Welker said Ramirez’s command of pitches makes his 85-mph fastball extremely effective.

“He’s not an overpowering guy but he’s fast enough and he can hit the spots all day long,” Welker said.

Ramirez, who began playing baseball at 7 but didn’t pitch regularly until he was 13, unexpectedly made the varsity as a freshman and was 1-2 as the Spartans finished third in the Channel League.

Last season, he matured with an 8-2 record and a 2.17 ERA, helping Rio Mesa tie Hueneme for the league title. He has continued to improve.

“Greg’s into challenges, and when the going’s gotten tough the last two years, he’s stepped up,” Rio Mesa Coach Richad Duran said. “He has a sense of toughness you don’t find in all people. That’s something that will get him to the next level.”

Duran, in his 12th season with the Spartans, ranks Seattle Mariner Bobby Ayala, a 1988 Rio Mesa graduate, as the best pitcher his program has produced. But Duran says Ramirez is farther along than Ayala was as a junior.

“He’s just learning how to pitch, but he’s competitive and he doesn’t let up in situations where other pitchers do,” Duran said. “He doesn’t get excited and he doesn’t throw tantrums; he’s kind of matter-of-fact.”

The only subject that causes Ramirez to become emotional is pitch selection. Duran often allows Ramirez and catcher Isaac Romero to call their own game, but the coach doesn’t hesitate to take over those duties.

“It’s a slow process because he’s learning why and when to throw a certain pitch at a certain time,” Duran said. “When things don’t work out and he gets in a rut, we step in and let him know we’re going to make some calls.”

Ramirez becomes flushed when the subject is brought up.

“It’s kind of hard to see it like that, but I realize learning that way happens to everybody,” he said, smiling. “At least that’s what [the coaches] tell me.”

Because of Ramirez’s endurance, Duran rarely visits the mound to ask for the ball. Duran says Ramirez’s physical conditioning and mechanics allow him to throw more pitches than most of his peers.

“Greg knows himself better than anyone else and he has never done anything other than be honest with me about how he feels,” Duran said. “It’s been a pattern with him to come out and throw a lot of pitches early and then settle down and become more mechanically sound later in the game.

“The brunt of his work tends to come in the first two or three innings, when he’s probably putting more strain on his body than in the last three or four.”

Through hard work, Ramirez has positioned himself to be a sought-after recruit. Stanford, USC, Arizona and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo have shown interest, fueling Ramirez’s big plans.

“I’m going to college, I feel pretty strongly about that,” he said. “I want to get a good education so if I don’t make it [in baseball] or get injured, I’ll have something to fall back on.”