Feature: Cal’s Daniel Alvarez enjoying solid senior season

California starting pitcher Daniel Alvarez throws against La Serna in the second inning of a prep baseball game at California High School in Whittier , Calif., Wednesday, April 22, 2015. California won 10-4. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/ Pasadena Star-News)

California starting pitcher Daniel Alvarez throws against La Serna in the second inning of a prep baseball game at California High School in Whittier , Calif., Wednesday, April 22, 2015. California won 10-4. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/ Pasadena Star-News)

By Stephen Ramirez

WHITTIER — There hasn’t been a better pitcher in the Del Rio League over the previous two seasons than California’s Daniel Alvarez.
The senior is the league’s two-time reigning Pitcher of the Year, and played a key role in the Condors advancing to the CIF-Southern Section Division 4 quarterfinals last season.
But with success comes expectations, and that’s been Alvarez’s biggest task this spring as he hopes to lead California to another Del Rio League title and another solid run in the postseason.
“He’s doing a good job,” California coach Tony Nieto said. “It’s definitely a challenge every year, because he’s been pitcher of the year two years in a row.
“You can say he has a target on his back, with all the teams wanting to put a notch on their belt, in terms of ‘we got Alvarez.’ But it’s never easy. We’re trying to win ball games and he gives us the best chance. He’s doing a phenomenal job, and we expect a good run from him (the rest of the season), and hopefully an extended run in the playoffs.”
Alvarez has lived up to those expectations. He’s again been arguably the top pitcher in the area. He’s 6-2 and ranks among area leaders with a 1.08 earned run average. He also has 72 strikeouts in 51 innings.
But the senior believes he could have done better earlier, and he’s hoping to pick it up during the final stretch of the season.
“I don’t think I’ve thrown to my ability yet,” said Alvarez, who was 9-3 with a 0.99 ERA last season and 5-1 with a 1.53 ERA in 2013. “It’s been tough living up to the hype. A lot of people know who I am, and I’m trying to not beat myself.”
For the most part, he hasn’t. In his 11 starts, he’s only given up two earned runs or more twice. He has a shutout against Whittier on March 20 and allowed one hit in six innings against the Cardinals on April 15. Both Condor wins.
“He’s tough, he’s tough,” Whittier coach Eric Ramirez said of Alvarez. “He can throw any pitch over the plate at anytime. To me, that’s what a good pitcher does.
“He keeps you off balance. He’s tough to hit. He’s done that for three years. It’s not a fluke, obviously. He’s one of those guys you think you should be able to hit him, but you can’t. He’s had a great career.“
Another part of Alvarez’s strength is that he’s rarely fazed. He was sluggish in a start vs. rival La Serna earlier this week, giving up four runs and seven hits during the first three innings. But he finished strong, giving up just two hits over the final four innings to help the Condors score a key 10-4 victory in their chase for back-to-back league titles.
He feels his best efforts of the season are ahead of him.
“I feel I’m coming back,” Alvarez said. “I just come play my game and do the best I can do.”

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