Two local teen-aged baseball players did some serious traveling
this summer. Breyon Canez and Kevin Medeiros, both14, were selected
to prestigious youth baseball All-Star teams. The pair held their
own and then some.
Medeiros, a freshman at San Benito High School, played for Team
USA’s 14-and-under team at the Pan American Games in Mexico City.
Canez, a sophomore who also attends SBHS, played for the Northern
California 15-and-under team at tournaments in Tucson, Ariz. and
Marietta, Ga.
Two local teen-aged baseball players did some serious traveling this summer. Breyon Canez and Kevin Medeiros, both14, were selected to prestigious youth baseball All-Star teams. The pair held their own and then some.
Medeiros, a freshman at San Benito High School, played for Team USA’s 14-and-under team at the Pan American Games in Mexico City. Canez, a sophomore who also attends SBHS, played for the Northern California 15-and-under team at tournaments in Tucson, Ariz. and Marietta, Ga.
Medeiros earned his spot at the suggestion of the Hardtke World of Baseball School in San Jose, where Medeiros is a paying student. American Baseball Development, based in Southern California, called Hardtke and asked for a 14-year-old. Hardtke suggested Medeiros.
Medeiros was one of 18 players invited to a two-day tryout, and all 18 were invited to the traveling team, though only 12 played.
The Pan Am Games were held in Santa Domingo, but the younger baseball divisions were in Mexico City. It was the first time Medeiros had ventured south of the border.
“It was really different,” Medeiros said. “There were so many poor people out on the street begging. People around here don’t realize how good they have it.”
The Medeiros’ family stayed at the Hotel Diplomatico.
“It was a nice hotel,” said Joyce Medeiros, Kevin’s mom and a teacher at San Juan Middle School. “The stadium was three miles away. We didn’t see Kevin that much. We had heard about the crime down there, but we stayed out of situations where it could happen.”
Joyce laughs at the height limit restrictions on players. Kevin stands at 5-10 3/4, the maximum height. Pitchers, however, had a 5-10 maximum height. Medeiros pitched some, along with playing in the outfield.
“His coach had Kevin crouched down a little when they measured players,” laughed Joyce.
Medeiros also swung the bat well, going 6-for-15 at the plate with a double.
Team USA went 3-1 in pool play, defeating Aruba, Guatamala and the Bahamas and losing to Venezuela 11-2. In bracket play, it lost a tight 6-4 game to Honduras before routing Guatamala 11-1 to capture fifth place.
Canez earned his spot playing for the Silicon Valley Renegades, a select travel team based in San Jose. He got a call to tryout for the NorCal team at Ohlone Community College in Fremont.
“We weren’t supposed to get called for two weeks and they called me in two days saying I made the team,” said the lanky Canez. “I was shocked.”
“It’s the next level up,” said Canez’ father, Mike, about NorCal team. “It’s real organized and the competition is stiff.”
Breyon and the Northern California team first went to the Junior Olympics in Tucson, Ariz. to play in a 72-team 16-and-under tournament. The NorCal 15s took a remarkable fifth place, finishing ahead of the NorCal 16-and-under team, though the two teams didn’t play each other.
Then it was on to the Perfect Game National Wood Bat Tournament in Marietta, Ga. The select team placed second out of the 12 teams entered, losing to the East Cobb Aztecs 5-4 in the championship game. Canez pitched into the fifth inning and was pulled with his club leading 3-1.
“I walked a couple of guys,” said Canez as to why he was pulled.
One of the highlights for Canez was hitting a grand slam in an 8-0 win over a team from Louisiana. He also had a save in another game.
“Breyon is a talented young guy,” said NorCal coach Gary Hanks. “He has the talent to go on to play at the next level. He’s a hard-working kid with heart and desire. Once he fills out and gets stronger, he’ll be even better.”
