Close friends off the baseball field, San Benito High seniors Dylan Yamasaki and Greg Steinbeck share many things in common, including rebounding from disappointment.
A year ago, neither player was having much fun. Steinbeck, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound right-hander, tore a muscle in his bicep and strained a ligament — both on his pitching arm — in the first game of the season.
Just like that, his season was done.
“I threw a pitch and heard a snap in my elbow,” Steinbeck said. “The pain was pretty excruciating. After I got the MRI (a week later) and learned I was going to be out for the whole season, it was brutal.”
Yamasaki, a 5-11, 170-pound right fielder who will be playing at Chico State in 2015, was healthy last year but mired in a funk. He hit .274, with five doubles, no triples and no home runs. Decent numbers, but not close enough to meet Yamasaki’s expectations.
Any mention of last season, and Yamasaki can turn downright moody.
“Last year wasn’t much fun at all,” said Yamasaki, who has been on an absolute tear this season, as he entered the week with a .536 average, 15 hits, two home runs, 11 RBI, while putting up monster slugging (.838), on-base percentage (.571) and OPS (1.410) numbers for a San Benito squad that was 9-2 overall and 7-0 in Monterey Bay League Gabilan Division play entering Wednesday’s game against Palma.
“I was pretty disappointed with last year, just getting into the flow of varsity baseball. Real disappointing season. I just had to set it behind me.”
Yamasaki had to overcome his own bout with injuries as a sophomore, when he suffered a bulging disc in his back while playing on the junior varsity football team.
“I had to quit football because of it, and it was heartbreaking,” Yamasaki said. “But baseball has always been my favorite sport, and now my focus is all on baseball and trying to get as far as I can with it.”
Steinbeck and Yamasaki have both rebounded from a tough 2013 season with rousing success. Yamasaki is putting up monster numbers, and Steinbeck has been straight filthy, to use a baseball term.
Entering the week, Steinbeck had allowed no runs and just two hits in 17 innings, compiling a 3-0 record with 22 strikeouts. Steinbeck threw 5 2/3 innings of no-hit ball in a 5-0 win over Salinas on March 21.
In that same game, Yamasaki came within a double of hitting for the cycle, as he produced a single, triple, home run and drove in three runs. Even though Steinbeck came within four outs of a no-hitter, it probably wasn’t even his best performance of the season.
In a 6-4 win over Gilroy on March 11, Steinbeck struck out nine of the 14 batters he faced in four innings of dominating relief.
“I think he struck out the first seven hitters he faced. It was crazy,” San Benito coach Billy Aviles said. “Greg pretty much manhandled them.”
Said Steinbeck: Everything was working that day. My (two-seam) fastball, change-up and curve were all on.”
Steinbeck’s fastball, while not overpowering — he throws in the mid-80s — has a devastating effect on opposing hitters because of its late movement (it runs into and jams right-handed batters and tails away from lefties).
Yamasaki combines tremendous instincts in the field with a strong arm. Runners have tested his arm on occasion, without much success.
“I like to prevent runners from getting extra bases, whether they’re trying to extend a single into a double, a double into a triple or if they’re tagging up,” he said.
In the offseason, the two standouts didn’t sulk about their situations; rather, they had a singular focus to come back stronger than ever for the 2014 season. Steinbeck spent three months of doing arm therapy, which consisted of constant icing and stretching exercises.
“Rehab was more painful mentally than physically,” he said. “It was just scary, knowing something could be taken away from you in an instant. I was really looking forward to my junior season, and I knew I had to come back this year stronger than ever.”
Disgusted with the way last year went, Yamasaki attacked the off-season in much the same manner as when he sees a hanging curveball — he swings for the fences. Yamasaki started lifting weights for the first time on a regular basis, and added 10 pounds to his frame.
“The entire off-season was focused on getting stronger and getting better, mainly with my hitting,” said Yamasaki, who plays for Trosky Baseball in San Jose, a competitive traveling program. “We’d have practices every Wednesday (during the summer), and go to games or showcases on weekends.”
Yamasaki also spent a ton of time in the batting cages, honing his swing through hours of repetition. It’s apparent all of Yamasaki’s hard work has paid off, as he’s made tremendous strides in every phase of the game.
Steinbeck and Yamasaki also are similar in that they have strong athletic genes in their family. Steinbeck’s grandfather, Pete Palmer, played baseball at USF. Yamasaki’s dad, Eric, was a first baseman at San Jose State.
Having gone from disappointment to having career years, Steinbeck and Yamasaki hope to finish their high school careers on top, culminating with a Central Coast Section Division I championship.
Whatever happens, Steinbeck and Yamasaki can take satisfaction in the fact they’ve rebounded from adversity.
“What a difference a year makes,” Steinbeck said. “From being out for the year to doing what I’m doing now, it’s pretty satisfying to see how far we’ve come.”
