EDINBURG — Rudy Gonzalez proved to be “Mr. Reliable” during his time suiting up at catcher for the Edinburg Vela SaberCats.
This past season, Gonzalez stepped up as a leader to play lights out as Vela’s backstop, helping lead the SaberCats to the regional quarterfinal round of the Class 6A playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
“It’s a great honor. We had a great season, we had a lot of ups and downs and started off not the way we wanted to, but ended off better than we could have ever asked for,” said Gonzalez, The Monitor’s 2022 All-Area Baseball Defensive Player of the Year.
“I was trying to be the leader that Vela needed because Vela has always had great leaders. It seemed like this year, we were missing it, so I tried filling that spot and it led to defensive player of the year.”
Gonzalez, a three-year letterman, posted a 1.000% fielding percentage as Vela’s catcher during the 2022 season and was a pitcher’s best friend as a wall behind the plate. He also hit .353 with 36 hits, seven runs, 27 RBIs, eight doubles and three triples.
He helped the SaberCats finish 25-10 overall and go 13-3 in District 31-6A, earning the district’s defensive players of the year honor in the process. Vela then picked up playoff wins over San Benito and Laredo Alexander before falling 2-1 against La Joya High in a regional quarterfinal playoff series.
Gonzalez learned to lead from past Vela standouts including Ramsey Amador (Texas A&M-Kingsville), Isaac Lopez (UTRGV), Jaime “Mito” Perez (Tarleton) Nico Rodriguez (Kansas State) and AJ Sotelo (formerly of Incarnate Word). His direction was relied upon leading a team made up of a majority of underclassmen.
“My freshman year, those guys always put the younger guys under their wing and never thought they were better than one another. It was all motivation,” he said. “Those other guys planted a seed in us and it just kept growing and I tried to do the same for the younger guys because I know what it’s like being younger and feeling like this is a big stage and being in the playoffs. We had a bunch of sophomores and they handled it well. They played well under pressure.”
While his time at Vela is over, Gonzalez’s athletic career isn’t over yet. He signed to play baseball at UTRGV this upcoming season, a goal years in the making.
“One, it’s close to home. Two, it’s more baseball and that’s all I’ve loved since I was little,” he said. “Growing up dreaming of playing college baseball and now achieving my dream, it’s all I could ever ask for.”
