In 1968, St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Bob Gibson put together one of the most dominant seasons by a pitcher. Gibson pitched the entire season with mastery and was virtually unhittable.
Gibson’s ERA became one of baseball’s magic numbers at 1.12, and it is a record in the live-ball era. One of Gibson’s famous quotes was, “Half of that plate is mine. Now you have to figure out which half I’m coming after.”
That mentality and dominance are far and few in between.
In 2019, Brownsville Veterans Memorial senior pitcher Mia Anzaldua wrote her own story and broke records.
Anzaldua who is small in size, made up for it with a power left arm that helped fuel the Lady Chargers to a third straight district title and a bi-district victory.
Anzaldua posted a 19-3 season with a dazzling 0.46 ERA. Along with the wins and ERA, Anzaldua began an assault on five different school records, most notably her career strikeout total of 689, passing former Lady Chargers pitcher Cassie Valdez, who had 666 career punchouts.
With her record-breaking year, Anzaldua was named The Brownsville Herald’s 2019 All-Metro Softball Most Valuable Player.
“Winning this award felt like a relief to end my high school career, and I feel this just put a stamp on my career,” Anzaldua said. “I feel like this year and for us seniors, we finished the year better than ever, and this was our dream team this year and to be a part of it was incredible.”
Anzaldua broke the team’s career strikeout record, but before that she shattered its single-season strikeout record with 269. The previously mark was held by Valdez at 202. Anzaldua also broke the single-season wins record with 19, surpassing Valdez’s 14.
“This is pretty well-deserved,” she said. “Throughout the years, I have worked so hard and all of it has paid off. I got college paid for and won awards, and I’m thankful for that.”
Along with the strikeout and win records came the perfect games and no-hitters. The crafty lefty threw five perfect games and four no-hitters, finishing her career with eight perfect games. All are program records.
“I try not to have too much thought, I try and focus on each batter,” Anzaldua said. “I just go out there with a clear mentality, and if something needs to be fixed I won’t stress on it, I know I got it. I have to drink an orange juice before every game, that helps me get into the zone and gets me ready.”
