By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer
BROWNSVILLE — It will be difficult to fill the shoes of Brownsville Veterans Memorial senior infielder/pitcher Justin Anaya next season.
The District 32-5A defensive player of the year is also The Brownsville Herald’s 2019 All-Metro Baseball Defensive Player of the Year.
But it’s Anaya’s humility that is the area in which he is perhaps unmatched.
“I’m glad we were able to go out there and set the tone, winning (consecutive) district championships,” Anaya said. “Next year they’re going to be a good team, and I know that my teammates are going to be fine.”
In 21 2/3 innings pitched, Anaya went 4-0 with a 0.32 ERA. He posted 27 strikeouts and three walks, allowing five hits and one earned run on the year.
The Chargers’ ace was also formidable offensively. Anaya’s 31 hits were second-most on the team, behind junior shortstop Christian Holloway. He led Brownsville Veterans with 23 RBIs, hitting .443, posting a .500 on-base percentage, a .586 slugging percentage and a 1.086 OPS.
Anaya and Holloway worked in tandem, providing vocal leadership to their teammates in the field when one was at shortstop and the other was on the mound.
“When me or Chris weren’t on the mound, we were always talking to the outfield,” Anaya said. “We made sure we know where to go — runner on first, what are we going to do? We’re always out there making sure we plan for what’s going to happen next.”
Now graduated, Anaya turns his focus to the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, where he figures to be in the mix for the Cardinals, an NCAA Division I program that notched wins over a pair of ranked state powerhouses in Texas A&M and Texas this season.
“The coach over there (at UIW) is going to have a great asset in their pitching rotation,” Chargers coach Albert Rodriguez said of his senior. “Justin is a gamer.”
The Chargers will miss having Anaya and Holloway together as their 1-2 punch. But their legacy in the community has the potential to outlast even their greatest on-field accomplishments.
“They’ve earned the recognition to be great baseball players,” Rodriguez said. “But where I praise them the most is who they are (as people) and what they’re going to become. … At the end of the day, we want to have these two young men contribute to our community. They make everyone proud, they make their parents proud and they make us proud.”