BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — The McAllen High baseball team harkens back to the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Pirates used the hit song “We are Family” by Sister Sledge as their theme song throughout their run to the World Series.
“We are a big family,” McHi senior shortstop Roy Quintanilla said. “To play with each and every one of them, I wouldn’t want to play baseball with anyone else but them. I love them, and we are very tight.”
Admittedly, there are plenty of other high school baseball teams that might use the same analogy to describe their camaraderie, but with McHi, the statement is closer to the truth. Roy and his brother junior Nate Quintanilla, along with another brother pair in senior Ramiro and junior Robbie Maldonado, fill four of the nine starting spots for the Bulldogs.
“I don’t even remember having two brothers playing together on the same team,” said McHi coach Elisio Pompa, who has been coaching for 34 years. “Now I have two sets of brothers. It’s pretty unique.”
The four boys make up the heart of the defense for McHi, which faces San Antonio Churchill in Game 1 of the Class 6A Region IV semifinals at 7 p.m. tonight at Uni-Trade Stadium in Laredo.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Robbie Maldonado said. “Many teams don’t experience this, and we are just trying to have fun along the way.”
Each of the four brothers has gone through a lot of growth and development to become the player he is today.
Ramiro Maldonado has been stellar on the mound this year, posting a 3.28 ERA in 32 innings pitched with 50 strikeouts. But it wasn’t always so smooth.
“Ram, in his junior year, had a little problem with confidence and mechanics,” Pompa said. “So we worked on it in the offseason, and he started off good. Then, he got into a little rut, and now he’s, hopefully, back on. It’s just little things (bad habits) that kids pick up. Not pushing off with his back leg, not pushing off with his hips. He went and worked out with a trainer.”
Pompa told Ramiro Maldonado to work on properly pushing off of his back leg to improve his accuracy. Ramiro Maldonado was also coached to repeat his arm slot, or the angle of his arm when he releases his pitches.
“I told him, ‘Once you find your arm angle, son, you can be tough,’” Pompa said. “Because his ball moves. It moves out, it moves in. If you ever get that arm slot there consistently every time, you can dominate. That’s what he did against United South. He did it against Edinburg North, and heck, he did it against Alexander.”
“During the offseason and whatever free time I had, I worked on my location and my arm slot,” Ramiro Maldonado added. “Basically every day I have been trying to perfect my flaws.”
Nate Quintanilla, a catcher, is on the receiving end of Ramiro Maldonado’s pitches.
He has followed a similar trajectory in his development.
“He has worked his butt off on blocking and throwing, and he has improved a lot,” Pompa said. “As far as his mechanics on throwing to second, I think he is below 2 (seconds), 1.91, which is good. Actually, it’s great.”
Pompa was referring to Nate Quintanilla’s pop time. A catcher’s pop time is the measurement of how long it takes from the moment a pitch hits the catcher’s mitt to the moment the throw hits the middle infielder’s glove at second base on an attempted steal. Any decent Major League catcher is below 2, and an excellent time for a catcher is 1.8, according to Baseball Prospectus.
“He’s also very accurate on his throws,” Pompa said. “In the six playoff games that we have played, I don’t think anybody has tried to steal, at least that I can remember.”
That may change, because Churchill is known to be aggressive on the basepaths. But Nate Quintanilla looks forward to the series.
“I’m trying to wait for someone, wait for my victim to go and steal off of me,” Nate Quintanilla said. “It’s going to be really fun. I can’t wait for that to happen, so I can gun them out.”
He said his biggest focus coming into this year was improving his blocking at the plate.
“Last year, I was scared of the ball when I was blocking,” Nate Quintanilla said. “So this year, I have been working on my blocking and trying to get better.”
For his brother Roy, the change coming into this year wasn’t as much about development as it was a return to his true home.
“Most of my life I have played shortstop,” Roy Quintanilla said. “I came into McHi playing third base. The move to shortstop this year wasn’t really a big deal. It just feels normal to me.”
More than anything, the move was an affirmation from Pompa that he believes in Roy Quintanilla’s defense.
“He has been very steady for us all year,” Pompa said. “He hasn’t made that many errors, and he has been very consistent. He has made some good plays and, what can I say, he’s kind of held the fort down since Day 1 at shortstop. He’s probably our best shortstop with his mechanics and speed.”
Robbie Maldonado can play all three outfield positions. He has the speed for center and the arm for right, according to Pompa. Pompa is hoping that he can make the same kind of jump this offseason that the other three brothers have.
“We are already counting on Robbie on the mound next year,” Pompa said. “He throws a lot harder than his brother (Ramiro). He’s got a hellacious curveball, but sometimes he can’t control it. Sometimes our catchers can’t catch it. I hate to bring him in with men on base, because I don’t know what is going to happen.”
That’s where Robbie Maldonado is focusing his attention.
“I have been looking forward to pitching,” Robbie Maldonado said. “Coach has thrown me a couple games this year to prepare me for next year. I’ll be ready for it. I have been working on my curveball throughout last offseason and this season. But this next offseason, I’ll be working more on my location.”
The two sets of brothers have been the backbone of the defense this year. Their kinship also helps keep the team close.
“This group of kids, they get along well,” Pompa said. “They are always joking around. They have each other’s backs. They joke a lot, in a nice way. They are always coming up with stuff, and of course our young coaches over here, they’re not too far behind with all their shenanigans that they pull on them.”
Of course, the brothers have been playing with their siblings since they started playing baseball. Robbie and Ramiro Maldonado remember throwing the ball in the backyard as 4- and 5-year-olds. Roy and Nate Quintanilla remember being on their first T-ball team together around the same age.
Ramiro said playing with his brother is a moment he cherishes.
“Some of my favorite memories are, I’m playing in left, (Robbie) is in center,” he said. “We look at each other and know we have each other’s back. It’s something I’ll never forget.”