Roosevelt has an athlete with name to match his game

Just got off the phone with Scott Pearson, the baseball coach at Roosevelt, and he mentioned the name of one of his players I'd never heard of, Chito Alvarez. Mind you, I've got a good friend named Chito, aka Carlos. Dude is like a brother to me, actually.

As for this Alvarez kid ... well, let's just say I had no clue about him.

A quick look at his stats reveals he's been pitching well of late. In fact, Alvarez, a senior, threw a complete game five-hitter Friday with 12 strikeouts in a 5-2 victory over Compton Dominguez. Not a bad outing. Not a bad first name.

"You know it's funny, the only Chito I know is our Chito. Can't believe you know one too. Small world,'' Pearson said in our conversation.

If Roosevelt hopes to compete for an Eastern League title, perhaps make a run in the City Section playoffs and do well against the likes of West Valley League teams, Alvarez must continue to play well. Correct that: Chito must continue to play well. There's a responsibility to do things well with a name like that.

-- Sean Ceglinsky

-- Image from www.todocoleccion.net