Miami High Stronger & More Experienced

Last season was something special for Miami High. The Stingarees were coming off a tough, two-win campaign the previous year, and they bounced back to play some great baseball. The team played hard and was always in the games, and in the end Miami High emerged with the district championship. It was a proud moment for the Stingarees program, one of the oldest in Miami-Dade County.

Miami is not ready to rest on those laurels now, especially with most of those guys returning to the roster this season. The team has scheduled its toughest slate of opponents in years, and it believes that it can compete and continue to play great baseball. It is strong in key places, and the team has a reputation for great pitching and solid defense.

The most important thing the Stingarees have going for them is how they get along as a team. It is a tight group, and Suarez marvels at just how close they all are. He has been coaching for quite some time, and he has never seen a group as tight as this.

“We still have that great chemistry from last year and these kids get along together very well,” Suarez said. “It seems like we are going to at least compete, which is important. That’s the way we played last year was they were always in the game. They were always fighting and we were never out of it in any games. In that type of close game, we were always responding. That doesn’t always happen with every team.”

With most of the guys coming back, Suarez is confident they can compete in the district again this season. They lost their right fielder and third baseman to graduation and a few other guys transferred out, but they also got three nice transfers in with Chris Rodriguez, Oney Pino and Jordan Ibarra. Rodriguez plays third base and is a pitcher with stuff in the high eighties, Pino is a catcher and Ibarra is a versatile infielder with a nice bat.

The Stings played nice defense last year, and these guys add to an improving lineup. This group includes Gustavo Miranda, Argenis Hernandez, Victor Herrera, Christian Torres, Jose Barrios and Dayron Mallea.

The main strength of the club is its pitching. Ace Edgar Aparicio returns to lead the starting unit, which also includes proven veterans Andy Escono and Ray Blanco. Suarez is confident in his starters, and with the bullpen still coming along it is helpful to know he can trust his guys to make long starts.

This team has proven to be tenacious and determined. Suarez appreciates that his team has earned a reputation as a tough squad, and that they continue to stay in every game. This fall they managed to stay close in every contest, despite the fact that they did not have a great fall season. They were able to work on a lot of things throughout the fall simply because they kept themselves in ball games.

“Even at Flanagan when we lost in regionals last year, it’s a shame because probably at Flamingo Park those two jacked home runs would have been fly balls to center field,” Suarez said. “But that’s how the game is played and it is not an excuse. Even after they scored in the bottom of the first inning, we came back and scored in the top of the second and went ahead. So it didn’t matter. But it gave them confidence to stay in that game.”

There is plenty of excitement and enthusiasm with the team this year. Suarez feels it is going to be a very exciting season, and that they are capable of following up last year with an even better result.

Another reason Suarez is so excited is because he now has his son, Francisco, on the coaching staff and also working at the school with him. Francisco joins returning assistants Rafael Diaz and David Rivera, and he is helping everyone a lot. The younger Suarez is a Miami alum who was a four-year starting catcher before graduating in 2009. He brings a lot of energy and some experience from college, and actually he made it to the World Series his senior year of college.

With the season just about here, the Stings cannot wait. It is a nice feeling to be this excited for baseball again at Miami High. Although the current players may not realize it, they are doing wonders to help the program grow at the school.

“There have been some people getting interest back in baseball again,” Suarez said. “The school’s main sport has always been basketball, but we are definitely coming back. They are showing some interest for our sport here at the school and that is a plus. Kids are asking about baseball and getting into the game, and they want to know what the score was and if we won. It is good to have that again.”

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