Plastic Alto with Mark Weiss

Palo Alto is 22-5 and third in the CCS heading into the league playoffs

Paly wins by average score of 9 to 3 (231 runs scored, 73 yielded, after 27 starts).

Bolte is hitting nearly .500, and if they walk him it’s like a double.

I met the dad down at a cafe on Ramona and he said his son made good use of the Covid shutdown to lift weights. His buddy said he stood out from age 13.

I hope to catch another game or two, especially the CCS final if it goes that far – -which might be a rematch against Saint Francis. But in truth there are a handful of teams that could knock out the Vikings — most of them cross themselves before each at bat, if that explains it.

Bolte has announced he will enroll at Texas Austin and play for the Longhorns but he is also rumored to be a first round draft choice or second round for the bigs. There have been pro scouts at the games.

Gunn meanwhile is 12-1 in the lower division (15-10 overall) and beat Monta Vista 30-0 on Cinco de Mayo. (They beat Monta Vista in football 37-15 in comparison, on September 27, 2019). Titans play Lynbrook today at home at 4.  Gunn’s coach Chris Melvin is a cousin of Bob Melvin of Menlo Atherton, Post 375, Cal, Giants, A’s and Pads fame.  (Which reminds: we are 122 days away from Paly and Gunn meeting in football, September 9, for the first time in 10 years — first City Serious tilt since September 2011, 45-14 and September, 2012, 45-0).

Paly’s sophomore Ari Smolar-Eisenberg still leads his team with 13 strikeouts in 10-and-a -third innings, although junior Sam Papp has 42 k’s in 49 innings and is 6-0, while Danny Peters has 41 k’s in 45 innings is 5-2.

Bolte’s numbers project to 72 HRs and 258 SBs over the familiar 162-game fixture. (Of course, he plays against high school boys, for now). Let’s remember that Joc Pederson of the Giants, with 154 career MLB home runs, once had 33 homers and 30 stolen bases for AAA Albuqueque in 2014 age 22. Last Pacific Coast league player to do 30-30 before him was Lefty O’Doul of the SF Seals in 1927.

Paly has a team ERA of exactly 2 and eight players who have appeared in 3 or more games on the mound, including sophomore Ari Smolar-Eisenberg who started against Mountain View but took the loss.