Gorillas Baseball Coaching Staff
GM/Manager Mike Martinez - Michael J. Martinez took over the day-to-day operations of the Gorillas Baseball organization in 2004. Since then, Martinez has crafted the Gorillas into one of the most successful travel baseball organizations, primarily through the shrewd application of his baseball savvy along with business principles. The organization under his leadership has flourished and now fields six teams at various age groups. His approach to the game has consistently produced winning results at all levels; in the travel ball circuit, the State and NIT level or at the Recreational level, while helping coach his son’s 9/10 year old All-Star teams and winning the league’s first District banner or taking the 11/12 year old team to its first Sub-Division tournament in 30 years.
Manager Oscar Castro - Oscar enters into his 4th season as a coach with the Gorillas Baseball Club but also has served as the organizations equipment manager. He also has over a decade of coaching experience both in the rec-ball and travel ball circuits and was the guiding force behind the 2009 Little League World Series Champions from Park View Little League. Oscar managed the World Champs to a 23-3 record and a perfect 8-0 record when facing elimination during the Little League All-Star tournament. The team became only the second team from San Diego to ever win the Little League World Series joining the 1961 El Cajon/La Mesa ball club. Last season, Oscar coached his Gorillas club never finishing below 3rd place in a tournament and bringing home two-championships for the 2008-2009 season. He also serves as a recruiter for every Gorilla team.
Asst. Coach Tony Mejia - Tony has served as a Coach and Recruiter for the Gorillas Baseball organization since 2004. He was elected to the Gorillas Board of Directors in 2007. Tony participated in the 1993 International Boys Baseball League Tournament that was held in Mexico City, Mexico. The purpose of the International Boys Baseball League was and remains today to foster international goodwill and friendship by holding a world youth baseball tournament each year. The First International Boys League tournament was held in Osaka, Japan in 1982 with four Japanese teams and four foreign teams participating. During the succeeding years, teams from Brazil, Canada, China, Republic of China, Cuba, Guatemala, South Korea, two from Mexico (Rojo - or Red - from Baja California, and Verde - or Green - from Mexico City) and five from the United States (Alameda, Castro Valley, Fresno, Hawaii and San Diego) have participated in these tournaments. Tony played for the San Diego 15 & under United States team. Tony has been involved in baseball across the country and internationally for over 25 years in California, Colorado, Florida, Mexico and Southeast Asia. Tony earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in Finance from the University of San Diego.
Pitching Coach Eric Valenzuela - was a key component in the success of USD baseball in recent years and was instrumental in the development of the Torero pitching staff into one of the finest in the nation. He made an immediate impact during his first season at USD in 2004 as the Torero mound corps led the West Coast Conference in team ERA. Valenzuela spearheaded the recruiting efforts for the 2008 USD recruiting class that was ranked the nation's best by Baseball America. He was also the catalyst for the 2006 recruiting class that was among Baseball America's Dandy Dozen.
Fielding Coach Mark Viramontes - was a key component in the success of USD baseball in recent years and was the USD's catching coach and field supervisor, while also working closely with the team's hitters as an intricate part of the Toreros coaching staff. In the summer of 2006, Viramontes took over as head coach for the DuPage Dragons of the Central Illinois Collegiate Summer League (CICL). During his first season at the helm, Viramontes guided the Dragons to a franchise-best 25-19 overall record. In the summer of 2007, Viramontes also helped lead the team to the league championship game. His most recent coaching experience came in handling a wide range of duties as an assistant at Division II California State University of L.A. in 2005. As an assistant at East L.A. College from 1999-2004, Viramontes helped the Huskies to three postseason trips including a state finals appearance in 2000. Viramontes has also spent the 2004 & 2005 season's coaching in the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) with the Brewster Whitecaps.
His coaching career began assisting the 1995 varsity program at James A. Garfield High School in Los Angeles and at San Gabriel High School from 1996-1998. He would later become an Associate Scout for the Cincinnati Reds, evaluating baseball talent in inner-city L.A.
Strength & Conditioning Coach Jon Francis - Jon Francis is in his fourth year at San Diego State working with the Aztec football team and first as the director of strength and conditioning after spending the previous three years as head strength and conditioning coach at the University of Idaho.
Before arriving in Idaho, Francis was the assistant strength and conditioning coach at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. He worked with the University's football, basketball, baseball, wrestling, volleyball and men's soccer programs. He also served as a graduate assistant at Appalachian State.
Francis is a 1993 graduate of Appalachian State and completed his master of arts in sport management at the school in 2001. He is a member of the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association and is Strength and Conditioning Coach Certified (SCCC). He is also a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association and has earned certification from USA Weightlifting.
His wife, Joy, is San Diego State's director of athletic development.
Hitting Coach Kevin Mitchell - A San Diego native and also a former Major League Baseball player.
New York Mets
1986 World Series Championship vs. Boston Red Sox: In the famous final inning of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, after Wally Backman and Keith Hernandez had been retired for the first two outs, Mitchell went to the clubhouse to make plane reservations for home in San Diego. However, he was called to pinch hit for reliever Rick Aguilera after Gary Carter, the next hitter after Hernandez, singled. Mitchell, singled and would eventually score the tying run. Mitchell was traded to the San Diego Padres after the 1986 season, where he played half a season before landing in San Francisco where he would reach his full potential.
San Francisco Giants- Most Valuable Player:
After two seasons playing primarily at third base, he had his best season with the Giants in 1989 upon being moved to the outfield. In that season, he batted .291 with a league-best 125 RBI and 47 home runs, leading the team to the playoffs and winning the National League's Most Valuable Player award, the first by a Giant since Willie McCovey in 1969. He added a .353 average and 2 homers in the NLCS to help the team to its first World Series appearance since 1962.Mitchell is the only player in Major League Baseball history to win a Most Valuable Player award and play for five major league teams before his 32nd birthday. Mitchell is also the only MVP award winner to play for eight major league teams in his career.
The barehanded catch:
Mitchell set the tone for his charmed 1989 season early in the year with a unique defensive play. Sprinting toward the left field foul line in St. Louis' Busch Stadium, for a ball off the bat of Ozzie Smith, Mitchell realized he had overrun the ball, but was able to reach back and snare the ball with his bare hand. Mitchell was unable to stop his momentum following the spectacular catch, but rather than crash into the wall, Mitchell had the good fortune to fly through an unlatched door leading under the stands, making the play all the more memorable.
Career Records:
In his 13-season career with eight teams, Mitchell batted .284, with 234 home runs, 760 runs batted in, 630 runs scored, 1,173 hits, 224 doubles and 25 triples in 1,223 games. returns to the SDSU baseball program for his seventh season and will serve as the assistant director of operations for the second year. He began his affiliation with the Aztecs as a member of the operations staff in 2003, before serving as the team's volunteer assistant coach for three years. While an athlete at San Diego State, Johnson played second, third and shortstop as well as in the outfield during his four seasons (1987-90). He was an all-Region VII and all-Western Athletic Conference selection as a senior when he hit .329 with 47 runs scored, 39 RBI and 16 stolen bases. He was also named to the all-tournament team at the WAC championships both in 1988 and 1990. A career .313 hitter, he still ranks in the Aztec top 10 in career triples.