PUT ON A SHOW CELESTINO
The Tri- City ValleyCats’ Gilberto Celestino stepped up to the plate Tuesday for the final time that night after Alex Holderbach doubled to left center to kick off the inning.
Objectively the ValleyCats’ best hitter, Celestino was now in the box with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning as the team trailed the Brooklyn Cyclones 5- 0.
“I go up to bat everyday looking for a way to help the team,” said Celestino. “If the runner is on second base and I see an opportunity to score him, I’ll try and score him.”
Celestino masterfully drew a six pitch walk and took his base to add another base runner to the paths as the ValleyCats tried to claw their way out of the hole they had dug themselves into.
“I felt confident going into the at-bat,” said Celestino. “I was just looking for my pitch, a fastball in a certain spot, and I didn’t get it, so I took the fourth ball.”
Celestino did not end up crossing home plate Tuesday night. Neither did Holderbach, or any of the Valley Cats for that matter. Three runners were left stranded in the home half of the ninth.
“We didn’t get any hits until too late,” said Manager Jason Bell. “That’s baseball.”
Celestino is the guy you want up at the plate in the last inning trailing and looking to start a rally. He currently leads the active Valley Cats in batting average (. 321), hits (34), doubles (7), RBI (19), and stolen bases (13).
Celestino does all of this, while also being the young- est Valley Cat on the roster this season at just 19. Despite that, Celestino doesn’t feel any added pressure.
“I’m performing but at the end of the day we are a team,” said Celestino. “Everyone has a role to play and I am trying to play my role the best I can.”
Celestino’s stats also land him in the New YorkPenn league’s top five in batting average, RBI, hits, total bases, stolen bases, and slugging percentage.
As of late, however, Celestino’s stats have not necessarily indicated the same story.
Over his last five games, Celestino is hitting .200, getting just four hits in 20 at-bats. Over that span he has struck out three times, walked once, and driven in and scored a run a piece.
Those numbers certainly aren’t anything Celestino will be writing a letter back home to Santo Domingo about, but they aren’t put- ting him in the poor house just yet either.
Hitters hit and that is what Celestino will need to do to conquer this rut he finds himself in. Celestino has a smooth, compact, level swing, that can penetrate the strike zone in the blink of an eye. Add in the speed and baseball awareness that he brings to the field and it is evident why Gilberto has been a weapon for the Valley Cats to utilize all season.