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Vega Takes His Place Behind the Plate

Luis Vega had to wait his turn to get on the varsity field for the Yellowjackets’ baseball team. As a catcher, Luis Vega was behind Sam Loda, who started behind the plate for the past few seasons. Now a senior, Luis has earned the starting catcher’s job for East Haven, and Head Coach Butch Johnson said that he’s making the most of his opportunity.

“He waited his time, but he learned a lot and played AAU, so he has the skills. He listened to everything and did everything he was asked to do, which made him a better catcher, as well as a team player,” Coach Johnson says. “When his turn came, which is this year, he stepped right up.”

Luis first donned the catcher’s gear when he was 12 after having primarily played third base. He says that playing third helped him develop the necessary arm strength to make accurate throws as a catcher. Luis suffered an elbow injury as a freshman that set him back a bit, but now, he’s regained all of his strength in his right arm.

“I did suffer through a bad injury my freshman year, and it got to the point where I almost needed surgery,” says Luis. “I had what they called, ‘Little League arm,’ which just means I was overworking my arm. It had to do with the growth plate in between my elbow and the rest of my arm. I went through that my freshman year, but it got better with the help of [school trainer] Marc Aceto.

Luis is taking on the responsibility of calling what the Yellowjackets’ pitchers throw, and Coach Johnson feels he’s doing a solid job in that regard. Luis makes sure he does his homework on the opposition, so that he and his battery mates can come up with the best game-plan.

“I find myself the day before games checking the other team’s records,” Luis says. “If there is a kid that stands out on the other team, we know we have to be more cautious.”

Even though this is his first year on varsity, Luis has experience being in a leadership position. Luis was one of the upperclassmen on the Easties’ JV team last spring, and so he went out of his way to lead his younger teammates.

“As a senior, I like it. Last year, I was a junior on JV, so I was playing with mostly freshmen and sophomores,” he says. “I found myself leading them last year, so I got used to it.”

Luis has a deep passion for baseball burning inside him. He vividly remembers begging his father to buy him one of those small bats that toddlers use when they went to a local tag sale. Luis has been hooked on the game ever since and, in addition to playing at East Haven, he also competes for the Connecticut Edge of the AAU, so he can be on the field as much as possible.

“In my opinion, baseball is baseball. If you want to play, then you want to play,” says Luis. “You’re not in it just to be on varsity. You’re there to play. I play for my enjoyment, and I like to play to have fun.