Mr. Baseball 2021: Marcelo Mayer

Eastlake of Chula Vista makes it two in a row for state’s most prestigious and longest-running baseball honor. Mayer follows 2019 winner and former teammate Keoni Cavaco from 2019 after no one could be selected for 2020 (pandemic). Mayer had one of the best high school seasons for a top five MLB Draft pick that we’ve ever seen in more than 40 years.

For a rundown of the other State Players of the Year for baseball, CLICK HERE.

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Two years after Eastlake High of Chula Vista had the Mr. Baseball State Player of the Year and one year after no one could be chosen because most of the 2020 season and all playoffs had to be scrapped due to the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic, the Titans and the CIF San Diego Section have landed another one.

This time, it was arguably an even easier selection for the state’s No. 1 player as Marcelo Mayer of the Titans follows 2018 honoree Keoni Cavaco.

Mayer also is the third straight State Player of the Year from the San Diego area and he’s the fifth from the section in the last seven years. He follows not just Cavaco but 2018 honoree Joe Magrisi of Torrey Pines. The two before that were No. 1 overall MLB Draft picks Mickey Moniak of La Costa Canyon (2016) and Brady Aiken of Cathedral Catholic (2014).

The other Eastlake player frequently mentioned alongside Marcelo over the last few weeks was 2000 graduate Adrian Gonzalez. He wasn’t State Player of the Year, but was the No. 1 pick in the 2000 MLB Draft. Mayer was projected by many to join Gonzalez as a No. 1 overall choice in last week’s draft (which also would have made Eastlake the first high school in the state and nation to have more than one No. 1 pick). That didn’t happen, but him going at No. 4 still was much higher than any other graduating high school senior in the state.

Plus, it’s not as if Mayer was just a hyped up super prospect who didn’t do that much for his high school team. His senior year for the Titans was sensational. He had a superior senior season compared to the last two No. 1 overall high schoolers from the state and he had a better one than Gonzalez (who we also covered in 2000).

The only other players seriously considered to be finalists to be Mr. Baseball for California this season along with Mayer were Max Muncy of Thousand Oaks (standout on 30-1 team who went at No. 27 in the MLB Draft to the Tampa Bay Rays) along with UCLA-bound pitching phenom Gage Jump from JSerra of San Juan Capistrano (who also had some big hits for that team).

Eastlake had another recent Mr. Baseball finalist as well when the team was No. 1 in the state in 2017 and had State Junior of the Year Grant Holman. In this year’s MLB Draft, Holman went at No. 188 overall in the sixth round to the Oakland Athletics. He played at Cal after high school. The Titans’ recent draft success (all with David Gallegos as head coach) also was shown last year when the No. 49 overall selection and No. 154 were Casey Schmitt and L.J. Jones.

Mayer capped his last high school season by hitting a grand slam homer in the team’s CIF SoCal D1 regional playoff game vs. Ayala of Chino Hills. The Titans lost, 8-6, but hitting a grand slam to end one’s high school career is something that only a handful of players can ever say they did. That home run also put Mayer’s final season total at 14, which was tied for the reported state lead among large school players with El Cajon Grossmont’s Isaiah Gomez.

For Mayer to hit 14 homers despite many opposing teams looking to avoid him (he walked 31 times) indicates a lot about his talent.

Mayer’s other final season totals showed him with a .392 batting average, 46 runs scored, 45 RBI, 18 steals and a .555 on-base percentage. He was named the San Diego Section Player of the Year and led the Titans to the section’s Open Division title.

On draft day, Marcelo gathered with family and friends and didn’t seem disappointed at all about not going No. 1.

“It’s a dream come true,” he said in media interviews.

The Boston.com website contacted Ayala head coach Chris Vogt and some players about facing the Red Sox’ top draft pick in that last game.

“There’s kids in our league who are in the bigs right now that I wouldn’t even consider close,” Vogt told the website. “This kid was better. … We have seven or eight kids that are going to pretty high-level Division I schools, and they were all just like ‘Dude, that kid is so good.’”

That dude will now be able to see his name alongside some of the other all-time greats of California baseball for many years to come.

MR. BASEBALL STATE PLAYERS
OF THE YEAR ALL-TIME LIST

(Selected by Cal-Hi Sports)

2021 – Marcelo Mayer, Chula Vista Eastlake SS
2020 – No selection (pandemic)
2019 – Keoni Cavaco, Chula Vista Eastlake P/3B
2018 – Joe Magrisi, San Diego Torrey Pines, P-OF
2017 – Hagen Danner, Huntington Beach P/C
2016 – Mickey Moniak,
Carlsbad La Costa Canyon OF
2015 – Joe DeMers,
Pleasant Hill College Park, P/INF
2014 – Brady Aiken,
San Diego Cathedral Catholic, P
2013 – Jack Flaherty, North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake, P-3B (Jr.)
2012 – Ty Moore, Santa Ana Mater Dei, P-INF
2011 – Henry Owens, Huntington Beach Edison, P
2010 – Cory Hahn, Santa Ana Mater Dei, P-OF
2009 – Tyler Matzek, Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley, P-1B
2008 – Aaron Hicks, Long Beach Wilson OF-P
2007 – Mike Moustakas, Chatsworth INF
2006 – Tyler Robertson, Fair Oaks Bella Vista OF-P
2005 – John Drennen, San Diego Rancho Bernardo OF
2004 – Matt Bush, San Diego Mission Bay INF
2003 – Ian Stewart, Westminster La Quinta INF
2002 – Delmon Young, Camarillo OF (Jr.)
2001 – J.P. Howell, Carmichael Jesuit P
2000 – Mike Stodolka, Corona Centennial DH-P
1999 – Ryan Christianson, Riverside Arlington C
1998 – Sean Burroughs, Long Beach Wilson 3B
1997 – Jon Garland, Granada Hills Kennedy P
1996 – Eric Chavez, San Diego Mt. Carmel SS-P
1995 – Eric Chavez, San Diego Mt. Carmel SS-P (Jr.)
1994 – McKay Christensen, Fresno Clovis West OF
1993 – Derrek Lee, Sacramento El Camino OF
1992 – Jason Kendall, Torrance C
1991 – Dmitri Young, Oxnard Rio Mesa 3B
1990 – Mike Lieberthal, Westlake Village Westlake C
1989 – Todd Johnson, Fresno Bullard C-P
1988 – Scott Davison, Redondo Beach Redondo Union P-DH
1987 – Tom Redington, Anaheim Esperanza SS
1986 – Brian Johnson, Oakland Skyline C
1985 – Gregg Jefferies, San Mateo Serra SS
1984 – James Mitchell, El Cerrito OF
1983 – Kurt Stillwell, Thousand Oaks SS
1982 – Bret Saberhagen, Reseda Cleveland P
1981 – Lenny Dykstra, Garden Grove OF
1980 – Darryl Strawberry, Los Angeles Crenshaw OF
1979 – John Elway, Granada Hills OF
1978 – Lloyd Moseby, Oakland 1B
1977 – Craig Landis, Napa Vintage SS
1976 – Rickey Henderson, Oakland Technical OF
1975 – Carney Lansford, Santa Clara Wilcox SS
1974 – Lonnie Smith, Compton Centennial OF
1973 – Robin Yount, Woodland Hills Taft SS
1972 – Scott McGregor, El Segundo P
1971 – Keith Hernandez, San Bruno Capuchino 1B-Semipro
1970 – Terry Forster, Santee Santana P
1969 – Jeff Burroughs, Long Beach Wilson OF
1968 – Tim Foli, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame SS
1967 – Bill Buckner, Napa 1B
1966 – Kemer Brett, El Segundo P
1965 – Bob Boone, San Diego Crawford P
1964 – Willie Crawford, Los Angeles Fremont OF
1963 – Bob Tolan, Los Angeles Fremont P-OF
1962 – Rudy May, Oakland Castlemont P
1961 – Bob Bailey, Long Beach Wilson SS
1960 – Wade Blasingame, Fresno Roosevelt P
1959 – John Boccabella, Kentfield Marin Catholic 3B
1958 – Dick Ellsworth, Fresno P
1957 – Johnny Callison, Bakersfield East OF
1956 – Mike McCormick, Alhambra Keppel P
1955 – Deron Johnson, San Diego OF
1954 – Don Drysdale, Van Nuys P
1953 – Frank Robinson, Oakland McClymonds 3B
1952 – Jim Gentile, San Francisco Sacred Heart 1B
1951 – Ed Cereghino, Daly City Jefferson P
1950 – J.W. Porter, Oakland Technical C
1949 – Paul Pettit, Harbor City Narbonne P
1948 – Karl Olson, Mill Valley Tamalpais OF
1947 – Gus Triandos, San Francisco Mission C
1946 – Jim Baxes, San Francisco Mission 2B
1945 – Jack Harshman, San Diego 1B
1944 – Jackie Jensen, Oakland OF
1943 – Herb Gorman, San Francisco Balboa 1B
1942 – Charlie Silvera, San Francisco St. Ignatius SS
1941 – Bob Brown, San Francisco Galileo SS
1940 – Duane Pillette, San Diego P
1939 – Ferris Fain, Oakland Roosevelt 1B
1938 – Bob Lemon, Long Beach Wilson SS-P
1937 – Rugger Ardizoia, San Francisco Commerce P
1936 – Bobby Doerr, Los Angeles Fremont 2B (Pro)
1935 – Ted Williams, San Diego Hoover OF
1934 – Frankie Hawkins, San Francisco Sacred Heart SS
1933 – Chet Smith, San Diego P
1932 – Gordon Maltzberger, Colton P
1931 – Joe DiMaggio, San Francisco Galileo SS (Semi-pro)
1930 – Athos Sada, San Diego OF
1929 – Arleigh Williams, Oakland Technical C
1928 – Frank Dobranksy, San Diego P
1927 – Willard Hershberger, Fullerton C
1926 – Dick Bartell, Alameda SS
1925 – Louie Almada, Los Angeles P
1924 – Joe Cronin, San Francisco Sacred Heart SS
1923 – Gene Hollister, San Francisco Mission P
1922 – Walter Berger, San Francisco Mission 3B
1921 – Babe Herman, Glendale 1B
1920 – Bernie Viveiros, Oakland Technical 2B
1919 – Ren Kelly, San Francisco Poly P
1918 – Brick Muller, San Diego OF
1917 – Johnny Gillespie, Oakland Technical P
1916 – Ray Lorrigan, San Francisco Poly P
1915 – Frank Schellenback, Hollywood P
1914 – Bert Cole, San Francisco Lowell P
1913 – George Kelly, San Francisco Poly 3B
1912 – Harry Heilmann, San Francisco Sacred Heart SS
1911 – Will James, Oroville P
1910 – Eddie French, San Francisco Sacred Heart P
1909 – Babe Hollis, San Francisco Cogswell P
1908 – Oscar Vitt, San Francisco Wilmerding SS
1907 – Lloyd Burton, Alameda SS
1906 – Mowatt Mitchell, Los Angeles 1B
1905 – Walter Johnson, Fullerton P
1904 – James Schaeffer, Berkeley C
1903 – Mead Hamilton, San Francisco Lowell P
1902 – Mead Hamilton, San Francisco Lowell 2B
1901 – Heinie Heitmuller, San Francisco Lick 1B
1900 – Orvall Overall, Visalia 1B-Town team
1899 – Will Moreing, Stockton P

Note: Selections prior to 1978 made by our founder, the late Nelson Tennis, based on researching each season.

Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports