If Central Valley High School ever establishes a Hall of Fame for its top athletes, Martin Gomez would be among the first class.
The senior recently completed his varsity baseball career with the Hawks.
"He's a great all-round player," head coach Greg Magni said. "He does everything right. He's very coachable. One thing about him that impressed me is he got better."
Gomez starred at pitcher, offense and defense during his three years at Central Valley. He holds virtually every school record.
Martin posted an 18-14 record with a 2.72 ERA, 22 complete games, three shutouts, three saves, 267 strikeouts and just 87 walks.
He batted .304 from the plate with five homers, four triples, 19 doubles, 55 runs and 56 RBIs.
"The last player I coached like that in this area was Caleb Maher when I was at Ceres High," Magni said.
Maher got selected by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ninth round of the 2002 amateur draft.
"That's an honor to be up there with him," Gomez said.
Martin had an outstanding senior season.
He compiled a 7-4 record with a 2.01 ERA, eight complete games, two shutouts, 110 strikeouts and 25 walks. The Valley Oak League, first-team honoree led the conference in strikeouts and complete games, and ranked third in wins.
Gomez batted .477 from the plate with four home runs, 10 doubles, 33 runs and 29 RBIs. He had a .773 slugging percentage. Martin finished with the fourth-highest batting average in league play.
"I thought I could have done a little better, especially this year," he said.
Central Valley won one of its two games against crosstown rival Ceres High.
Gomez earned a no decision during the Hawks' 10-8 home setback. Martin developed a blister on one of his fingers and couldn't finish the game. He had nine strikeouts and scattered 10 hits over seven innings.
"Even though we lost, it's still memorable because it was the last time I played with my teammates," he said. "After the game, that's when it really hit me. It was tough."
Two days earlier, Gomez went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI in the Hawks' 5-1 triumph over the host Bulldogs.
"That's the first time we beat Ceres High on their home field," Martin said.
Gomez carried a no-hitter into the final inning of Central Valley's 4-0 victory over Weston Ranch. Gomez surrendered an infield single with one out. He tallied 15 strikeouts, including 10 in a row, during his 88-pitch outing.
"I was just throwing the ball," Martin said. "I wasn't feeling any pressure. I just wanted to get the win."
Gomez received first-team, all-league honors as a junior.
One of his most impressive pitching performances came in a 1-0 road loss to Sac-Joaquin Section and VOL champion Oakdale.
Gomez allowed four hits with six strikeouts and one walk in six innings.
The Hawks threatened in the top of the seventh inning. Adrian Sandoval drew a two-out walk. Gomez followed with a line drive to left field. Sandoval got thrown out at third base to end the game.
Oakdale's run, which was scored in the bottom of the sixth, was unearned.
"I didn't think I was going to do that good because they have a great team," Gomez said. "I kept getting better as the game was going. I surprised myself."
Gomez and the Hawks played spoiler during his sophomore year.
He struck out nine and gave up just four hits as last-place Central Valley eliminated third-place and heavily-favored Ceres High from playoff contention by winning 3-2 on the final day of the VOL season.
"That was an exciting game too," said Martin, a VOL second-teamer.
With Gomez leading the way, the Hawks amassed a 30-46-1 record and contended for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs two of the last three seasons.
Central Valley compiled a 14-13 overall record and placed fourth in the VOL standings (7-7) this year.
The 2008 Hawks doubled their overall (11) and conference (6) win totals from their inaugural varsity season (5-19-1, 3-11).
"It was fun going out there doing whatever I could for the team," Gomez said. "We improved a lot. Hopefully, Central Valley's program keeps improving. It will be nice seeing my old school go to the playoffs."
"In total Martin won 60 percent of the games in school history," Magni added.
Gomez refused to take all of the credit.
"He (Magni) had a big impact," Martin said. "He helped me with everything. He motivated me. Without him, I probably wouldn't have done as good as I did."
Gomez plans to take the junior college route to a major university. Stanislaus State could also be an option.
"My dream is to play Division I," Gomez said. "I want to stay in California, probably down south. USC would be nice or Fullerton."
For the second straight year, Martin earned an invitation to play for the East squad in the Modesto Sunrise Rotary All-Star Baseball Classic.
He'll be joined by fellow Hawks Greg Guerra and Israel Trevino, Ceres High's Robert Cope and Martino Bertolotti and standout players from Oakdale, Enochs, Beyer and Downey.
The large-school contest will be held on June 13 at John Thurman Field, home of the Modesto Nuts.
"It should be pretty fun," Gomez said. "Hopefully, we get the win. Last year, we got beat pretty badly."
The senior recently completed his varsity baseball career with the Hawks.
"He's a great all-round player," head coach Greg Magni said. "He does everything right. He's very coachable. One thing about him that impressed me is he got better."
Gomez starred at pitcher, offense and defense during his three years at Central Valley. He holds virtually every school record.
Martin posted an 18-14 record with a 2.72 ERA, 22 complete games, three shutouts, three saves, 267 strikeouts and just 87 walks.
He batted .304 from the plate with five homers, four triples, 19 doubles, 55 runs and 56 RBIs.
"The last player I coached like that in this area was Caleb Maher when I was at Ceres High," Magni said.
Maher got selected by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ninth round of the 2002 amateur draft.
"That's an honor to be up there with him," Gomez said.
Martin had an outstanding senior season.
He compiled a 7-4 record with a 2.01 ERA, eight complete games, two shutouts, 110 strikeouts and 25 walks. The Valley Oak League, first-team honoree led the conference in strikeouts and complete games, and ranked third in wins.
Gomez batted .477 from the plate with four home runs, 10 doubles, 33 runs and 29 RBIs. He had a .773 slugging percentage. Martin finished with the fourth-highest batting average in league play.
"I thought I could have done a little better, especially this year," he said.
Central Valley won one of its two games against crosstown rival Ceres High.
Gomez earned a no decision during the Hawks' 10-8 home setback. Martin developed a blister on one of his fingers and couldn't finish the game. He had nine strikeouts and scattered 10 hits over seven innings.
"Even though we lost, it's still memorable because it was the last time I played with my teammates," he said. "After the game, that's when it really hit me. It was tough."
Two days earlier, Gomez went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI in the Hawks' 5-1 triumph over the host Bulldogs.
"That's the first time we beat Ceres High on their home field," Martin said.
Gomez carried a no-hitter into the final inning of Central Valley's 4-0 victory over Weston Ranch. Gomez surrendered an infield single with one out. He tallied 15 strikeouts, including 10 in a row, during his 88-pitch outing.
"I was just throwing the ball," Martin said. "I wasn't feeling any pressure. I just wanted to get the win."
Gomez received first-team, all-league honors as a junior.
One of his most impressive pitching performances came in a 1-0 road loss to Sac-Joaquin Section and VOL champion Oakdale.
Gomez allowed four hits with six strikeouts and one walk in six innings.
The Hawks threatened in the top of the seventh inning. Adrian Sandoval drew a two-out walk. Gomez followed with a line drive to left field. Sandoval got thrown out at third base to end the game.
Oakdale's run, which was scored in the bottom of the sixth, was unearned.
"I didn't think I was going to do that good because they have a great team," Gomez said. "I kept getting better as the game was going. I surprised myself."
Gomez and the Hawks played spoiler during his sophomore year.
He struck out nine and gave up just four hits as last-place Central Valley eliminated third-place and heavily-favored Ceres High from playoff contention by winning 3-2 on the final day of the VOL season.
"That was an exciting game too," said Martin, a VOL second-teamer.
With Gomez leading the way, the Hawks amassed a 30-46-1 record and contended for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs two of the last three seasons.
Central Valley compiled a 14-13 overall record and placed fourth in the VOL standings (7-7) this year.
The 2008 Hawks doubled their overall (11) and conference (6) win totals from their inaugural varsity season (5-19-1, 3-11).
"It was fun going out there doing whatever I could for the team," Gomez said. "We improved a lot. Hopefully, Central Valley's program keeps improving. It will be nice seeing my old school go to the playoffs."
"In total Martin won 60 percent of the games in school history," Magni added.
Gomez refused to take all of the credit.
"He (Magni) had a big impact," Martin said. "He helped me with everything. He motivated me. Without him, I probably wouldn't have done as good as I did."
Gomez plans to take the junior college route to a major university. Stanislaus State could also be an option.
"My dream is to play Division I," Gomez said. "I want to stay in California, probably down south. USC would be nice or Fullerton."
For the second straight year, Martin earned an invitation to play for the East squad in the Modesto Sunrise Rotary All-Star Baseball Classic.
He'll be joined by fellow Hawks Greg Guerra and Israel Trevino, Ceres High's Robert Cope and Martino Bertolotti and standout players from Oakdale, Enochs, Beyer and Downey.
The large-school contest will be held on June 13 at John Thurman Field, home of the Modesto Nuts.
"It should be pretty fun," Gomez said. "Hopefully, we get the win. Last year, we got beat pretty badly."
