Ramiro Estrada finishes first season as pitching coach at Palm Desert

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) If you're a fan of the MLB, especially the San Diego Padres, you know the name Jeremiah Estrada. Well, Estrada's career began right here at Palm Desert High School, and the last name Estrada has come back to the Aztecs with Jeremiah's father, Ramiro, who has made an instant impact.

"We got a lot of pitchers that can throw well, new pitches and whatnot," junior pitcher Jake Brande said. "He's upped our game immensely."

This past season showed that Coach Estrada's presence was felt, especially with the sub-2 ERA and 16 combined wins by both Zach Gibbs and Jake Brande. However, the success all came down to working on every facet of the game.

"We talk a lot about efficiency and, you know, we gotta make sure we pitch intelligently, but actually, most important is health," pitching coach Ramiro Estrada said.

In addition to these three factors, Coach Estrada's philosophy of building one-on-one connections with his players was equally important.

"I go off their natural talent and just sharpen their God-given talent and skills, and go from there," pitching coach Estrada said. "Every, every pitcher is different. You know, we have a lot of conversations. How do you feel today? How does this feel? When we start making the mechanical changes and go with what they feel"

As Palm Desert returned to glory, winning the DEL and going undefeated, Coach Estrada's impact was like having an additional player on the field.

"I think they've done a great job of following his lead, and we just look forward to them continuing the success, really," head coach Ricky Gingras said.

Palm Desert baseball finished the year with a 23-6 overall record, a 15-0 league record, and made it to the Division 2 CIF-SS playoffs.