“When I was little, I picked up a ball and threw it naturally like a pitcher, leg kick and all,” said Gabe Navarrette. “I instantly had a passion for baseball. Ever since, I watched it on TV, but I didn’t play on a team until I moved to Suisun in 2015.”

That first team was Suisun Little League and Navarrette played with them for five years, until COVID hit. “I was an All-Star all five years,” he said. “In 2019, I threw a no-hitter with 17Ks and my 50/70 team also won the district 53 all-star championship… My most memorable game is when we finally won a banner for little league. My goal from Day #1 was to win a Championship for Suisun Little League.”

His next step was the Police Activities League (PAL) team as an eighth grader through the feeder program and now he is a pitcher on Armijo’s junior varsity (JV) team, but even that was impacted by COVID-19.

“Coaches outside of our district were calling my {Little League} coach to set up games. We were looking forward to traveling and facing teams we’ve never played before,” Navarrette said, and then it was all cancelled. The Armijo PAL league was also cancelled.

In the spring this year, the season was brought back, but in a much-abbreviated way. “This year’s short season was not that competitive because we only had a couple of weeks to practice and shake off the rust from not playing baseball for over a year,” Navarrette said, and while he wasn’t able to participate in any other sports this year, he is hoping that sports will be open next fall and he can consider other sports. “I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do at Armijo these next years,” he said.

His dream, though, is to eventually go to a university that has a D1 baseball team in preparation for a career in Major League Baseball (MLB). “Playing sports is a great way to make bonds and friendships. It’s such a fun experience and a good way to stay fit.”

“Besides baseball, during my free time I like to go bowling and running. I am also in Leadership and help organize our school events,” he said. “My role model is my Mom because she always supports me and provides for us the best she can.”