By Christopher Tremblay

Ever since he began playing baseball in Boston at the young age of three, Angel Olaverria wanted to be a third baseman, but he soon found out that his coaches thought he’d be better suited as a catcher. Thankfully, his coaches back then had the insight of who and what Olaverria could become playing behind the plate.

“I thought of myself playing third, but the coaches moving me to catcher, they felt it better fit my play as I had an amazing baseball IQ, could see the field well, and was vocal,” Olaverria said. “I originally hated the position and didn’t like it at all, but once I picked it up it became a true passion of mine. As a catcher, I was an extension of the coaching staff.”

Through the years, the Boston native honed his catching skills, and by the seventh grade he realized that he was pretty good behind the dish. He found that his game developed into a top-notch catcher and was playing above his grade with kids 15-18 years old while he was only 13. This is when he knew that he could compete at a high level.

“I love being able to see the entire field while calling the shots and giving directions to my teammates,” Olaverria said. “Back then it was tough at first and I was somewhat hesitant, but over time I have become very comfortable with the position and it is now something that I really love.”

Olaverria’s ability to play on the diamond at a high level most likely comes from his father, who was drafted in the Dominican Republic but never really got to play due to an injury. As a youngster, he would follow his dad to the fields in Boston and while his father played, he was asking people to play catch with him.

It was in the seventh grade when his family decided to get out of Boston and away from the violence and moved to Norwood. According to Olaverria, his mother wanted to give him more exposure with baseball, but somewhere quieter.

It was while he was playing for an AAU when Norwood Coach Kevin Igoe first noticed his catching abilities on the baseball field.

“He had a special ability and I could see that he was going to be something special,” the Mustangs Coach said. “He has worked his way into becoming the best in the league defensively. He’s an unbelievable backstop and is well respected by his peers.”

Arriving at the Norwood High School, Olaverria found himself starting for the JV team, but also sat on the varsity bench as the back-up catcher. During his sophomore year, the position would be his to lose.

“I knew that I was going to get the chance to start as a sophomore,” Olaverria said. “(Coach) Igoe told me that I was up next as we had no other catchers. I was up for the challenge and ready to take on the opportunity.”

His first start as a varsity catcher was against Westwood. Norwood would win the game but the young catcher was a bit nervous and had butterflies in his stomach, but felt a sense of pride being the youngest player on the field. Making the jump to high school baseball from AAU was a big adjustment, but he settled in quickly.

Playing against kids who were older Olaverria knew that he had raise the mental aspect of his game while getting his body in the best possible shape that he could. With those priorities he knew that his body would be able to recover and he could give 100 % all the time.

Defense has always been a top priority of Olaverria’s and you can usually find him working on his craft day or night. The senior noted that he gets to the gym every day at 5 AM to work on his cardio, then goes to school and is back in the gym in the afternoon; and if he has any free time in the evenings, he’s working on drills in his basement.

“Most catchers don’t like to be aggressive behind the plate and that’s what separates me from the others,” Olaverria said. “I work hard on my blocking and receiving. Catching is a demanding position, but I take pride in my game. Ill put my butt on the line for my teammates ten out of ten times.”

With all the work that he put in to improve himself, Olaverria was unanimously voted by the Tri-Valley League coaches as the Defensive Player of the Year last fall as a junior.

As he enters his senior campaign with Norwood this spring, Olaverria would like to go back-to-back as the Defensive Player of the Year in addition to winning a Division 2 State Championship for his coach.

Following his high school days at Norwood, he will be looking to continue playing baseball on the collegiate level. He has had a handful of college offers but noted that he needs to do some more research on the schools’ academics as he wants to major in exercise science.

Although Norwood still has the entire season to play, Coach Igoe remains impressed with Olaverria’s dedication and ambition in baseball as well as his position that he wished would receive more player attention and interest.

“He is involved in baseball 365 days a year and is looking to extend that into college,” Igoe said. “He worked hard all winter and participated in many showcases. I’m going to be really sad when he leaves; catching has become a lost art with a lot of athletes not wanting to take the position on and he does it so well.”