Transfer brings hot bat to AHS

ASHEBORO — Baseball can be a very difficult sport to play, especially at the high school level. One only becomes efficient in the sport when there’s a level of comfort at the plate and on the field.

But so many factors are involved in reaching that comfort level and Asheboro High School junior Justin Guerrero is battling to overcome a wealth of obstacles to get himself to that place.

Guerrero, who transferred to AHS from the Dominican Republic, is one of the leaders on the Blue Comets’ baseball team and is adjusting to not only a new home, but a new school, a new language and a new coach.

“Baseball is universal and he does a great job with it,” said first-year AHS coach Jamey May of Guerrero, who is fighting through the language barrier the best he can. “At first, it was hard to talk with him, but now he understands just about everything I say. (The language barrier) is getting less and less.”

Guerrero grew up in the Dominican Republic, where baseball is more than just a game. Guerrero spent five days a week on the baseball field and went to school only on Saturdays. 

His normal day at the field began at 6 a.m. with running and workouts in the gym followed by on-field activities from 10 a.m. until noon. After breaking for lunch, he would return to the field for three more hours of work.

Guerrero arrived in Asheboro with his father and two sisters after a stay in New York. His father visited Asheboro, where relative Osiris Rodriguez had played for the AHS basketball team, and immediately moved his family to Asheboro.

“My dad came here and visited for three days and he loved it and he said we were moving to North Carolina,” Guerrero said through an interpreter. “At first, it was very hard, mostly because of the English, but I have adjusted slowly.”

The one place no adjustments have been necessary is on the baseball field. Guerrero is hitting .440 with five RBIs and a home run. The Blue Comets are off to a 7-3 start, including a 3-1 record in the Triad Area Athletic Conference heading into this week, where AHS is scheduled to play Southeast Guilford twice and Southwestern Randolph once.

“It’s good and I’m very thankful for the school,” Guerrero said. “Just working very, very hard and I’m still adjusting. I like how (his team) plays. They play very good.”

Guerrero has forced May to take a different approach.

“The only thing I would say about him personally, I am not used to just letting my players play,” May said. “I am usually very particular about how we do things. He’s used to doing things in a completely different way than I am used to. I just let him play. That’s tough for me.”

May said Guerrero has a bit of “swagger” that could be seen as cocky, “but it’s not,” May said. “It’s how he plays the game.”

Guerrero, who was in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, is taking math, English, Spanish and ESL classes at AHS.

“I am understanding more now,” he said. “At the beginning, it was very difficult.”

Not everything has gone smoothly. The language barrier between him and his teammates — which is improving daily — has caused May to use Guerrero as the team’s designated hitter. A natural middle infielder, Guerrero is still adjusting to calls on the field that must be made in order for a team to experience success.

“Sometimes I don’t know what to say, so I just make signs,” Guerrero said. 

Guerrero said he is very impressed with McCrary Park, the home field for the Blue Comets.

“I was very surprised,” he said when he saw the park for the first time. “At the beginning, I didn’t think it was artificial grass.”

The Dominican Republic has dirt fields.

Another area where there is absolutely no language barrier is what Guerrero said he hopes to achieve.

“I want to play in the big leagues,” he said. “I want to be famous.”