The Cardozo standout has an unparalleled passion for playing baseball — and playing it well, year round — making the Judges’ four-year starter an easy choice for TimesLedger PSAL Baseball…
There’s no mistaking it, Bernie Estevez is a baseball player.
The Cardozo standout has an unparalleled passion for playing baseball — and playing it well, year round — making the Judges’ four-year starter an easy choice for TimesLedger PSAL Baseball Player of the Year.
Maybe it’s because Estevez quietly excels — he isn’t flashy at the plate or in the field — that has made him one of the most underrated players in the city, but there is no questioning his ability or his worth to Cardozo.
Estevez, who plays with the Bayside Yankees Senior Americans during the summer, is a switch-hitting shortstop with a swing as sweet as honey.
As for Estevez’s fielding, Cardozo coach Pete Douglas said he’s never seen a player with softer hands. Estevez makes the difficult plays at short look easy, he can seemingly turn the 6-4-3 double play with his eyes closed.
After batting .436 with three home runs and 21 RBIs as a junior, earning him TimesLedger PSAL All-Queens first team honors, Estevez batted .490 with four home runs — including the longest home run Francis Lewis coach Randy James has ever seen at Lewis — and 19 RBIs. He had a .837 slugging percentage despite walking 16 times.
One of his most dominating performances came in Cardozo’s come-from-behind 9-6 win over Bushwick. Estevez led the Judges back from a 5-1 deficit by going 3-for-5 — a regular occurrence — with three RBIs and belted the game-winning extra-inning hit.
Estevez will join Christ the King catcher and Bayside Yankees teammate Mike Schaetzle at Tennessee Wesleyan University in the fall.
