Girl power, buddy. Never doubt it.
When Jaslene Ramirez of Santa Fe digs into the Batter’s Box at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park on Sunday, she’s going to prove what you should have known a long, long time ago: Girls, they can knock the snot out of the ball, too.
The 12-year-old, who is coming to St. Michael’s in seventh graders in a few weeks, will be in the T-Mobile West Regional Home Run Derby, which takes place after Sunday’s Big League game between the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Seafarers. It shows the top 10 little league power hitters in softball and baseball from western Mississippi and brings them together in a derby that will send the winner to the national finals of the Little League World Series next month.
Jaslene will represent Santa Fe on one side. The baseball derby will be matched by Darrell Carbajal from Santa Fe and Maddox Gonzales from Albuquerque.
Carbajal, a sweetly wielding right-handed man who achieved folk hero status in the Santa Fe Little League this summer using a 33-ounce wooden bat, hit more than 30 things during his local derby. Ramirez hit 23 of Ron Shirley Alto Park during the softball derby and did enough damage to get the attention of the big T-Mobile wigs who organized the event.
They flew to Seattle with the Carbajals and Ramirezes on Saturday for an all-inclusive trip. Each family was chauffeured to a downtown hotel and given tickets to the Mariners’ game on Sunday.
As great as that sounds, Jaslene just looks forward to seeing her photo splash across the giant video screen at T-Mobile Park, hoping to channel the mojo she gets from one of her superstitions. Her walk-up song is traditionally “Scooby Doo Pa Pa” by DJ Kass.
Every time she hears it, she said, good things usually happen.
“I changed it once and didn’t hit it, then everything happened,” said Jaslene.
That “everything happened” was the pandemic that immediately put an end to youth sports across New Mexico after Ramirez tinkered with the softball gods in March 2020 and changed her walk-up to “Scrub the Ground” by Chocolate Puma & Tommie Sunshine had. For more than a year, Ramirez had to live with the memory of fighting her new song on the record during a tournament.
Another superstition? Talking to her bat.
While the T-Mobile folks graciously provided a free stick, Ramirez is happy to ride it out with the one that her parents, Bianca and Jesus Ramirez, got them for them some time ago.
With the handle wrapped in white tape, Jaslene stands in front of the batteries box for a split second before digging in. She stares at the bat as if the two of them have a secret relationship that we are not privy to, then she will ask them – nice, she adds – if there are any hits for them.
It usually has regardless of the walk-up song.
“I can’t tell you how proud the whole town is to have not just Jas but Darrell,” said Aaron Ortiz, president of the Santa Fe Little League. “They are both such great kids. It’s such a big accomplishment to send one player out there, but having two from the same little league is insane. Hopefully people will see that and maybe get inspired to start their own journey, you know?
Jaslene’s journey began a few years ago when she spent the first few seasons in baseball. At the age of 9 she switched to softball and worked with youth coach Maria Cedillo. With Cedillo’s guidance, Jaslene learned more than just the basics of the game.
Cedillo taught her players the value of an unwavering values ethic that will enable girls to rise from battle and achieve goals that most believe are out of reach. She wants her girls to raise their own expectations well beyond what some see as unachievable and then exceed them by working together.
As tall as her broad-shouldered father is, Jaslene said she got her power swing from Cedillo.
“I feel like it’s just a matter of self-confidence and courage because it doesn’t matter who you accept, it doesn’t matter how tall you are or who you are against, it’s just your attitude that counts.” said Jaslene. “You go out there and play hard no matter what.”
Bianca listened to her daughter and said that everyday youth sports – Jaslene also loves volleyball and basketball and plans to play all three at St. Michael’s – has shaped a mindset that a trip to a big league stadium nowhere near makes as intimidating as it should be.
“Jas has grown so much and learned that being a good athlete means being a good person and making good decisions,” said Bianca Ramirez. “It’s about working hard and not making excuses. This 6 [a.m.] Training and the games in Ruidoso, Albuquerque or wherever doesn’t matter. You show up and play. “
Jaslene’s parents grew up in Española. Since starting a family – first with Jaslene, followed by 8-year-old Elijah and then the family dog Timmy – the couple have dedicated themselves to strengthening Jaslene with the convictions that Cedillo brings to the field every day.
Jaslene is a chosen third baseman and, given the circumstances, a power hitter. Until recently, she never really hit the long ball. Now that she’s tried it, she likes it.
No matter how she does Sunday, one of the many things she has learned is to relax, have fun, and let exercise take you to places you have never dreamed of.
“I mean we’re going to be in a big stadium and hit softballs,” she said. “That sounds like fun to me.”
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