Bearcats and Their Former Star Share Gold
Parents Fausto and Letty Mier hold Rawlings Gold Glove awarded to their son Jiovanni Mier for being the best defensive high school shortstop in 2009.
Jio Mier, the slick-fielding Bonita baseball star who signed with the Houston Astros in 2009, just got a little slicker as Rawlings in conjunction with the American Baseball Coaches Association awarded Mier a Gold Glove as the nation’s top-fielding high school shortstop last season.
The award is the same type and style awarded to Major League Baseball’s Gold Glove winners.
“Our company is proud to see that defense is being recognized and rewarded at all levels of play,” said Rawlings President and General Manager Robert Paris. “These elite athletes deserve tremendous recognition for their fielding skills and contribution to the game of baseball.
While Mier is currently in spring training with the Houston Astros in Kissimmee, Fla., his parents Letty and Fausto Mier were at Bonita sharing the glittering glove with Bonita fans before the start of the Bonita-Diamond Ranch game, which Bonita won 3-0, no doubt flashing some of the same Mier magic that was routinely on display at Bonita from 2005-2009.
Jiovanni had planned to donate his glove to the school, making a nice companion to the school’s Heisman Trophy (awarded to Glenn Davis), but Rawlings actually created two identical gloves, one for the player and one for the school to treasure.
“Jiovanni was going to donate the glove to the school, but two days later we received another one, so one is for the school and one is for Jiovanni,” Letty explaned.
After graduating from Bonita, Mier traveled to Greeneville, Tenn., official home of the Greeneville Astros baseball club of the Appalachian League, where he batted .276 and hammered eight home runs.
After the Astros break spring training camp, Mier will be headed to the Astros’ Lexington, Ky., A-team affiliate, the Lexington Legends (www.lexingtonlegends.com).
“We just came back from visiting him in Kissimmee,” said Letty, who no doubt will be racking up frequent flyer miles to keep up with her aspiring Major Leaguer. “We talk every day. He’s doing really well.”
Stop by the front office to see what the Gold Glove looks like and then catch the defending Miramonte League champion Bearcats in action.
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