UCLA pitchers secret weapon: A two-inch dinosaur

Baseball gamers are superstitious — it comes with the territory.

But not even UCLA coach John Savage, who has coached the Bruins since 2004, has seen one thing that rivals pitcher Angel Cervantes and his mini toy dinosaur, Jerry.

A two-inch triceratops, Jerry sits behind the 6-foot-2 freshman every time the righty takes the mound, serving as a acquainted — albeit tiny — face Cervantes can flip to for reassurance.

“[Cervantes] used the word childish,” Savage recalled. “And I kind of like that because that’s the first thing you think, like, ‘What the hell? Baby dinosaur? What are we doing?’ And so, he got a little chuckle out of it. He doesn’t take himself too serious, and I like that from a young guy. But it’s something that he loves and works off and, you know, good for him.”

Jerry took the world by storm as Cervantes, making his postseason debut Sunday, tossed 5 scoreless innings in UCLA’s 3-2 11-inning win over Oregon in the Big Ten championship sport. The broadcast crew zoomed in on the dino, and the remaining stays historical past.

Cervantes didn’t count on his mini dinosaur to be a sizzling subject throughout faculty baseball. The pitcher discovered it “crazy” to see himself and Jerry showered with love in social media posts shared by ESPN and MLB.

However, as the virality will increase, Cervantes has been an open e book about Jerry.

“Jerry, he’s a big part of my plan,” he said. “He just keeps me calm.”

The triceratops has been calming Cervantes since his senior 12 months at Downey’s Warren High School.

In George Redfox’s images class, Cervantes and his classmates had been assigned to take photos of mini dinosaurs on the ground at various angles. With the longtime instructor’s approval, Cervantes and a good friend stored a pair of dinosaurs; one was named Tom, and the other Jerry, impressed by the show Cervantes beloved watching with his dad growing up.

Cervantes first positioned Jerry behind him on the mound during a sport at Angel Stadium and has made it routine ever since.

“I put my hand on my lid, I look down, and I close my eyes,” Cervantes said of his superstition. “And once I open my eyes, I look at Jerry, and that’s when I know it’s time to go. If I’m [ahead] 0-2, I like to slow myself down. I don’t want to think ahead. Or, after a first-pitch strike [or] the beginning of the inning, you know, whatever. Whenever I think the moment’s getting a little big, I want to slow things down.”

Some gamers pat their gloves. Others chew gum or spit seeds. But Cervantes? He just appears to be like at his little pal.

As Savage said, the association is exclusive.

However, what works, works. And the Bruins, when they’re not worrying about stepping on Jerry or watching the tiny-but-mighty dino get obliterated by a grounder up the center, are all for something that will empower Cervantes to be his best.

“I remember seeing [Jerry] for the first time in the fall, and I just thought it was funny,” UCLA junior catcher Cashel Dugger said. “I think it’s just his thing, and it keeps him comfortable out there. And if he’s comfortable out there, then I think everybody else is good for it …”

Jerry didn’t just help Cervantes thrive in the most important sport of his life to help the Bruins earn their first Big Ten convention title.

Rather, the dino helped Cervantes evolve from an adapting freshman into a reliable arm — that enters the NCAA event with a 3.86 ERA with just one run given up over his last 5 outings — in a rotation that needed a enhance, as right-handed ace Logan Reddemann has been out with arm soreness since mid-April.

“He was not ready, three [to] four months ago, to be a weekend starter,” Savage said of Cervantes, who the Pittsburgh Pirates chosen with the No. 50 general decide in the 2025 MLB draft. “In terms of Angel, it’s really been a fun progression. It’s really, I think, the epitome of development, of not rushing a guy with high expectations. I mean, he [was the] 50th pick … you would think [he’d] be plug-in-and-go. But in today’s world of college baseball, being barely 18 years old … he just wasn’t there yet, and he needed to fall.”

Jerry isn’t on UCLA’s roster and in all probability gained’t be sized for championship rings any time soon.

But don’t get it twisted: there’s only one tiny dinosaur Cervantes appears to be like to when he feels the heat, or for a raise when he falls. The two, fairly actually, are inseparable.

“He’s in my backpack,” Cervantes said when requested where Jerry goes after video games. “So, he’s still with me. I don’t want to keep him in my pocket — maybe I’ll grab my wallet, and he suddenly falls out. I’m always on top of where I keep him.”

Jerry has the trust of everybody in Westwood as UCLA begins its quest for a second national title in program historical past on Friday against Saint Mary’s.

The Bruins love him. The followers love him. Heck, even umpires can’t help but smile when met with the triceratops.

“Every time they do checks — like, they check my hands and glove — they’re always asking what’s in my pockets or hand, because before they do that, I put Jerry in the pocket. And I just put my hand out, and Jerry’s just right there. ‘Oh, OK, cool. Go get ‘em.’ So they’re always having a smile on their face.”

Cervantes and the Bruins still have a methods to go before they’re champions of the world. But if something is definite, it’s that Jerry will likely be there every step of the way in which, whether or not on the mound with the freshman or in his backpack.

Oh, and if Cervantes ever will get to make that dream big-league look at some point, he made it clear: He’d do every part he may to share the expertise with Jerry.

“Someone said that if the batter ever gets mad and goes up to the pitcher, that Jerry will be right behind him,” Cervantes said of his favourite social media remark about his mini companion. “And that we should get a helmet for Jerry.”