The king of K’s

Having moved to this country from the Dominican Republic only last year, Miguel "Mike" Perez is still getting by on a few words and a smile.

Oh, and an incredible talent to throw strikes.

The South Philly High pitcher was particularly fluent April 12, when he tied a 31-year-old Public League record by striking out 21 batters in a 13-5 defeat against Swenson. Perez gave up four hits and no walks.

The 17-year-old tied the mark set in 1974 by another Southern hurler – George Riley, who went on to play four seasons in the major leagues. Both pitchers accomplished the feat in seven-inning games.

With freshman teammate Kelvin Rodriguez interpreting for him, Perez, a sophomore, simply described his performance as "very good."

"I just wanted to be a baseball player since I was 2," said the player, of 12th and Mifflin streets.

Coach Eric Weinstein kept the K tally under wraps until the Southern Rams returned to the locker room. Perez’s teammates were surprised by the news.

"I wasn’t keeping track," said sophomore second baseman Phillip Messina. "I knew he had a lot of strikeouts, but I didn’t know it was 21."

Last Wednesday, Weinstein gave Perez an issue of the Daily News that featured a story about him.

"He doesn’t understand the magnitude of what he accomplished, which is better off for him," the coach said.

The 6-foot-1, 215-pound right-hander fanned 18 batters in an April 6 loss to Martin Luther King, but the Rams lost that game 6-5 on his error.

"He doesn’t like to lose," Weinstein said.

Perez’s dominant pitchingis making him popular with his teammates, who refer to their star import as "Papi," a nickname common among Latin American players.

"It’s nice to have a Papi on our team," said senior first baseman Sam Taylor.

Taylor said he cheers on his quiet teammate by shouting, "Yeah, Papi, get him one, two, three!"

The player said he got a firsthand look at one of Perez’s fastballs at a recent practice.

"I hit it, but it didn’t go too far," Taylor said.

PEREZ IS PLAYING his first season of Public League baseball. His family arrived in this country last spring – too late to join Southern’s team. During the offseason, Perez works as a stock boy in his family’s grocery store.

"My family came to work, and I came to play baseball," he said through his interpreter.

Perez is enrolled in English for Speakers of Other Languages at Southern. He tried out for the Rams last month, and immediately won over the coach.

"I could see that he knew the game of baseball from where he came from," Weinstein said. "The instructional phase with Michael is minimal. I use him to help other kids on the team."

Southern was 4-2 after a 17-7 win over University City on Tuesday. The Rams are in a race for the lone AAAA playoff spot in Division C, competing with the likes of King, Swenson and West Philly. The postseason would be Perez’s only opportunity to face upper-echelon teams such as Frankford, Washington and Central.

"I kind of feel bad that we are in the C Division because our division doesn’t get that much respect," Weinstein said.

With Perez on the mound, however, Southern is proving its worth. The pitcher will face the age cutoff before his senior season, as he’ll turn 19 in December 2006. Weinstein said he’ll consider asking for an exception when the time comes.

There is still plenty of work to be done this season, starting with today’s game against 4-0 Prep Charter, which will be played at 24th and Jackson.

Perez’s teammates will continue cheering him on, and even want to see him set a new strikeout record, which would require extra innings.

"I am hoping he can break it," Taylor said.

Riley, the original record-holder, is among a small group of South Philadelphians to make it to the major leagues, playing with the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants and Montreal Expos.

But Perez is most interested in following the footsteps of his countrymen and probable hall-of-famers Sammy Sosa and Pedro Martinez.

Weinstein said despite any pro aspirations, his pitcher focuses on having fun.

"He doesn’t think about numbers," the coach said.

But 21 strikeouts is a number that’s hard to forget.

Miguel "Mike" Perez, who learned to play baseball in his native Dominican Republic, would like to become a major leaguer like countrymen Sammy Sosa and Pedro Martinez.