Mutual respect and admiration. The body of work Matt Maxon and Alan Gonzalez put together this past spring did not go unnoticed by the pair from opposite dugouts.

“He plays with passion,” Gonzalez said. “He’s aggressive. He gives baseball his all. He’s always hunting. Matt’s a super competitive player. I respect that a lot.”

In addition to the impressive numbers Gonzalez put up at Palma High this past spring as a two-way player, it was his transformation that Maxon lauded, while pitching against him for Carmel.

“He’s a whole new player,” said Maxon of Gonzalez. “I just think he’s mentally always locked into the game. He cares about winning more as a team than himself personally.”

While Maxon hit and pitched Carmel to a Central Coast Section Division III title, Gonzalez did the same in helping the Chieftains to their first Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division title in nine years.

The pair’s offensive numbers and pitching statistics are so similar that they were chosen as the Monterey Herald’s All-County Co-Most Valuable Players in baseball.

The comparisons are eerily similar from their identical 6-foot-3 frames to earned run averages hovering around 1.00, fastballs in the mid-90s, and on-base percentages at the plate above .520.

“I love to see guys from the 831 succeed,” said Maxon, who verbally committed to Stanford as a freshman three years ago and also earned all-county honors in football last fall.

Maxon’s praise for Gonzalez wasn’t just about his play on the field. The junior multi-sport athlete was also referring about a decision the Palma senior made during his junior year to dedicate himself to getting in pristine shape and dropping weight.

“My parents put a lot of time and effort into this, taking me to baseball tournaments all over the country,” Gonzalez said. “I wanted to pay them back.”

So Gonzalez transformed his body between his junior and senior seasons, dropping 61 pounds to trim down to 205 on a 6-foot-3 frame.

“When you’re overweight, it’s hard to be a good athlete in baseball,” Gonzalez said. “I wanted to play baseball in college. It was a process. But I could feel the results.”

As Gonzalez got leaner, he got stronger. Couple that with natural progression, and his fastball took a leap from 85 to 92 mph on the radar gun last summer.

“I don’t know if I was completely surprised,” Gonzalez said. “But I could feel it. It wasn’t just that. My command of pitch control improved. I thought I’d have a chance to play in college.”

That became a reality before the spring season started when Gonzalez signed with the University of San Francisco to be a pitcher, joining Maxon as two players with Division I rides.

The hard-throwing right-hander opened the season for the Chieftains by hurling 23 scoreless innings.

“The ball was jumping off my hand,” Gonzalez said. “It didn’t really have anything to do with my mechanics. I started doing more long toss and got stronger in the weight room.”

When Gonzalez gave up that first run, it was like a burden had been taken off his shoulders, that the focus could just be about pitching and getting people out.

“I felt untouchable, that no one could stop me,” Gonzalez said. “But then that’s all anyone was talking about.”

Gonzalez put together a magical season, finishing the regular season with a 7-1 record, sporting a 1.12 earned run average for the Gabilan Division champions.

Relying on an arsenal of pitches, including a heater, Gonzalez struck out 75 hitters in 49 innings, including 13 in a nonleague game against Christopher.

“I felt great that day,” Gonzalez said. “I don’t know how else to put it. The games that mattered are the ones that I feel I excelled at.”

That includes the Chieftains’ first meeting with Carmel in a battle for first place, when the power hitter hit three homers in one game.

“I was more of a free swinger this year,” Gonzalez said. “I felt loose at the plate. If this is my last year in hitting, I wanted to make it one to remember.”

Gonzalez finished with 10 homers, while driving in 51 runs in 27 regular-season games.

“I look at myself as a power hitter that can hit the ball to all fields,” Gonzalez said. “Two of my homers were opposite field shots.”

Gonzalez also sent one homer 425 feet over the center field fence at Palma.

“That was a nuke,” said Gonzalez.

Gonzalez hit for average for the Chieftains, finishing with a .463 batting average and a .524 on-base percentage, compiling a .974 slugging percentage.

While the three-homer game is a keepsake moment, so was opening the season by tossing 23 scoreless innings.

“I didn’t put much into the three-homer game because it happened in such a little park,” Gonzalez said. “The scoreless streak was special.”

While he was recruited as a pitcher, there have been conversations about potentially letting him be a two-way player and hit when he’s not pitching.

“I think there’s a chance,” Gonzalez said. “Right now the focus is on pitching. I see myself as a starter or closer. I’m comfortable with what they throw at me. I just want to contribute.”

Maxon has also expressed an interest in being a two-way player at Stanford, something that is no longer frowned upon.

The 6-3, 190-pounder hit 11 homers and drove in 40 runs in helping the Padres win their second CCS Division III title in three years.

“I would like to think of myself as a two-way player at Stanford if that opportunity ever comes,” Maxon said. “I work just as hard at hitting as I do at pitching.”

In addition to his power numbers, Maxon hit for average, finishing with a .471 batting average in the regular season, compiling a .531 on-base percentage.

“I do pull the ball more,” Maxon said. “But I try and have the same approach in all my at-bats. It’s kind of line drive up the middle, off the pitcher’s head.”

An outfielder, who has played some first base this year when he’s not on the bump, Maxon has scored 41 runs, while stealing 12 bases.

“I consider myself more of a pitcher than a hitter,” Maxon said. “I am very comfortable on the mound and in the box. A big part of my success is that I have a lot of confidence in myself.”

The ace of Carmel’s pitching staff, Maxon went 8-1 in the regular season, with 73 strikeouts, compiling a 0.92 earned run average. Opponents hit .134 off him.

“The coaches do a really good job of going back to our previous game and evaluating hitters,” Maxon said. “I keep a lot of stuff in my memory bank. I remember who touched me for a hit.”

Following football season, in which Maxon earned all-county defensive honors in helping the Padres to a state title and 15-0 record, he went into an off-season program, adding 20 pounds.

“It’s a process,” the 17-year-old said. “It’s also about development. Being a year older comes into play as well. I gained about 5 mph on my fastball.”

With a fastball that has touched 93 mph on the radar gun, Maxon has four pitches he relies on during the game, gaining confidence in his splitter against right-handed hitters.

“Now I can throw it to all batters with confidence,” Maxon said. “My fastball and slider have been good. My change-up is still a work in progress.”

A repeater on the all-county team, Maxon’s role this year changed in the dugout. Having always been a leader by example, he’s taken a lot of younger players under his wing.

“Last year I was still trying to be a leader,” Maxon said. “But we had seniors. This year, I’ve tried to step up and guide the underclassmen through the process. We just mesh together.”

And that’s probably what Maxon will take from this season more than his fantasy-type numbers he’s posted at the plate and on the mound.

“I think people looked at how many seniors we lost last year and looked at us as just another team,” Maxon said. “We have two seniors on this roster. I’m proud of the underclassman, showing up each day, working hard and helping us win a championship.”