[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzZJnCuejRM]
There used to be a saying around the Philadelphia Phillies clubhouse when Steve Carlton would start a game. They called it ‘win day’.
Doesn’t matter the opponent or what happened the day before, the ace is on the mound now.
It was very much like that for the Hauppauge Eagles this season when their ace, Nick Fanti, was on the hill–who was named the 48th winner of the Carl Yastrzemski Award tonight, given to the best player in Suffolk County.
“When Nick Fanti is throwing for you, you just know you have a chance to win every baseball game that you play,” said his coach Josh Gutes. “He’s such a competitor, he gives you a chance every time he steps on the mound,” he added.
Fanti’s stats are pretty mind-boggling. He finished the season with an 8-1 record, 0.67 ERA and 87 strikeouts over 52 innings. Incredibly, he allowed only 14 hits which is good for a .089 AVG.
He lost only one game on the hill and it was in the playoffs against another ace–Mike Demarest–in which he threw eight innings and allowed one ER.
His most notable stretch began on April 7 when he threw a no-hitter against Glenn with 11 strikeouts. He followed that up one week later with another no-no against Huntington–this time with 16 strikeouts.
At the plate, he was a force as well.
He compiled a ridiculous .541 AVG with 27 RBI as the two-hitter in the Eagles lineup. He led them to an 18-3 record, including 16-1 in League 5.
Incredibly, winning the coveted Yaz Award wasn’t even his biggest achievement today.
Earlier in the day, Fanti was selected in the 31st round (924th overall) by the Philadelphia Phillies. He was the only high school player on the island to get drafted.
“It was by far the best day ever for me,” he told me. “The best part of the day was having my best friends near me when my name was called and also my parents face when they heard it was worth the world to me,” he added.
If he is unable to negotiate a deal by the July 17 deadline, he will honor his scholarship at Marist College and form a formidable duo with Brandon Bonomo of Hills East.
It was a record-breaking year of all sorts for the quiet southpaw.
