by Vinny Messana
When there was a need for a shortstop, Half Hollow Hills East Head Coach Tim Belz had to think outside the box in order to fill the position.
Both of his shortstops were also starting pitchers and they couldn’t play the field after their starts. Fortunately, there was a ninth grader that he felt was capable of filling the position.
“I told him, ‘we don’t care care if you bat .100, as long as you can make every single play,” Belz told his freshman.
That freshman was Mike Palazzolo, now a junior that committed to Stony Brook last year, not just because of his glove but his bat. That expectation sounds a bit comical now.
Palazzolo has a relentless work ethic, he’s often taking hitting lessons after games just to stay sharp.
“If he has one thing wrong with his swing, he’s working on it THAT NIGHT…for him, it’s really eat, sleep and think about baseball every day of your life,” said Belz.
That type of mentality, combined with elite hand-eye coordination and foot speed has allowed Palazzolo to be regarded as one of the top shortstop prospects in the region and he has vastly improved with the bat.
In last year’s playoff game against Sachem East he really showed what kind of player he is when he doubled to start the game and then scored on a ground ball to the first baseman when he noticed the catcher had drifted down the line.
He followed that up with a solo shot to RF off a senior pitcher that was committed to a Div-II school. Not to be outdone, he hit an RBI single in his next at bat to blow the game open.
Top 10 Prospects on the Island:
No. 10- Jason Diaz, Kellenberg ’19
No. 9- Kyle Martin, Oceanside ’16
No. 8- James Cardinale, Commack ’18
No. 7- Sam Kessler, Mt. Sinai ’16
No. 6- Nick Grande, Smithtown West ’16
No. 5- Mike Palazzolo, Half Hollow Hills East ’17
Getting three hits in a road playoff game against a college-bound pitcher as a sophomore is nothing to scoff at.
But, in case you weren’t sold he has continued to rake this season and is hitting .375 at the plate and playing a superb shortstop.
The humble shortstop stated that he only has one goal this year and that’s to “win..keep playing baseball–that’s all that matters.”
They have a very good team this season, but even if they do not win a county championship this season, Hills East is well-positioned for the future.
With junior Patch Dooley, Palazzolo, and sophomores Matt Hogan and Joe Litchult, they have four cour guys that will be back next season and could all be Div-I players. That alone makes them a force coming out of Suffolk County Class AA.
Belz noted that calling up underclassmen is not always their preferred method, but their are certain circumstances that warrant it.
“In the past, we’ve been nervous to do it because of the pressure situation,” said Belz. “Can they handle that pressure? Will it hurt them in the long-run? Playing at that level, striking out in a league game, will that eventually carry with them for the next couple years and maybe never reach their potential.”
“He has what it takes mentally,” he added.
Palazzolo has been playing year-round for quite some time now. He has been playing baseball since he was five-years-old, and has never played another sport competitively. He has been playing with the Long Island Titans since he was 11 and now is on the BodyArmor Titans–a team loaded with Div-I prospects.
Basically, he has been groomed to be a baseball star. Generally, those players from Long Island move out of state to the ideal-weather states but he stated he takes pride being from the northeast.
“The reason why I picked Stony Brook was to be in the northeast. I love this place, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to leave this place. I love where I’m from, I love everyone that’s around me and the coaches that are around me,” he said.
With that being the case, we’ll be able to watch the shortstop play baseball in our backyard for at least the next five years.
Unless the MLB Draft has anything to say about that next June.
