by Vinny Messana
During the prime years of the New York Yankees dynasty, they relied heavily on southpaw Andy Pettitte in Game 3’s of postseason series. Manager Joe Torre noted that this was almost always the most important game because the series was tied 1-1 often times, and this game was critical in determining the momentum of the series.
Over the course of his young career, Antonio Deodato, has proven to be that caliber of pitcher–someone that the team has the utmost confidence to win crucial games.
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“I take a lot of pride in pitching must win games. It means that my coaches and teammates believe in me and are confident in me to get the job done and that’s getting us the win,” he said.
Despite not getting some of the hoopla that the other stars of the 2017 graduating class have received, the Wheatley senior continues to dominate no matter the level of competition.
“He can pitch any game for me, anytime, anywhere and against who ever,” said one of his former coaches. He proved his mettle by starting and winning the Perfect Game Regional Final to clinch a bid for the National Championship in Jupiter. He defeated the Bethel Brothers, a premier organization from Florida.
It is no wonder that he named Pettitte as his favorite pitcher to watch.
“Growing up a Yankee fan, Andy Pettitte was my favorite player. Now I enjoy watching Clayton Kershaw and, of course, the local talent in the big leagues Marcus Stroman and Steven Matz.”
The LHP was the winning pitcher over Oyster Bay in the 2016 Nassau County Class B Finals. He personifies the “crafty lefty” phrase and has clean, repeatable mechanics.
He won five games for the Wildcats on their way to winning the Class B Long Island Championship, but that did not satisfy him.
“This year, winning the Long Island Championship felt great but wasn’t what we set out to do. The team is looking forward to having another opportunity to win the state title next year,” he added.
While that may sound like a lofty expectation, the great players generally do shoot for the stars. He credits much of his accomplishments to his father and his coaches.
Throughout my life, my father has been the biggest influence, he introduced me to the game and coached all of my years in little league including travel. After little league, my 8th grade baseball coach, Dave Burke, former George Washington university pitcher, sacrificed free periods throughout my middle school years to work on my pitching mechanics and throw bullpens. In the summer of my 9th grade year my dad decided to bring me over to the long island titans where I met Bobby DeMichael who has been my pitching instructor and head coach for the past two years. My varsity coach, Paul Paino, who brought me up as a freshman for the playoffs and made me a starter my sophomore year has been a big influence as well.
DeMichael, also the pitching coach at LIU Post has been very pleased with the progress of the young southpaw.
“Pitching wise, the kid is a Div-I pitcher, only thing holding him back is the velocity. He was back up to 83-84 MPH this weekend, though,” said DeMichael. “He’s a great kid, with a great work ethic. I’ve been lucky to coach him the last few years,” he added.
With the signing period just around the corner, Deodato will certainly garner a ton of interest from the local schools.
“As a student athlete I’m looking to get the best opportunity to compete at the highest level academically and athletically,” he said.
If one thing is for certain, he will make one coach very excited to have a lefty pitcher of his caliber.
If another thing is for certain, he will make a lot of coaches frustrated that they weren’t able to.
