(Editor’s Note: This piece was originally published on March 22, 2017 after Team USA captured the Gold Medal in the World Baseball Classic)
Having coached him for five years on the diamond and one year on the gridiron, not many people know Marcus Stroman–who was just named Most Valuable Player of the 2017 World Baseball Classic–better than Patchogue-Medford HS Head Coach Anthony Frascogna.
Prior to gaining national acclaim for taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning and leading Team USA to their first WBC championship, he was leading Pat-Med to league titles. But before that, he was the little guy that was turning everyone’s head no matter which sport he played.
“I knew Marcus from when he was in elementary school because I knew Earl (his father), and I would see him on the fields,” said Frascogna. “I saw him throw a football 50 yards when he was eight-years-old and he was really good at basketball too,” he added.
The first time he had him down at the school for a baseball workout was in sixth grade. Already at that age, he was ahead of the competition. So much so, in fact, that he forced Frascogna’s hand in calling him up just two years later.
Despite playing in the ultra-competitive League I of Suffolk County, Frascogna called up Stroman as an eighth grader to varsity. The decision did not go over smoothly with everyone, as it’s natural that jealousy from players and parents would cause some hostility.
“Everyone wants their kid to play,” said Frascogna. “But as a coach, you know who the good players are.” He wasn’t much of a factor right away, but before long he was a key contributor on the team.
In the fall of his freshman year, Stroman was the QB of the JV football team. While most JV football games feature a healthy diet of rushing attempts, Stroman’s arm strength and athleticism allowed Frascogna to open up the playbook.
“It was like a street game,” he said. “We basically called plays in the huddle. He threw the ball a lot…we tried to keep him out of contact but once he took his first hit to the helmet that was it,” he added.
Stroman focused on baseball and basketball after that. During the baseball season, he was the starting shortstop as a freshman on their League Championship winning team. Frascogna noted he only threw a couple innings because they had a solid pitching staff, but he was just the piece they needed at the time.
“Previously we lacked a shortstop like him. He made all the plays–he was awesome,” he added.
By the next year, Stroman had stepped into the rotation and never looked back. He formed a trio with Chris Phelan and Mike Smith that would be the core for the next two seasons. Phelan went on to compile a 17-1 record in high school before winning a program-record 27 games at Farmingdale State. Smith had a terrific high school career as well and went on to pitch at Marist College.
That set the stage for his historic 2008 season in which he became the first junior to win the Carl Yastrzemski Award. He went 8-1 on the hill with a 1.85 ERA, compiling 96 K over 64.1 IP, while allowing only 37 hits. He also batted .400 with 2 HR, 18 RBI, 28 runs scored and 30 stolen bases.
“The stats were crazy–he was just lights-out,” he said of his 2008 season.
Frascogna noted that despite Stroman proving his worth there was still the jealousy factor. Whereas players used to think they deserved to play over him, now they may have been jealous of all the attention being given to him from–not just local publications–but also magazines like ESPN as well Gatorade naming him New York’s Player of the Year.
That summer he committed to Duke University and participated in the Area Code games, furthering his legitimacy among the inner circles of baseball. The 5’8″ RHP was not just a local name, but now a national one–albeit to a smaller degree than pitching representing Team USA.
During his senior season, Stroman was his typical dominant self, but Frascogna noticed he also began taking younger players under his wing, hitting fungos to infielders and embracing the role of a leader.
He won the Paul Gibson Award and just like that, he was off to Duke University, and the rest is history. He breezed through the ACC, the Cape Cod League, the minor leagues and now he’s the ace of the Toronto Blue Jays with 24 MLB wins and 30.2 postseason innings under his belt by age-25.
No longer will anyone doubt how much he can accomplish, because he has already surpassed all the previous expectations. He lauded his character and his passion, stating that he is “multi-talented, well-spoken, educated, has charisma and appeals to people of all races and classes.”
Stroman does occasionally come back to Patchogue-Meford for events like homecoming and to get his workouts in at Infiniti Performance or to throw a bullpen with Neal Heaton
While Frascogna noted that there’s no way to expect a player to reach the heights that he has in his young career, it was hard to ignore his level of talent.
“If a kid like that doesn’t make it, then nobody does.”
