(Editor’s Note: This story was originally posted in December, 2019. We will be resuming the “Where Are They Now?” Series this offseason)
In 2009, Centereach was experiencing a renaissance, enjoying their best season in 18 years. Entering the postseason as the No. 5 seed, surely they would be in position to advance into the winner’s bracket of Suffolk Class AA.
As luck would have it, they were stuck facing No. 12 ranked Half Hollow Hills West, a team led by ace T.J. Pecoraro.
Centereach matched their ace up against the hard-thrower. It turned out to be a classic game with Hills West winning 4-3 in 10 innings in front of a packed crowd.
I remember this game vividly because I was starting opposite of Pecoraro. Even in the midst of the greatest season of my life, I had a feeling we weren’t going to beat the future MLB Draft pick. Hills West also happened to have a really good offense and they were able to take an early 3-0 lead in the second inning, before I was able to settle down and keep the game close.
Pecoraro wound up enjoying much more success than I did. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 2010 MLB Draft, but chose to attend Vanderbilt University. The decision was a good one, as he went 7-0 with a 1.87 ERA during his freshman season.
Additionally, he got to experience winning something that only. handful of people do and that’s winning the Division-I College World Series in front of a raucous crowd in Omaha.
Now several years later, Pecoraro is still involved in the game of baseball in a different capacity. He is a key piece of Team Beast as a pitching instructor, coach and head of their “Command Center”.
I had a chance to speak with him and here’s what he had to say…
Who was your favorite player growing up?
I’ve been a huge Yankees fan my whole life so as you may assume my favorite player growing up was Derek Jeter. As I got a little older and more into pitching I wanted to be exactly like Roger Clemens, I even tried to mimic his mechanics and pitches the best I could to try and reproduce his results.
Who are some people that played a critical role during your career?
There are really two people that had a monumental impact on my career especially at my younger ages. My dad being one of them because without him staying on top of my lacked work ethic at times there is no way I would have made it to where I did. The other is my long-term pitching coach and now good friend John Mangieri who is the one that really helped me take my game to the next level by teaching me about how to be a pitcher and not just doing the same mechanical drills every time we had a session together.
Can you explain your experience with the college recruiting process and how you wound up choosing Vanderbilt?
The recruiting process –as many are learning these days– is definitely stressful and a little chaotic at times. Being from the northeast, baseball is not exactly an ideal location when it comes to getting exposure to college and pro scouts, especially back when I was in high school. My dad and I took a lot of trips to showcases and events across the country, which eventually led to me getting several invites to some of the top events in the country. At first I was very open-minded to where I wanted to attend school or even hopefully play pro ball especially being that I come from a lower income household. After visiting and talking to many schools and pro scouts I finally had my visit with Vanderbilt and before my visit was over I knew that was the place I wanted to be. Between the campus, the facilities, and the welcoming feel from the coaches and players it was an easy decision for me.
You’re freshman season was pretty remarkable. What did it feel like being Freshman All-American at the best baseball program in the country?
I walked into Vanderbilt my first year with the mindset that if I didn’t receive a Freshman All-American reward it would have been a disappointing season for me. At a program like Vanderbilt or any other top school in the country if you don’t have that type of mind set, to be great and to achieve greatness, those guys will chew you up and spit you back out. Being surrounded by that type of talent in such a competitive environment made it almost easy to strive for such goals because everyone else has the same aspirations. As I got closer to my teammates we used to hold friendly competitions against each other to try and better each other which helped us bond as well as strive to help our team win.
Injuries are unfortunately part of the game and you had to deal with a lot. Can you discuss the impact they had on your career?
Injuries are definitely a bit of a sour topic for me being that I unfortunately had to deal with them for majority of my college and professional career. After having to go under the knife for the third time I came to the mindset that everything happens for a reason and maybe I was meant to pass my knowledge on to the younger generations rather then to showcase my knowledge through playing. If there was one thing I could go back and change it would be how serious I took my nutritional diet and weightroom/post lift recovery. Being a thinner pitcher and not taking recovery days as serious as game days I believe that after time eventually my body couldn’t withstand the long aggressive seasons baseball players are required to endure.
Winning a National Championship…I mean it doesn’t get any better than that. When did you know the team was special and what was it like being in that atmosphere?
When I was a freshman–which was the first year Vanderbilt ever made a College World Series appearance–I never would have thought I’d be on a team that would end up being more successful. I would have to say right around SEC Tournament time is when we all started to realize how special the team was. There were several games in the SEC Tournament and Regional/Super Regional series where we had some great comeback W’s that kind of just catapulted us forward going into Omaha. The atmosphere at TD Ameritrade is nothing short of the most incredible playing experience I’ve ever had. You’re surrounded by the best teams, the best players and the rowdiest of fans and I wouldn’t want it any other way. It is definitely a taste of what you will see once you take that next step into professional ball.
Can you discuss your time with Team Beast and how you’ve enjoyed it?
This January will mark my 5th year with Beast, and we have grown tremendously within that time span. I remember when Pete Kritikos first reached out to me to see if I was interested in teaching some guys how to pitch and from that day on I never looked back. Beast has really provided a very home like feel much like the one I felt while attending Vanderbilt. A lot of the players I coached when they were 12 and 13 are now getting recruited and receiving scholarships to play at some top schools in D1, D2 and D3 conferences, which is one of the most satisfying feelings ever. Watching our boys work hard and get what they deserve is worth every second I put in to help them try to achieve those goals.
What are your goals for the future?
As a pitching instructor and coach I plan on continuing to develop all players that share the same dream I once had, which was to play on the same field as the best of the best. This year I was able to start up an off-season throwing/arm-care program with Alex Pangourelias to help teach a lot of LI talent what they are in store for at the next level. Alex and I are very excited to finally get our program (The Command Center) off the ground with very high expectations for the near future. These programs entail a lot of detail and information I had no access to until I made it to Vanderbilt. Us being able to share that info with our high school athletes is really going to help propel themselves past a lot of their high school competitors and give them a solid foundation going into their first year of college ball. I have nothing but high expectations and a strong hunger going forward to make our athletes the best on LI and in the state of NY.
