By Skip Murray
Galita Leiderman stood alongside the signage that honored her husband Michael at the Suffolk County Police Athletic League Sports Complex in Holtsville. The Long Island Boys of Summer Baseball League erected the six-by-eight-foot sign in honor of a man who was all baseball all the time.
The BOS built two brand new batting cages on each side of the PAL Stadium field. Leiderman’s wife along with former Long Island Storm pitcher Matt Lyons and Long Island Stan Musial board member George Rhein of the Long Island Cardinals took part in the dedication of the batting cages.
“To say I’m proud of him is an understatement,” she said. “His impact in the Long Island baseball community will be felt forever. He was a passionate man in everything he did – but his greatest love was the game of baseball.”
Michael Leiderman of Merrick helped hundreds of local players fulfill their dreams through his managerial guidance and generosity. He died from complications of ALS in 2018. He was only 56 years old. ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease a progressive neurological disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.
“There will never be another like him,” said his close friend John Matarazzo of Rockville Centre. “He made baseball fun. He gave all of us opportunities in baseball to play all over the country and internationally. We played the Cuban National team. We played against minor league affiliates of major league organizations. He was one of a kind.”
Jimmy Rose of Selden, the president and owner of the Long Island Stan Musial Baseball League, coaches the Long Island Black Sox. He misses the days of playing against Leiderman’s nationally known Long Island Storm teams.
“Every time we come down to the PAL Complex and see Mike’s name on that sign all the memories come rushing back to me,” Rose said. “We had some of the greatest baseball games ever played on Long Island with the Black Sox and the Storm. Mike would raise the intensity in those games – he was such a fantastic baseball guy and great for Long Island.”
“I’ve come across so many people that have fond memories of. My husband,” Galita said. “It warms my heart to know what a good person he was and the legacy left. His proudest moment came when he got to watch our son David play professionally in the Miami Marlins organization.”
Leiderman’s name also lives on in the Storm Baseball Academy in West Hempstead. He founded the academy in 2009.
He was inducted into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023.
“I loved pitching for Mike,” said Matt Lyons, who pitched for Leiderman’s powerhouse Storm teams. “He knew how to bring out the best in you. And he was a great role model as a family man and a coach. We all learned life lessons from the man. I am blessed he was a part of my life that I’ll never forget.”
