FIRST PERSON STORIES
Greg Weissert on His Successful 2016 Season
Photo Credit: Fordham University Athletics (Editor’s Note: Greg is a 2013 graduate of Bay Shore HS. He was selected by the New York Yankees in the 18th round of the MLB Draft out of Fordham University.) by Greg Weissert My last season at Fordham was the spring of 2016, and it was one that I will never forget. Although at times it was extremely stressful–with the thought of the draft never far from my mind–I tried not to let that take away from the fun and competiveness that came with playing with my teammates, maybe for the last time. Playing with the draft process in full effect was a new experience for me. I had to focus on my game, working to prepare for every start and keeping my emotions in check. It was fun and exciting, but at the same time, it was absolutely nerve wracking. 2017 tr...
Branden Falco Discusses How He Persevered Through Injuries
(Editor’s Note: Branden is a 2017 graduate of Kings Park HS. Today he announced he has committed to LIU Post. His fastball sits in the low-to-mid 80s.) By Branden Falco My baseball career has been a bumpy flight. When I started playing baseball at 8-years-old, pitching was my first love. When I was 13, I started feeling tingling down my arm when I threw. I went to an orthopedic surgeon Dr. Scott Alpert and he sent me for an MRI. It came back showing a swollen rotator cuff and my labrum was very loose. After hearing that, the beginning of my freshman year I began training with Xceleration sports training. When I went there for my evaluation, the manager, Steve Wilk, stated that if I want to pitch in college, I need to shut it down until 11th grade and just play a position. This was to...
More Than A Dream Come True
(Editor’s Note: Logan is a 2018 graduate of St. John the Baptist. He recently committed to East Carolina University. It was his childhood dream to attend there) by Logan O’Hoppe In all honesty, I never really thought that being a Pirate was a possibility. I have been around it since I was a toddler and always loved the atmosphere. I went down to ECU for my first camp last November. In my mind, I was just going down there to play at my dream school for the mere experience. I didn’t think anything would come out of it. I had never really been in serious contact with any other schools at this point since I was only a sophomore. Fortunately, I played very well at camp and I suppose I left a good impression with Coach Palumbo. Winter came and went and the school season progresse...
Cam Maron Discusses Life in the Minors
(Editor’s Note: Cam is a 2009 graduate of Hicksville HS, where he was selected by the New York Mets in the 34th round. He just finished his eighth season in the minor leagues. He is a member of the Miami Marlins organization. He has a career .383 OBP in over 1500 at bats) by Cam Maron Baseball is a game of constant adjustments. Balancing workouts, batting practice, games, down time, family time, and personal time is a constant battle during the season. For those that have not been fortunate enough to play professional baseball, you may not understand how much really goes into it. Of course you have heard stories of players taking 1200+ swings in the batting cages, or lifting four to five times a week during the offseason. Yes, what we do as ballplayers during the game is a special...
Jack Ryan Discusses His College Recruiting Process and Why He Chose to Stay on the Island
by Jack Ryan Trust the process, trust the process, trust the process. This three word phrase is constantly echoed from people far and wide. This process was by far one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my entire life and at times I most certainly did not trust it. When my family and I first started talking about playing in college my goal was initially to get off the island. We started searching around and by my junior year I was drawing some solid interest from a couple schools throughout the Northeast. I visited a few schools that I thought would challenge me academically and I could play baseball at. Between talking to many coaches and friends all arrows looked like there would be some sort of offer. This is where I began to not trust the process. It’s not uncomm...
Brendan Butler on His Terrific 2016 Season
(Editor’s Note: Brendan is a graduate of Dowling College. He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 30th round of the 2015 draft) by Brendan Butler Showing up to Arizona in March for spring training was one of the most surreal feelings in my baseball career. I was finally starting my first full professional season, which I knew was going to be a grind, but I knew I could handle it because I have the best job. On the first day of spring training I was told I was going to remain in the bullpen, which is what I did during my first summer in rookie ball and in instructs. Spring was a great learning experience for me, as I was around guys from higher divisions than myself. I got to watch their sequences to hitters and I took notice of their techniques. Spring training was a lot of fu...
Shea Spitzbarth On His 2016 Success
Photo Credit: ECC Sports (Editor’s Note: Shea is a 2015 graduate of Molloy College. He just completed his second minor league season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He reached Triple-A this season at just 21-years-old) by Shea Spitzbarth I got to Camelback Ranch, AZ (Spring Training Complex) in the morning for extended spring training practice and my pitching coach pulled me out of the clubhouse and said get dressed and pack your bag because your going to Triple-A. They said they were hurting with arms up there and the way I was throwing in Spring Training and extended that it was great. I had a flight two hours later to Fresno. I pitched 2.1 innings up there and it didn’t go as I planned but this was to help the pitching staff. I learned so much up there from the older guys who ...
Jonathon Mulford on His First Professional Season
(Editor’s Note: Jonathon was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 34th round out of Adelphi University. He is a 2012 graduate of Massapequa HS) by Jonathon Mulford The 2016 baseball season was roller coaster experience to say the least. Going into my senior year I had high expectations that I would repeat what I accomplished in my junior year. I had a lot to prove to the teams that passed up on me the year before. I wanted to show the teams that didn’t draft me what they were missing. In my personal opinion I didn’t think I’d even scratch the surface of reaching my goals and feared that teams wouldn’t take a chance on me in the upcoming draft. All along I thought I was going to be getting drafted by the home town team–the New York Mets. The Mets have been scou...
Tim Ingram on the Emotional Roller Coaster of 2016
Photo Credit: Harris Rappel (Editor’s Note: Tim is a RHP for the Bowling Green Hot Rods in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. He was drafted out of SUNY Old Westbury in 2015 and currently has seven saves with a 3.93 ERA over 34.1 IP with 31 Ks and only five BBs.) by Tim Ingram My first full year of professional baseball has been a roller coaster of emotions. From leaving my family, friends, and girlfriend, to coming close to home to play in Hudson Valley only to get moved up to Bowling Green Kentucky. One of the hardest parts about professional baseball is never knowing where you’re going to wind up. I went into spring training with a great attitude and confident that I was going to a full season team. I even played a few games with the Double-A squad, which I thought was a good ...
The All-American That Nobody Wanted
(Editor’s Note: Nick is an outfielder for Nassau Community College) by Nick Marino Throughout my whole life I’ve mostly played for my dad. I played one year with the Long Island Titans but I knew that he enjoyed coaching me and I also just like playing for him. Maybe that cost me in the long run with connections and so on but the time playing for my dad is irreplaceable. So fast forward to junior year of HS at Bethpage –probably the biggest year for someone trying to get attention from college coaches and I flat out played terrible. That year I was just mired in a season long funk and I just couldn’t get out of my own way. I wound up losing my starting spot, and for someone who was supposed to lead the team, I felt beyond embarrassed. After that year I said y...
