FEATURES
Art Canestro Reflects On Professional Career, Growing Up on LI
Art Canestro was never nervous on the mound–except maybe for this time, he admitted. Pitching in the first ever game at Coors Field, there was a capacity crowd of 60,000 people despite being a Spring Training game. “I just remember looking up in the stands and being blinded by the people. It was just a wall of people. I was never nervous pitching, but that time there was definitely some butterflies,” says the current Head Coach of Calhoun HS. “I didn’t even really get to enjoy it; it was over after eight pitches. I got two pop outs and a ground out and the inning was over,” he added. That was the closest he got the big leagues, but the left-handed pitcher enjoyed a glorious high school career at Wellington C. Mepham HS. He graduated prior to the inceptio...
Up Next: Don Wille
It’s not often that you see catchers 6’3″ or taller at any level of baseball. At the Major League Level, for example, only Joe Mauer and Matt Wieters stand that tall (both 6’5″). The main reason for this is that it is difficult for them to quickly get out of the crouching position and into a throwing position as efficiently as a shorter player. Don Wille (Sachem East 2020) is not only 6’3″, but he curtails the running game as well as anyone. In fact, playing on JV last season, he threw out every runner that attempted to steal off him. I had the opportunity to watch him training with Charles Galiano this evening and it became evident pretty quickly just how much of a weapon he is behind the dish. He possesses very strong wrists for a 15-year-old tha...
Sal Agostinelli: The Story of How An Undersized Long Island Catcher Became One of the Most Influential Men in Professional Baseball
(Editor’s Note: Story was originally published on Nov. 12, 2016. We will have coverage of the Agostinelli Memorial Tournament beginning tomorrow at Baseball Heaven.) It was 1993 when Jay Hankins approached the Triple-A catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies with a question. “Hey Sal, did you ever think about being a scout?” “The only thing I know about scouting is that it’s old guys in chairs,” Sal responded. “Well, I think you would make for a good one,” he stated. As fate would have it, that catcher was Long Island native Sal Agostinelli, who went on to accept a position as the area scout for the Phillies and his area would be New York and New Jersey. As time went on and he had success in his coverage area, the front office tasked him with more and more territory. The next year was ...
Nick Schwartz Commits to St. John’s
This weekend was filled with positive experiences for many people down in the WWBA Underclass World Championship in Fort Myers. For Massapequa catcher Nick Schwartz, it was potentially life changing as he gave his verbal commitment to one of the best baseball programs in all of the nation; St. John’s University. They are coming off a 42-13 season in which they made an appearance in the NCAA Regionals. Schwartz spoke with Vinny Messana about his decision and here’s what he had to say… Talk a little about your experience with the college recruiting process and how you wound up committing to St. John’s… The college recruiting process with St. John’s started last year when I went to their mini camp for the first time. After the mini camp, the coaches became ...
Nick Herzog and Bryan Kaufman Discuss Playing in College World Series
2017 has been a year to remember for two Long Island natives, Bryan Kaufman and Nick Herzog, while playing for UMASS-Boston. They put together a great season (38-12 overall record) that culminated in an appearance in the Div-III College World Series in Appleton, WI. They were able to win one game in the CWS, but ultimately had their dreams cut short by North Central College, 5-4. Kaufman, a senior pitcher from Farmingdale HS, had a stellar season. He compiled an ERA of 1.03 over 61.1 IP with an unblemished record of 3-0 with five saves. Herzog, a junior from Riverhead HS, compiled a slash line of .291/.385/.370 over 189 AB with 40 RBI. The duo spoke to Vinny Messana and here’s what they had to say… Vinny: Can you describe the 2017 season which culminated in an appearance in the...
Who Is Dylan Judd?
Oceanside has been knocking on the doorstep for a Nassau County Class AA title for the past couple years. This season, they were defeated by the eventual champions from Massapequa on a walk-off RBI single by Chris Wasson. Despite the loss, they finished the season with a record of 17-5-1. A big reason for their postseason run was catcher Dylan Judd. The 2018 grad is well-regarded as a receiver and can handle the bat exceptionally well for a catcher. The 6’1″ 180 lb catcher was one of the top players available in the class, until last week when he committed to Div-I UMASS Amherst. He plays his summer ball with the East Coast Jays. He spoke with Vinny Messana and here’s what he had to say… Walk us through the college recruiting process and how the UMass-Amherst commit...
Jared & Derek Yalon Commit to Stony Brook
It is rare that a set of twins would both be as athletic and talented as the Yalon twins. What’s even more rare is that they both would be interested in playing college ball at the same school and the interest would be reciprocated by the school. Jared & Derek Yalon, both Connetquot 2019, announced yesterday that they verbally committed to Stony Brook University. Jared, a lefty that plays first base, was named All-County as a sophomore. Derek plays left field and bats righty. They both stated that they originally became interested in attending Stony Brook in 2012 when the Sea Wolves made an appearance on ESPN playing LSU in the Super Regionals. If there was any question how important qualifying for the College World Series is for a program, look no further than that statement as ...
Chris Cappas Reflects on Successful 2017
(Editor’s Note: Chris Cappas is a 2017 graduate of Kellenberg Memorial HS. He just led the Firebirds to a consecutive CHSAA championship and he was named Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year. He batted .438 with 2 HR, 22 RBI and struck out only once. On the mound, he compiled an ERA of 0.18 with 53 strikeouts in 39 innings. He did not allow a run over his final 25 innings of the season. There was much-speculation that he would be selected in the MLB Draft in June, considering the southpaw’s velocity had touched 90 MPH at times. Although he was not, he is now at the University of Pittsburgh and figures to be a major factor right away. The following words are his own.) Winning the NSCHSAA baseball championship my senior year at Kellenberg is something that I think about alm...
David Falco Commits to Maryland
David Falco really generated a buzz this summer when he pitched in East Cobb, GA and lit up the radar gun with 92 MPH fastballs. The Center Moriches sophomore was receiving scholarship offers from several Div-I programs since then. He announced his verbal commitment to the University of Maryland last night. He spoke with Vinny Messana, and here’s what he had to say.. Talk a little about the college recruiting process and how Maryland came to be? Well as soon as I hit 92 mph at a Perfect Game tournament, I received a lot of interest from top-tier Div-I schools. I’ve been to a lot of camps for schools all over the east coast. Most of them I had gotten a little interest from, but when I went to Maryland it was different; the whole coaching staff was involved in recruiting me, on ...
Who is Ryan Baumann?
By Andres Rivas Going into the 2017 season there was a clear-cut favorite, West Islip, that looked to runaway with the League IV title once again. What we didn’t know is there was an infield in Bellport full of seniors like Adam Colon, Joseph Greco, Matthew Mulligan and Michael Sangiamo. There’s an additional name to the success that the Clippers had this past 2017 season where they were league champions, this was junior -now senior- Ryan Baumann. A 6’2 230 lb. player sounds like a football linebacker, but he was a key part in the lineup and on the mound for the first banner that the Clippers raised in 51 years. In his third year of Varsity baseball, he posted a 3-0 record, compiling 34 innings and allowing eight ER (1.65 ERA) and 37 strikeouts. At the plate, he had a slash of .485/.530/.5...
Who Is Justin Aviles?
Justin Aviles (Brentwood 2018) has struck out 6 of the first 7 batters of the game. Uncommitted. Very intriguing prospect pic.twitter.com/nagNXcHOyA Axcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) September 16, 2017 Brentwood turned plenty of heads in 2017 when they won 11 games and qualified for their first postseason berth in 12 years. First year Head Coach Rich Gonzalez had a team led by 12 seniors that meshed well and gave the perennial League I powerhouses all they could handle. Possibly the biggest reason for their success was of their unheralded junior ace–now senior–Justin Aviles. The 5’7″ RHP won four games and defeated some of their biggest adversaries (Floyd twice, Longwood and Connetquot in the postseason). The uncommitted senior is coming off a lights-out star...
Q & A With Mike O’Reilly
(Photo Credit: Allison Rhoades/Peoria Chiefs) Before Brian Morrell was dominating Suffolk County Class A, there was Mike O’Reilly. The 2012 graduate of Shoreham-Wading River won the Carl Yastrzemski Award in his senior year, when he performed like a superhero and smacked two walk-off HRs in the playoffs and struck out 19 batters in the Long Island Championship game. It’s easy to forget as the years go by, but O’Reilly compiled a career record of 17-3 before going on to attend Flagler College. In 2015, he was named Peach Belt Pitcher of the Conference. He compiled a record of 7-3, with a 2.89 ERA and 94 strikeouts over 93.1 IP. He was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 27th round of the 2016 MLB Draft. Over his first two seasons, he’s actually taken his perfo...
