NEWS
Who Were the Top Players in Attendance at Monday’s Showcase
On Monday, 67 players and 24 coaches braved the cold and made the trek to Massapequa for the Diamond Spikes Showcase. Plenty of talented players were in attendance and I wanted to do a recap of the event with the top 10 players, but I couldn’t limit it to 10 so here it goes… Robbie Manetta, Farmingdale (2020) Manetta put himself on the map as a freshman hitting a three-run home run at Port Washington. He’s continued to develop and he is one of the best players in the 2020 class when you consider the full package; he’s a catcher, he has a smooth left-handed swing, he can run a 4.1 down the line and he can still grow. He displayed his ability during BP and his athleticism in the infield. Additionally, his brother is the SS for SUNY Old Westbury, so he comes from an at...
Batting 1.000 Host Clinic With Edgardo Alfonzo & Brent Strom
by Andrew Giantasio There was a unique opportunity today for young students of the game of baseball at the JMF sports center in Westbury hosted by Batting 1.000. The opportunity was to spend the afternoon learning hitting from former All-Star and current Brooklyn Cyclones manager, Edgardo Alfonzo, and pitching from Brent Strom, the pitching coach for arguably the most successful staff in the major leagues, the Houston Astros. The event was put together with batting 1.000 baseball academy. Coach Mike Ferriggi, the co-owner and head instructor of the Batting 1.000 academy was very excited for his players to learn from the pair. “Every once in a while, we want to bring to our players and families the opportunity to learn from some of the best and both of these guys track records speak for the...
Who Is Rafe Schlesinger?
Not many people are more qualified to evaluate pitchers–specifically southpaws than Neal Heaton. The former 12-year MLB veteran had worked with a number of the top pitchers from Long Island the past several years, including Steven Matz from the time he was 8-years-old so I don’t take his opinion lightly. When he drops a comparison to a big league pitcher I take notice. Tonight while watching Rafe Schlesinger throw a bullpen session, Neal had some glowing reviews of the promising young pitcher. “He’s the best pitcher I’ve had since Matz and I think he’s further along than him at the same age. I think he’s going to be very similar to Chris Sale and Josh Hader with his arm slot and his velocity,” he added. The sophomore has yet to log significan...
How To Approach Your Draft Season
You only get one shot at this. For me it was in 1979, when I was a senior at Sachem High School. When you have dreams of getting drafted, you have to learn how to make sacrifices. That means staying in when you’re friends are going out. It could mean not going to prom. It means not going to the beach when your friends are. Not many kids now want to make the sacrifices necessary or put in the work. If it’s raining, that’s no excuse not to run outside. In fact, that’s the best time–because most likely nobody else is getting that work in. You need to have the mentality that you’re trying to get a little bit of an edge. That’s really what it takes to have success at the higher levels. It means doing more things that involve the game of baseball–r...
Anthony Anzalone New Head Coach at Rocky Point
Anthony Anzalone has been officially named the new Head Coach at Rocky Point HS. The 30-year-old is a 2006 graduate of Rocky Point, where he led Suffolk County in batting average in both 2005 (.550) and ’06 (.552). After playing two years at the York College of Pennslyvania, he transferred to Adelphi University, where he helped lead the Panthers to the ECC Championship in 2009. He has been the JV coach at Rocky Point since 2012 and also the assistant varsity coach last season, in which the Eagles won their first Suffolk County Class A championship in program history. Andrew Aschettino had built up the program to being a perennial playoff team during his 18 seasons and noted that he would only walk away if he was 100 percent confident in the incumbent. “To be able to take over ...
Jesse Russo Signs With Trois Rivieres
One of the most prolific collegiate hitters over the past three seasons has found a new home in professional baseball. Jesse Russo, a three-time Axcess Baseball All-Long Island member has signed with the Trois Rivieres of the Canadian American Association. Last season he played with the Alpine Cowboys of the PECOS League. That was after finishing up a phenomenal three-year career at SUNY Old Westbury in which he hit .386 with a .431 OBP and .582 SLG in 2018. He also participated in our Axcess Invitational in May at Hofstra which featured the top college seniors in the region. He becomes the eighth player from that game to sign a professional contract joining Giovanni Dingcong, Joey Pena, Bobby Honeyman, Aaron Pinto, Chris Pennell, Frankie Moscatiello and David Palmer. The first four of whi...
Pro Camp Day at Batting 1.000 to Feature Edgardo Alfonzo and Brent Strom
Young Long Island ballplayers will have a unique opportunity next Monday, January 21 at Batting 1.000 indoor facility in Freeport. 2017 World Series Champion Houston Astros Pitching Coach Brent Strom and former Mets’ All-Star and current Brooklyn Cyclones Manager Edgardo Alfonzo will host a Pro Camp Day. Strom is widely regarded as one of the top pitching coaches in Major League Baseball for his work on young and veteran pitchers with the Astros since 2014, which has coincided with their turnaround from bottom-feeder to World Series Champions. He has helped ushered in a new era of pitchers, who focus not just on the hitters weakness but their strength. Pitchers like Justin Verlander, who was considered on the downside of his career, have been able to revitalize their career. Another ...
Last Day to Register for Axcess Baseball/Diamond Spikes Showcase
Register by clicking here We will be co-hosting a showcase next Monday, January 21, at LI Sports Dome in Massapequa beginning at 9am. Here’s why you should attend: -At the moment I am writing this, we have commitments from 20 college coaches, half of which are from the Division-II level. -The ratio of player to coaches will be close to 2:1, giving the player an outstanding chance to get noticed. -Our social media will be covering it non-stop. As you know, we have a pretty good social media presence which will allow the player to be spotlighted to our 7,339 Instagram followers which includes other college coaches and scouts. -With the college baseball season just one month away, this may be your last opportunity (for seniors) to get in front of a college coach. -I will be doing writt...
Neal’s Knowledge: What Should a January Throwing Program Consist Of?
A pitcher should be treated like a race horse–carefully groomed and you cannot accelerate that process. When a pitcher picks up the ball for the first time in January, they haven’t pitched off a mound for over two months. I tell my pitchers before I see them on the mound they should have done a bit of long-tossing. You should not be going from inactivity to a mound. I took a lot of precautions to stay healthy in my career, and for that reason I landed on the DL only once–and it was a freak accident during BP while running sprints. Here are some crucial steps young pitchers should be following in order to avoid injury and be at their best by the time the season comes around. You should not be lifting heavy weights at all once you start throwing from a mound. Doesn’t matter how strong you ar...
