NEWS
Up Next: Ryan Muskopf
While working at the renowned New York Baseball Academy (NYBA) camp at Hofstra during the summer of 2016, I was in charge of working with Group 5 one week. This is for younger players, typically fifth or sixth grade. Most of the players have potential but are very raw and have plenty to work on. One player that caught my eye was young Ryan Muskopf. Then in fifth grade, he was easily one of the best players in the camp and was well beyond his years in terms of talent. The camp ends each summer in mid-August and it’s up to the players to continue to work on what they learn. In many cases, the players will really take that experience and grow from it. They will continue to develop and sometimes you end up hearing about these players later. Muskopf is that player. While conducting resear...
Anthony Iapoce Hosts Clinic at the Newly-Removed MaX Effort Baseball
A group of young ballplayers were treated to some high-level training by Chicago Cubs hitting coach Anthony Iapoce on Saturday at the newly-renovated MaX Effort Baseball in Farmingdale, NY. Iapoce is a New York native, who played his college ball at Division-I Lamar University in Beaumont, TX before playing 11 years of professional baseball. He was the minor league hitting coordinator for the Chicago Cubs from 2013-’15, where he played a role in developing many of their best hitters such as Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Albert Almora Jr, Willson Contreras and Kyle Schwarber. pic.twitter.com/PPwhGNi4Ni — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) December 22, 2018 He became the hitting coach of the Texas Rangers right after, where he helped them become the first team in MLB history to have nine...
Up Next: Taj Farmer
We’ve spent some time discussing the Catholic League this off-season, specifically the two programs with new Head Coaches; St. Dominic and St. Anthony’s. To me, the latter of which is the favorite to capture the CHSAA title this season. One player that likely won’t factor in this season–but certainly in the near future–is ninth grader Taj Farmer. Born Tajjiddin Farmer, he is coming off one of the types of seasons that turns heads. He batted .430 with 55 hits (27 extra-base hits) and 72 RBI. I had the chance to speak with him and here’s what he had to say… Who are some players in Major League Baseball that you try to emulate? Miguel Cabrera is currently my favorite player because of his approach and success at the plate. Also Mike Trout, for his all...
5 Things I Learned This Year as a Young Coach
I have had time to reflect upon my coaching, training, and relationships. I’ve had a lot to overcome after turning 23 this year, and I’ve learned quite a few new things. Learn to Play and Create Your Own Movement I’ve come to love movement even more now than ever. Something that I am noticing is that the talent level of baseball on Long Island may be growing exponentially, but there are not a lot of true studs. In the year of 2013, when I graduated high school, Long Island Baseball was probably at it’s best, or one of the best. We had Joe Palumbo, Mike O’Reilly, Matt Vogel, Anthony Kay, and a others (just to name a few) who were all drafted out of that class. The kids nowadays are more worried about their “clan” or whatever they call it on fortnight, and it really is a shame. In the gym, i...
Up Next: Cristino Tufano
Playing in a small-school district such as Babylon has its inherent challenges in regards to getting noticed. In such cases, a player must often generate buzz from summer ball. That has been the case with Cristino Tufano. The 13-year-old is coming off a monster season with the Camelot Knights. His season, along with the fact that the school has a smaller enrollment gives him an opportunity to move up to varsity as an eighth-grader this season. This past season, he batted .472 with 17 home runs and 51 RBI. He also performed on the mound, with his high-octane fastball. He fired a no-hitter during the Columbus Day tournament as well as throwing a shutout in Cooperstown against California. I had a chance to speak with him and here’s what he had to say… What has been your most excit...
Up Next: Dylan Banner
Typically a sign of future success for a varsity baseball program is the record of their JV team. We have seen this time-and-time again with perennial powerhouses such as West Islip, Massapequa and Shoreham-Wading River who typically have the same type of dominance on the JV-level as they do on varsity. With that being the case, there is plenty of reason for optimism for Plainview-JFK. Despite graduating many of their impact players from the back-to-back conference winning teams of 2017-’18, their JV team went 15-3 last season led by Dylan Banner, who was in 8th grade. The 6’1 175 lb SS/RHP (who wears a size 15 shoe) is undoubtedly a player to watch for the next four seasons. While playing for the vaunted Body Armor Titans, he posted these numbers over 78 games: .386 AVG, 33 HR...
Up Next: Connor Schramm
Commack is in the midst of a pretty good run. After winning their first Suffolk County AA title in 2017 since 1997, they followed that up with another League II title and an appearance in the final four. Success tends to lead to more success, especially when the middle schoolers are exposed to a winning program and strive to be part of the next championship. Scouts will spend lots of time there this season with the presence of reigning Silver Slugger winner and TCU-commit Tim McHugh who is among the top hitters in the region. Once he graduates in June, who’s the next player that could potentially garner some headlines? Eighth grader Connor Schramm is making a case already to be that guy. Coming off a 2018 season in which he put up video game numbers, he is a tough one to ignore. Acco...
Paul Parsolano Named St. Anthony’s Head Coach
In a move that is likely to reverberate throughout Long Island baseball, Paul Parsolano will be the new Head Coach of St. Anthony’s, where he was previously an assistant from 1995-2007. In fact, the last time St. Anthony’s won the CHSAA title was in 2000, when he was on staff. He is also credited with the rapid ascension of Franklin Parra from obscurity to being drafted by the New York Mets in the 11th round this past June. Parsolano had been the pitching coach of St. Joseph’s College since 2014, where he helped break their drought of winning the Skyline Conference championship in 2016. They also won it in 2018, in large part to his pitching staff. Here are some facts since he took over. 2 Conference Championships (2016, 2018) 2 Regular Season Championships (2015, 2017) 6...
Chasing the Dream–Getting to the Next Level (Of Sleep) in the Minor Leagues
by Brendan Duffy, RPSGT, RST, CCSH They call it “the grind.” Long bus rides, late night fast food, hotels of bad and mediocre quality, roommates who snore louder than any hometown home run crowd noise, and living conditions that can be anything from air mattresses, to stolen motel pillows or even dog beds on a bus floor. Much has been made of the need for proper and clean sleep in order to perform at the major league level, yet little is being done for those players in the minor leagues who are hoping to make it to “the show.” This became apparent to me when a Minor League Baseball general manager reached out to me and said that much is being done for major league players now with regard to “teaching sleep,” but nothing is being done for the many minor league players and the coaches at th...
