Features
Q & A With Skyline Conference Player of the Year Nick Girardi
"We have all the pieces to the puzzle of a championship season"
Catching Up With Charles Galiano
When we last spoke to Milwaukee Brewers catcher Charles Galiano, he had just gotten drafted and was preparing for life as a professional player. Now seven months later and with a season of pro ball under his belt, we were curious to see how he enjoyed his experience. Our reporter David Moskowitz caught up with him and here’s what he had to say: Can you describe what it was like to be a professional baseball player this past summer? How surreal was it? The whole experience was unbelievable. Traveling all around the Northwest, a part of the United States I have never been before, allowed me to see some great things and meet people that are quite different than New Yorkers. Stepping on that ball field everyday with people wanting your autograph, thousands of fans, competing along side a...
Kyle Young Hungry to Avenge Last Year’s CHSAA Finals Defeat
CLICK HERE to check out National Scouting Report–the nation’s No.1 recruiting agency! Much like the 2015 Kansas City Royals were able to avenge last year’s World Series defeat at the hands of the San Francisco Giants, Kyle Young and St. Dominic’s will be looking for a similar path to the top. After losing a 1-0 heart breaker in Game 1 of the best of 3, they were shutout 10-0 in the series clincher. Young, a 6’10” left handed pitcher headed to Hofstra next fall, is prepared for his team to take the next step. “Making it to CHSAA finals was a fun experience at the time,” said the flame thrower, “but coming up short really burned a fire in me that I still have, and I don’t see it going away until we get back there next year and win,&...
Ron Matz Reflects on The Year That Elevated His Son to Stardom
If you thought you had golden treatment after getting back to school following a big win in high school, imagine returning home after being apart of the first New York Mets pennant in 15 years. Steven Matz, who was one out shy of recording the victory in the NLCS Game 4 win over the Chicago Cubs, has been the toast of Long Island for the past month. I had the chance to sit down with his father, Ron Matz, today and he was certainly proud of his son’s accomplishments this year. “It’s been crazy because it happened so quick,” he said. “He was in the minor leagues to start the year and got called up in late June and it’s been a whirlwind ever since. It’s been really exciting,” he added. Matz made his big league debut on June 28 against the Cincin...
Tyler Badamo Reflects on 2015
Tyler Badamo led the Dowling Golden Lions to within one game of the College World Series in 2014. His numbers were eye popping–9-3 record, 0.83 ERA, 108.1 IP, 129 Ks (led the nation and set a program record) with an opponent batting average of .197. Less than a month later he was selected by the New York Mets and assigned to the Gulf Coast League. He pitched to a 1.74 ERA over 31.0 IP. This season he was assigned to the Brooklyn Cyclones of the New York Penn League. He was victimized by some poor run support–he went 5-6 with a 3.10 ERA over 81.1 IP. He struck out 66 and compiled a terrific 1.02 WHIP. Ever the competitor, Badamo will be looking to advance through the minor leagues and join the already-stacked rotation of the Mets. Earlier in the year you said you were excited to...
The Story of Arnie Costell: The Long Islander With More Velocity than Nolan Ryan
It was before the days of social media, cell phones or even Saturday Night Fever so it’s understandable if you never read about him. If you were unlucky enough to face him, however, you will not forget the lightning that came from his left arm on the mound. His name is Arnie Costell and at the time he was drafted in the 1st round of the 1971 draft out of Nassau Community College, he was regularly hitting 100 MPH with his fastball and registering a 102 at times. To make him more imposing, he was a lefty, had a curveball that could buckle your ankles and, most importantly, he didn’t know where it was going. In his first professional season at the age of 19 while playing for the Bristol Tigers of the Appalachian League, Costell threw 19 innings. He walked an astounding 28 batters ...
Garrett Heaton Commits to Stony Brook
When Garrett Heaton steps in the box against any high school pitcher he has the advantage already. Heck, he will most likely have the same advantage in two years also, when he steps in against a Division-I pitcher from the America East conference. That’s because he is one of the few local players who can say his father both lived it and was able to teach it to him. “I think the only difference between myself and a kid who doesn’t have a former MLB player as a parent is that i started learning things about the game that some players don’t learn until they’re in college or in some cases never learn,” said the senior at Bellport HS. For those unfamiliar, Neal Heaton was the Steven Matz of the previous generation. After winning the Carl Yastrzemski Award out...
The Incredible Story Of Nick Bottari: Re-Learning How to Walk to Div-I Baseball
Shoreham, NY 2010— It was a standard Suffolk County varsity game between Shoreham-Wading River and Amityville. Up stepped freshman sensation Nick Bottari of Shoreham. He had made a name for himself the previous season by becoming the first eighth grader to play on the varsity team for legendary coach Sal Mignano. On this particular at bat, he fell behind 0-2 on the count when the pitcher tried to fool him with a change up. Bottari, fooled on the pitch, unleashed a vicious swing and was out in front. Strike three. The real story is what went on inside of Bottari’s body. He felt something pop in his back. Initially unfazed by the pain, the freshman remained in the game and went 4-for-5 with two HRs and set the program record with nine RBI on the day. Upon the completion of the se...
David Palmer Ready to Carry the Load for New Haven
Coming off a strong freshman season at New Haven University, former East Islip star pitcher David Palmer is ready to take the next step and lead the Chargers to the NE-10 championship. The 6’5″ hurler threw 42.1 IP and compiled a 6:1 K/BB ratio over eight starts. He and fellow Long Island native, Vincent Aprea, both held their own as freshman starting pitchers in an uber-competitive environment. With that valuable learning experience now under his belt, he is ready to step up next year. I had the chance to speak with him and here’s what he had to say… Do you come from an athletic family? I do. All my siblings play sports and my parents come from an athletic background. I also am cousins with Ryan Steffans from Commack. Pitching runs in our family. You had a very dec...
How “The Titan Way” Has Transformed Long Island’s Recruiting Scene
If you walk into any reputable baseball tournament across the country, you are bound to run into them. If you go to any college showcase, you are bound to see their uniform and hat well represented by the players. And if you look at any “League Standings” page for a specific season, you are bound to see their name at the top of the list. The organization has won seven National Championships, 172 tournaments and in 2015 alone, they have won 45 tournaments. A total of 404 of their players have received baseball scholarships, 46 have been drafted and four have played in the MLB since their inception in 2003. This success has garnered them recognition as the premiere travel program in the Northeast region and has allowed them to generate close to a 100 percent success rate in ...
Mike Demarest Reflects on his 2015, Discusses Goals for ’16
Every year there are players who take their game to another level and and put the hype machine into overdrive mode. Mike Demarest, who entered the season No. 60 on the preseason Blue Chip Prospects ranking, put East Islip on his back and carried them right to the finish line where they were finally defeated by Ward Melville. He won nine games for the Red Men, and nearly carried them over Ward Melville in their season’s final game but was outlasted 1-0. Overall, he threw an incredible seven scoreless outings, six were complete game shutouts. The highlight of the season was the 1-0 victory over Carl Yastrzemski Award winner Nick Fanti in which he threw eight shutout innings. I had the chance to speak with him and here’s what he had to say about that game and his hopes for 2016 at...
Kyle Strovink Commits to Lamar University
A lot of people like to bring attention to themselves by boasting about who they know. In fact, I had a kid brag to me the other day that he went to school with Steven Matz. Kyle Strovink is not one of those people. It might be easy to expect things handed to you when your uncle was a 10-year veteran in the big leagues; Keith Osik and your father played minor league ball. The senior from Rocky Point doesn’t walk around with that type of entitlement. Rather, he lets his play and work ethic do the talking. After his junior season in which he hit four HRs, he then signed his letter of intent to play at Div-I Lamar University in Texas. The Lamar opportunity came about because Pat Shortt of the MLB Scouting Bureau recommended my brother and I to the head coach Jim Gilligan. Coach Gilligan...
- 1
- 2
