Victor Manzella
Bayport-Blue Point Ready to Begin New Era Under Victor Manzella
by Aaron Diaz Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series. For the past quarter century, Long Island baseball fans could count on Bayport-Blue Point making the postseason. Under longtime coach Jim Moccio, they did so in 25 straight years and won the Class A New York State Championship in 2013 and 2014. He decided to step down following the season, and he is replaced by Victor Manzella, who just led West Babylon to the Class A Long Island Championship, beating Bayport in the County Finals. “Coach Moccio, who had won 383 games and 2 state titles, decided to retire,” Manzella said. “ I happen to live in Bayport Blue-Point, so when the opportunity came up to interview for that position, I took the opportunity and was blessed to get t...
West Babylon Looks to Take the Next Step in 2023
by Nick Cipolla 2022 was a step in the right direction for the West Babylon Eagles baseball program as they made the playoffs for the first time in 6 years. They finished with a 9-9 league record where they had to face some tough teams that contend for the playoffs every year like West Islip, Smithtown West, and nearby North Babylon. The Eagles are led by head coach Victor Manzella, who took over in 2020 after a stint at Babylon High School. Manzella is certainly responsible for the quick turnaround that saw this team improve drastically since he was hired. “I was extremely proud of my team last year”, said Manzella, “As an ‘A’ school, we qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 6 years in a very competitive league mixed with AA schools. When I took over the program in 2020, I mad...
West Babylon Hungry to Take Next Step and Reach Postseason
West Babylon ties it up 3-3 and they are fired up!! pic.twitter.com/PSQ0Veu61d — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 9, 2021 by Thomas Cregan West Babylon coach Vic Manzella is looking to his group of returning players to help propel them to the playoffs in 2022. Last year in the 2021 season, which was coach Manzella’s first year with West Babylon, the team went 7-11 missing the playoffs by two wins. However, this did not discourage coach Manzella as he called it a “transition year” as it was his first year with the team. In his first year he brought up several freshman and sophomore players and hopes the experience they gained will benefit them for this upcoming season in 2022. West Babylon had two prominent graduates from the 2021 team. Center Fielder Cole Maucere will be their...
West Babylon Enters 2021 Counting on Maucere To Do Some Damage
by Ben Diamond Head coach of the West Babylon baseball team, Victor Manzella is in the same boat as other coaches going into this season. They lost a few players from his roster due to the pandemic canceling the 2020 season. Although, his senior class last year wasn’t as big as his senior class this year which is eleven players. Last year he lost players like second baseman Jack Rankin, who would have been an impact player on his roster. This year, Manzella has a few players on his roster that he expects to make an impact this season. His center fielder, Cole Maucere, who Manzella says will be the player that has the biggest impact on the team because not only will he patrol center field but he will also help out on the mound. He is a lefty with big pop in his bat, and a great outfield arm...
West Babylon Ushers In New Era Under Head Coach Victor Manzella
Victor Manzella takes over at the helm of West Babylon after four seasons as head coach of Babylon. He is taking over a team that is hungry, following a 3-12 season in league play. “I’m excited to join a program that has a history of being successful going back to player like Billy Koch and Rob Sandora (two professional players),” he said. “I’m looking forward to competing with the other teams and seeing what my guys have,” he said. He is joined by assistant coach Anthony Sparacio, who was the longtime coach of Babylon before Manzella took over and he led the Panthers to a Long Island Champions in 2012. The Eagles have been working hard since Manzella took over in September. He noted that they have been in the gym twice per week since the New Year and he...
Babylon Looking To Overcome Last Year’s County Championship Defeat
In 2018, Babylon once again had a season to remember. They finished with a combined record of 18-6 and reached the County Championship game. Unfortunately, they fell just short of their ultimate goal, which was winning the county championship. Coming off an extremely successful year, Babylon comes into this season facing some difficult tasks. The main obstacle standing in their way is replacing their seniors from last season. As county runner-ups, their roster was loaded. Joseph Rende (2nd Team All-State), Ian Morgan (All-League), Mitch Carmody (All-League) and Frank Vano (All-League) all graduated in 2018, leaving Babylon with big shoes to fill. Although Babylon has to replace these productive seniors, they bring in plenty of talented players who were key pieces towards their deep postsea...
