 Field of Green,
Field of Dreams
by Joe Nardini
In 2008 The Somerset Patriots Baseball Club celebrates the tenth anniversary of its field, Commerce Bank Park. To commemorate the occasion, the ball club will stage a ten-day series of events starting on June 5 and running through June 8. See the list following the end of this article.
Aside from the loyal fans who have followed the exploits of the team game-by-game, year-after-year, no one is happier about this anniversary season than the dedicated staff who work behind the scenes.
Starting with General Manager, Patrick McVerry, you can almost hear a collective sigh of relief, coupled with a general sense of satisfaction. That’s because, ten years ago, the idea of building a high caliber sports team in a previously untested market ranked right up there with great business ideas that go astray after only two or three years of operation.
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My Child is a Talented Athlete, Now What?
by Kevin A. Pollock
When spring arrives and it is time for another season of our national pastime to begin, professional baseball players get geared up to play and get in shape, so do high school and college students.
If you have a child who is a gifted baseball player, it can be both a blessing and a curse. Your child will likely be the recipient of a lot of attention from the school, local reporters, and possibly even college or professional scouts. This can be a major source of distraction for anyone, let alone someone who has not even completed high school. Also, it is not uncommon for both the children and parents to obsess over unrealistic success and income.
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Ironmen Rule
by Joe Nardini
 The latest superhero to explode over movie screens nationwide, Ironman, has nothing on the real Ironmen baseball team of Don Bosco Prep. Recognized by various ranking services as the #1 high school baseball team in the country, this highly talented squad lives up to its billing every time it takes the field.
With seven players on its roster already committed to college programs, the Don Bosco baseball team serves notice that high school baseball in the Garden State sets the standard for other scholastic programs to emulate. Senior pitchers Tim O’Sullivan (Quinnipiac), Eric Pfisterer (Duke), and Mike Denhardt (Boston College) lead the way for a New Jersey baseball team that has achieved national acclaim, rivaled only by Mike Sheppard’s great Biggio-Vaughn-Valentin college teams of the mid-1980s.
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Field Preparation for the 2008 District 4 State Little League Tournament
by George Van Haasteren
 This year Bergenfield, New Jersey Little League will host the 2008 State Little League Tournament which will be held from July 24 thru July 29th. In order for the field and the facilities to be ready for such an event many hours of preparation leading up to the event will be accomplished by hardworking and dedicated volunteers.
Anyone who has ever hosted a baseball tournament knows the hours and commitment that are needed to ensure that the players, coaches and fans have not only the best time possible but also a field that is safe and playable. It sometimes takes a year or more to prepare for such an event. In Bergenfield’s case it would need to be done with considerably less time.
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Diamonds in the Rough
Featured Player: Dan Donohue
New Jersey Baseball Magazine could not have chosen a more focused, more dedicated player to sponsor on the 2008 Diamond Jacks than Dan Donohue. Now fourteen years-old, Dan formed his love of baseball when he played Little League ball in Great Kills, Staten Island. Before he began learning the intricacies of the game at Jack Cust Baseball Academy (JCBA), Dan appreciated baseball because he knew it as a “thinking man’s game.” Pretty sophisticated for a young teen, to be sure.
When he talks about what he enjoys best about baseball, Dan says, without hesitation, “coming up big in key situations, playing in front of a crowd, the PRESSURE.” Sophisticated indeed.
 Dan plays for the 14-and-Under Diamond Jacks team based at JCBA. Although he’s learning to play a variety of positions, his first love is playing shortstop. Having the versatility to play different positions “makes you a better player,” Dan says. For a young ball player thirsting to learn and grow, being better means thriving on competition.
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Return to Form
By Joe Nardini
The resurgence of interest in baseball that has swept the Garden State in recent years has not lost its impact at Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC). A once proud baseball program that fell on some lean years in the late ‘90s and into the turn of the millennium shows distinct signs of righting itself. Head Coach Matt Sommo, in only his second year in that position, has made it his mission to return his program to its previous championship form.
 The RVCC baseball team plays in the highly competitive, NJCAA Division III Garden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). Of the ten community colleges that make up the GSAC, three were rated 6th, 7th, and 8th in the nation by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The 2007 season saw the RVCC squad post a 6-22 record. As Coach Sommo puts it, "The guys played hard, (although) a third of the losses came by two runs or less."
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The Game's the Same
 I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, often with a baseball glove in one hand and a bat in the other. Now, many years later, I remain an avid fan of America’s true pastime.
Much has been said in recent years about how football has replaced baseball as the most popular spectator sport, and how youth baseball loses its best players to soccer and even lacrosse. But, to this observer, resurgent player and fan interest in baseball figures to return the sport of summer to its former and rightful dominance as the best game on earth.
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It’s All About the Preparation
by Joe Nardini
 If game preparation equates with success on the field, you will find no better a practitioner of the art than Tom Tesauro of Lawrenceville Prep. Playing for “one of the best coaches,” at a high school program with a “strong tradition for baseball,” as Tom explains, he learned the fundamentals of succeeding both in the game of baseball as well as in the game of life.
“Everything hinges on personal preparation and time management,” says Tom. Doing his homework academically enabled him to succeed in a rigorous school curriculum. Villanova did not select Tom for a baseball scholarship just because he can throw strikes with consistency. Being able to handle the challenge in the classroom amounted to a key ingredient as well.
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Mike Newland Update:
DeSales University freshman Mike Newland (Frenchtown, NJ / Delaware Valley High School) earned Freedom Conference Rookie of the Year honors in 2008. BJ Spigelmyer, Sports Information Director for the Central Valley, PA school reported that Mike, along with seven of his DeSales teammates and head coach Tim Neiman, received recognition on the 2008 All-Conference team, as announced by the conference office and as voted by the Freedom Conference coaches.
From Delaware Valley Terrier to DeSales Bulldog |
Newland’s selection marked the second straight year that a DeSales Bulldog received Rookie of the Year recognition. As of May 8, Newland had a .389 batting average and a 1-2 record on the mound, with a 5.17 ERA in 47 innings pitched. He assumed starting duties in centerfield mid-way through the season and has been a steady contributor on the mound, earning his first win of the season in the second round of the Freedom Conference playoffs.
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College Baseball Corner 2008
by Lowell M. Snare
The Hunterdon connection to college baseball is growing and growing, and I am likely just hitting the surface with the mention of some names in this rendition of 2008 collegiate baseball news.
Three Hunterdon Central grads are playing for the Mercer County Community College Viking baseball team with sophomore lefty Will Blackman, and frosh righty Sean Reindel and infielder Justin Bay all on the roster of coach Matt Wolski.
The Central grad duo of Dan Morogiello and Mike Turner are both mainstays on the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) Division I baseball team. Morogiello is coming off a medical red shirt season, and is back in the swing at second base with a .364 average and making the plays.
Turner is off to a super start as a junior with a .360 average, with a homer and three RBI to open the year. As a soph he hit .251 with eight doubles, two homers and as a frosh he was the MVP in the ECAC Division II Regional Tournament, and set a new school mark with 42 RBI in that season.
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Rutgers Baseball Head Coach
Fred Hill Sr
One Class Act
by Dan Cleary
PISCATAWAY, N.J—There is a certain buzz surrounding the athletic program at Rutgers University these days.
The football team has gained notoriety with its emergence as a player on the national scene under Jersey native Greg Schiano. C. Vivian Stringer guided the Scarlet Knights to the NCAA Division I women’s basketball national championship game last spring, while showing dignity and class throughout the unfortunate situation involving radio personality Don Imus.
But there is another coach that plies his trade at the State University of New Jersey located “On the Banks of the Raritan” that deserves just as many accolades as Schiano and Stringer, and is as Jersey as diner food and summers at The Shore.
Fred Hill Sr., an Essex County native, has molded the Scarlet Knights into one of the top Division I programs in the nation in his 25 years at the helm, while flying under the national radar, which is probably just fine with him.
“Coach Hill is one of the class acts in all of college baseball,” praised former Scarlet Knights outfielder and current New York Yankees farmhand David Williams, who played under Hill for four seasons before getting drafted by the Bronx Bombers in the 15th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Williams, a former standout at Pope John XXIII High School in Sparta, N.J., led the BIG EAST in hitting and was ranked 17th nationally with his .412 batting average in 2007.
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Todd Frazier
"...leaving soon for Florida"
by Dan Cleary
 TOMS RIVER, N.J—Todd Frazier was running some errands around town while conducting an interview with this magazine on his cell phone. Frazier was getting ready to head down to Florida and twice during the interview he was interrupted by adoring fans.
“Yes, I’m leaving soon for Florida,” you could hear Frazier say. “Oh, thank so much, I’ll do my best.”
You didn’t have to hear the questions he was fielding, but Frazier was gracious and humble to everyone he spoke with including this magazine. When asked if that happens a lot, Frazier said, yes, but he doesn’t mind it at all.
“I think it is great,” said Frazier. “People follow your career and I really appreciate it. It has been that way since Little League.”
Such is life when you are Todd Frazier, baseball hero, walking the streets of Toms River.
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Recruits & Prospects Update
Rick Porcello, Ken Gregory & Billy Rowell
by Dan Cleary
DETROIT, MI - Rick Porcello can’t remember the last time he didn’t play organized baseball during the summer.
“It had to be before I played Little League,” said the former Seton Hall Prep (West Orange, N.J.) star and National Gatorade High School Player of the Year. “But I worked out with a personal trainer, did injury prevention, threw a couple of times a week and stayed in shape. I’m ready to go.”
And where did the 6-foot-5, 195-pound right-handed flamethrower go? He headed to Oneonta, N.Y. to begin and his professional career with the Detroit Tigers organization after signing a four-year, $7.28 million guaranteed Major League contract on Aug. 15, the final day players were eligible to sign. Porcello was the Tigers’ No. 1 pick and the 27th overall selection in the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft in June.
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