Wednesday July 29th was the scheduled date for the Department of New York American Legion Baseball Championship Game. Would Hamburg Post 527 defended their title? Would the host team Saugerties/Kingston made a run with the home field advantage? Would a newcomer claim the title? Sadly we will never know who would have held that trophy in 2020.
One day this wont be your life anymore. One day you will walk off the field for the last time. You’ll forget the feeling of seams beneath your fingers. You’ll struggle to remember the way it felt to hit the perfect pitch. You won’t round first. You won’t slide into second. One day you’ll be on the other side the fence.
One day this won’t be your life anymore. When it’s not, you won’t remember the things that you think you would. You’ll have no idea how many times you struck out. You won’t know how many errors you made. You’re going to remember your teammates and coaches. You’re going to remember playing in the driving rain and unbearable heat. You’re going to remember the hotel bonding and the road trips. You’re going to remember the coaches that went the extra mile for you and never gave up on you. But most of all, you’re going to remember the sheer happiness that came only from being between two chalk lines.
One day this won’t be your life anymore. So for today, run as fast as your feet will take you. For today, swing as hard as you can. Commit to every pitch and give it everything you have. For today, make every play like it’s the last chance you’ll ever get. For today, play because you want to. Play because you need to. Play because the little boy you used to be fell in love with this game all those years ago.
Play with every piece of your heart and leave it all on the field. One day, this won’t be your life anymore. When that day comes, make sure you wouldn’t change a thing.
Many American Legion Baseball players lost the 2020 season to the pandemic. For some it was their final season of Legion Baseball. They didn't get to appreciate any of those 'last times'. Today we recognize those players from throughout the entire State (as submitted by the coaches):
District 4
Clinton County Mariners
Ryley O'Connell - Herkimer County Community College
Zachary Miner - SUNY Canton
Jesse Izzo - Franciscan University (OH)
Jaden Gladd
North Country Nationals
Christopher Paige
District 5
Ilion Post 920
Jack Bono - Utica College
Lucas Hartman - Hartwick College
Brady Hoffman - 2019 Dept of NY Scholarship winner
Oriskany Post 1448
Matthew Enos - SUNY Oswego
Carl Graziadei - Clarkson
John Longeretta - Utica College
Brandon Reid - Onondoga Community College
Dylan LaSalle - Mohawk Valley Community College
Utica Post 229
Robert Conley - Herkimer County Community College
Jose “Lito” Aponte
Whitestown Post 1113
David Antone - Frederick Community College
Joe Crossley - Utica College
Nate DePerno - SUNY Cortland
Bryce Gnatek- Mohawk Valley Community College
Collin McAndrew - Mohawk Valley Community College
Joe Panuccio - Union College
Lucas Pasquarelli - SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Josh Strzepek- Mohawk Valley Community College
District 7
Braman Post 1229
Marty Williams - St. John Fisher College
Adam Fisk - St. John Fisher College
Corey Spooner - Alfred State University
Anthonie Lamagra - Monroe County Community College
Ethan Hagan - Monroe County Community College
Greece Post 468
Jack Berbert - Daeman College
Kyle Blum- Monroe Community College
Jared Pignato - SUNY Cortland
Jake Wamser - Tompkins-Cortland Community College
Zach Wright - SUNY Brockport
Nate Yantz -Utica College
District 8
Newell Faulkner (Eden) Post 880
Tom McCauley - Daemen College
Justin Kohn
Sam LoTempio - University of Buffalo
Bryce Narbe
Lancaster (VFW Post 7275)
Nick Barberio - Erie Community College
Sean Miller
Vinny Stutz - Niagara Community College
Cole Laskowski - Niagara Community College
Matt Brown - Niagara Community College
Zach Panfil - Hilbert College
Jamison Ahrens - University at Buffalo
Joe Pagano - Clarkson University
Josh Gross - University at Buffalo
District 9
Shrub Oak Post 1080
Brendan O’Neill
Mike Matica
Thomas Mark
Danny Melillo
Jace Deiulio
Justin Perlman
Danny Keon
Middletown Post 151 Cobras
Aiden Johnson
Trever Klink
Alex Loeb
James McGovern
Kevin Marte
Kelvin Marte
Tom Stephens
Newburgh Tri Post Nuclears
Michael Greco
Christian Diorio
Michael Paolo
Michael Troncillito
Sam Mongelli
Brendan Mahusky
Nick Lepere
Eric Grzechowski
Rockland Pirates
Sean Dertinger- Rockland Community College
Jack Wren- Rockland Community College
Sean Clifford- Suny Oswego
Aidan Gallagher- Rockland Community College
Michael Andretta- Rockland Community College
Billy Sullivan- Southern Connecticut University
Parker Stemkowski- CCNY
Miles Massay- Northwestern University
