Current area professional baseball players returned to their roots this Saturday to give back to the next generation of New York City baseball talent at the 3rd annual Lou DeMartino GNYSAA Baseball Clinic. The Greater New York Sandlot Athletic Alliance supports many baseball initiatives for children ages 6-18 in the New York City area, including this clinic which took place at John Jay College. The clinic was supervised by Lou Santos and Victor Feld of the GNYSAA. On hand to assist at the clinic were four local professionals, John Halama (Milwaukee Brewers - 9 season in MLB), Pedro Beato (Baltimore Orioles - 1st Round Pick), James Jones (Seattle Marines - 4th Round Pick) and Matt Rizzotti (Philadelphia Phillies - 6th Round Pick). The youngsters spent time working in stations on pitching, batting, infield and outfield play.
Jones, who finished his first season in professional ball, recognized the importance of mentoring those who are coming through the ranks, "[My coach] Mel Zitter asked me to come back, and I felt it would be fun to work with the kids because I was in their position not too long ago." Halama wanted to let the players know that playing professionally is possible, as he is living proof of a local who has made a career out of playing in the major leagues. "It never dawned on me that I could play pro ball. You go out there and you do what you do. I played at the level that I played at. As good as I was, I didn't know much about it. I was too naieve. We all wish we were major league players. I could still tell you the dreams I had. You never really know what you are getting yourself into. I came from a small school and nobody ever prepped us for that stuff. We didn't have anybody that made it out of Bishop Ford or St. Francis College. We had a few minor leaguers, but nobody made it to the big leagues. Nobody grabbed you by the shoulder and sat you down and told you were a star going to the major leagues."
All of the players shared their experiences coming up through same sandlots as the 150 hopefuls in attendance. When asked to recount their experiences playing in New York during their formative years, Jones recalled playing on the public fields in high school, "Playing at Telecommunications [PSAL] was good. I played there the whole time. I was used to the fields. Bay 8 Park wasn't the best field ever, but we knew the tweaks. I enjoyed the experience. In high school, I always wanted to be drafted. I didn't know how the process went. I thought your name just pops up in the draft. I knew I was getting close after my sophomore year at LIU, when I went to the Northwest Summer League. I did well over there against good competition, so I thought I had a good chance after that." Halama recounted his days at Bishop Ford, before kids had the opportunity to receive private instruction, "I played for Parkville in Bay Ridge. That's where I started out. I always played ball, basketball, football. As kids, that's all we did. We were always outside. That's the biggest thing with this generation. It seems like everything is about computers, cellphones, etc. Kids are more opt to be in indoors than being outside and social. I was always out there playing. When I was growing up, we didn't have private lessons. There wasn't anybody who was giving them out. You look at the kids now, they're getting private or group lessons. Our high school team, we practiced inside the gym when there wasn't time conflicts. We had to compete with basketball and volleyball, so we would get offered the gym at 10:30 at night! We had to get up the next day for class, so we didn't have much time to do things."
One thing that was clear, all of these professionals love the game of baseball. They were donating their time early in the morning during the holiday season. Halama, who was recently signed by the Milwaukee Brewers, shares the same passion that drove the young players to be at the clinic 9AM the day after Christmas. "Baseball is my drive, it's my heart, my soul, it's like the blood that runs through us. You take the blood out of us, you die. I still have that force in me, and I still believe that I can go out there and compete. It's our lifeforce. Even though I haven't been in the big leagues in the past three years, I still competed, went out there and excelled. If I didn't excel, I would know personally that it is time to walk away. I know I'm no spring chicken. I'm 37 years old. I have to open up eyes in Milwaukee to make the team and I am aware of that. I was just in the Dominican Republic and I competed against a lot of major leaguers and did well. It tells me that I still have that burn inside."
While many in attendance have dreams of playing professionally, Rizzotti advised them to be proactive in the classroom and on the field. "If you perceive school or practice as being a struggle, it is nothing compared to the grind of playing a professional season. What you think is difficult, schoolwork, practice, it really isn't as hard as it seems. You need both to be successful."
More Info
Halama eager to prove himself again - Adam McCalvy -MLB.com
Pitcher beats injury, improves draft status (Pedro Beato) - Ron Snyder
James Jones swings an impact bat for the Everett Aqua Sox - Nick Patterson
James Jones Batting
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