NEWS

Honored with the presence of three different World Champions and Major League Baseball’s Active saves leader, the NECBL successfully celebrated its second Hall of Fame Dinner on Saturday, November 30th in Newport.

 
Texas Ranger closer Joe Nathan and Boston Red Sox pitchers Craig Breslow and Andrew Bailey were the three players inducted into the NECBL’s Hall.
 
Breslow and Bailey are members of the World Champion Boston Red Sox.  The duo's bullpen work was a vital component of Boston's clinching its third World Series since 2004.
 
A man critically responsible for Boston's first two World Champions- now Cleveland Indian skipper Terry Francona- was also honored with the NECBL's Stand Up Guy Award.  “Tito” joined baseball-writing luminary Phil Pepe in receiving the Stand Up Guy citation.

“I am honored to receive this award,” said Francona, the reigning American League Manager of the Year, who called himself “the luckiest man in the world for doing what I am doing.

“I was a journeyman player- which is a soft way of saying I wasn’t very good- but I learned a couple of things that I’ll always take with me,” he continued.  “It’s to respect the game of baseball and the respect the people in the game of baseball.”

Nathan, the first NECBL alumnus to make the Majors, won the 1994 Defensive Player of the Year as a shortstop for the Fairfield Stallions. Although one of the NECBL's best hitters, Stony Brook's Nathan switched to the pitcher's mound in his second year of professional baseball and has carved out a Cooperstown-caliber career as closer ever since. The six-time All Star ranks 10th all-time on Major League Baseball's saves list, and will be MLB’s active leader with the retirement of Mariano Rivera. Nathan was the 2009 Rolaids Relief Pitcher of the Year.

“It’s a huge honor to be here and a lot of fun,” Nathan stated.  “I want to thank the NECBL for something that Andrew touched on earlier: the ability to bring a kid in from a Division III baseball program who didn’t get a chance to play against the top college players in the nation.  This League gave me confidence and gave me the ability to not just go to the next level knowing I could play with them, but the confidence to know I could succeed at that level.

“It’s so nice to see how this League has grown and continues to grow, to give more and more players the same opportunity, and to see how the talent has improved each year,” Nathan offered.

Breslow has a 2.84 ERA in his 400+ appearance Big League career. Waived or released four times before establishing himself as a dominant Major League arm, Breslow's story of battling through adversity is one of the best in baseball. He has also raised well over $1.5M to fight pediatric cancer through his Strike 3 Foundation. For these efforts, Breslow recently received the Boston Red Sox' nomination for Major League Baseball's Roberto Clemente Award, which "goes to the player who best represents the game of baseball through positive contributions on and off the field, including sportsmanship and community involvement," per MLB.com.
  
Yale southpaw Breslow made 10 starts for the 1999 Middletown Giants, posting a 3.20 ERA and striking out 51 in 56 NECBL innings. But he has since made his mark as a reliever.  “I certainly credit my time in the NECBL with the confidence that I could compete with and succeed against some of the most talented players from throughout the country,” Breslow stated.  “Having grown up in the Northeast and attended college in the Northeast, I wasn’t necessarily exposed to the best talent.  That summer of 1999, I realized that my skill set compared favorably to those around the country.

“If one aspires to perform like the best pitcher on the team,” continued Breslow, who has been professional teammates with both Bailey and Nathan, “he should spend as much time as possible watching the best go about their business.   It’s not a coincidence that for two years in Minnesota, I chose Joe as my workout partner, and for the last five years my throwing partner has been Andrew.”  
 
One of the Board members of Strike 3 is fellow BoSox pitcher Bailey. As a sophomore from Wagner, Bailey led the 2004 NECBL with 79 strikeouts. The Mill City All-American held hitters to a .188 average against that summer. Bailey was drafted by the Oakland Athletics and won the American League Rookie of the Year with them in 2009. During his three years with Oakland, Bailey saved 75 games and posted a 2.07 ERA.

“When they sent the email and made the phone call, I was pretty shocked.  I never thought I’d make a Hall of Fame,” Bailey admitted.  “The NECBL was a big part of my life at that point in time.  The NECBL was a giant stepping stone to professional baseball.   Coming from a small school and a small town in New Jersey, this was the biggest step in my baseball career.

“Everyone is asking ‘Where is Wagner College?’  I said ‘Where is Stanford?’  I didn’t know,” Bailey joked.  

The NECBL also inducted three men instrumental to the League's growth- Mario Tiani, Rich Rossiter, and the late Joel Cooney. Tiani was the founding General Manager of the Danbury Westerners and the NECBL commissioner for six years. Under his tutelage, the League strengthened and Danbury remains the longest tenured team in the New England League. Major League Baseball selected over 520 NECBL alumni in Tiani's six drafts, including nine first rounders.

“(Founder) Joe Consentino hooked me in, and it has been a part of both our blood for a long time.  We both bleed NECBL,” Tiani noted.  “I don’t usually get emotional, but I am tonight.  We’ve developed a lot of great ballplayers out of this League.  But we developed not just great ballplayers, but also individuals coming out of the NECBL.”

“In our first year in 1994, Joel Cooney was brought into the NECBL as the Middletown Giants team's statistician. Not only did Joel help the Giants, but at the same time, he began to formulate the NECBL's computer data system and other financial operational programs,” recalled Consentino.  Cooney was named NECBL Treasurer in 1995 and eventually became President, and then Commissioner of the NECBL.
 
“My father would have been proud to see how far the League has come since its inception,” said Cooney’s son and former L.A. Dodger farmhand Kyle, who accepted the award for Joel.  “He loved baseball with his passion, putting his heart and soul to this League.”

Rossiter served the NECBL for the first 19 years of its existence, working as Secretary, Vice President, Deputy Commissioner and webmaster. The creator of the NECBL's Sportsmanship Award, Rossiter is the ultimate embodiment of the "utility man" who played many positions well. 

“One of my favorite quotes is from George Will: ‘We are a nation of failed baseball players.’  And I could be President of that Club!” Rossiter said.  But Rossiter then shared with the audience the incredible people that he got to meet on his NECBL journey: Tommy John, Robin Roberts, Stephen Strasburg, Fay Vincent and Bob Costas, proving that a backup Little League outfielder can create tremendous memory with the right combination of drive and passion. 

The NECBL presented the Skipper Award to both Northeastern head coach Neil McPhee and Quinnipiac head coach Dan Gooley. McPhee, who will retire in 2014, will leave Northeastern with over 700 career wins in 29 seasons at the helm. Himself an outstanding student-athlete for the Huskies, McPhee has won five conference titles and led NU to three NCAA appearances. Gooley also is retiring in 2014, after completing 32 years as head or assistant coach at Quinnipiac. He has amassed over 500 career wins, took Quinnipiac to the 1983 College World Series and coached a young Jeff Bagwell while the head man at the University of Hartford.

Recognizing that a good coach builds, and needs, a good program, Bryant, Franklin Pierce and Southern Maine earned the NECBL's first ever MVP awards. Standing for Most Valuable Program, the award honors the New England program in each Division of NCAA baseball who had the most successful season.

The Bryant Bulldogs posted their greatest season in history in 2013, going 45-18-1 and earning a #3 seed in the Manhattan (KS) Regional. Coach Steve Owens won the ABCA's Northeast Coach of the Year and two NECBL alumni- OF Kevin Brown and RHP Pete Kelich-were drafted by Major League Baseball and earned All-American or All-Region honors. 

Franklin Pierce finished this season ranked fifth in the country, and the only team from New England to go to the Division II NCAA Playoffs. The Ravens, who went 37-18 under coach Jayson King, had four selections in the June MLB Draft, including former Laconia Muskrat RHP Kevin McGowan. 

Southern Maine went 46-10 and advanced all the way to the Division III NCAA national title game. The Huskies broke their single season record for wins and placed six on the ECAC All-Star team roster, further burnishing the resume of storied skipper Ed Flaherty.
 
The NECBL continued to honor ballplayers who give back to the community with their Stand Up Guy and DH Awards. Breslow and Nathan each received the League's DH Award for their charitable foundations.  New York beat writer Pepe and current MLB Manager Francona received the Stand Up Guy citation.  In addition to his on the diamond success, Francona is very involved with support and outreach to our military veterans.  Pepe, the author of over 20 books on baseball including "My Favorite Summer" with Mickey Mantle, has covered the Yankees and sports for decades.