By Dan Shine
Voice Columnist
examples. How many of these players can you recognize?
Shore Haven Junior Baseball League
Part II
See part 1
As a boy, Mike Freda had a serious case of Baseball Fever: If he wasn’t playing sandlot ball with his friends, he was practicing by himself. He would begin to play shortly after breakfast, come home only for lunch, play all afternoon, come back home for dinner, then play until dark. Some days, alone, Mike would play imaginary games against major league teams by throwing pitches against a target on the brick wall of his house; even as he was keeping track of balls and strikes, he imagined himself facing well-known professional ball players on whatever team he had chosen to face on that day.
On other days, Mike would play ball in an imaginary outfield, throwing his baseball up onto the roof of the Freda home, and fielding the ball wherever it came down. This drive and intensity would serve him well in the years to come, for when he turned nine, Mike joined the Shore Haven Junior Baseball League. In the ensuing years, if he wasn’t in school, he was playing sports all day and baseball at night.
Mike Freda looked up to the coaches, and also to his friends’ fathers, and modeled himself after what he saw in them. Mike was gifted with a father, Mike senior, who became an assistant coach and later a coach at Shore Haven. Ultimately, the elder Mike Freda would pass away just as the younger Mike Freda was reaching manhood. The league honored him at an all-star game–July 6, 1975, shortly before his passing–for his contributions to the league overall and his years of dedicated service. Fifty years later, Mike recalls that moment like it was yesterday.
Coaches during that period included: Jerry Greenwald, Ray Collins, Bennie Vail, Joe Fortino, Bill Gilbert, Jerry Calabrito, Al Juniello, Sonney Petis, Ed Jennings, Tom Hibson, Fred Parsons, Paul Messino, Tom Carmody, John Kusick, Joe Detullo, Chris Straton, Andy Cafaro, Joe Morrell.
From the start, young Kyle Marmelstein liked playing baseball with the Shore Haven league. He liked being part of a team and he liked the competitive spirit that would arise in him from that association. In fact, he liked just about everything about it–but, at age eleven, Kyle had presumed that he and baseball were finished. An injury had finished the season for him, and he elected to skip the following year altogether.
And he figured that was it for Kyle and Baseball.
But, as is often the way, life had other plans for him. A few years hence, he would marry into a baseball loving family, and his love affair with the game would be rekindled. His father-in-law, Rich Pyrdol was on his way to becoming Shore Haven’s Senior League commissioner, and in time, Kyle would become a long-term coach, co-treasurer, and a member of the board of directors of the league. That board, by the way, is a balance of experienced old hands and youthful energy. Such is the power of baseball, and such is the attraction of this league.
Some of the league features: Player evaluation where every child is placed on a team (no cuts); Games played during the week, no weekends (parents love this); Continuous batting order; Scholarships awarded yearly to HS seniors who graduated from Shore Haven.
Two constants for the league throughout the years: There have been 4 generations of the Morrell and Dini families over the years;
Currently the league consists of 4 divisions: Weeball (ages 3-4), 4 teams; Teeball (ages 5-6), 6 teams; Coach pitch (ages 7-8), 6 teams; Senior (ages 9-12), 4 teams.
Current Board:
President- Frank Dini, Vice President-Rick Dini, League Commissioners — Seniors- Rich Pyrdol, Bob McDermott, Softball- Jeremy Pasture, Coach Pitch- Nick Azano; Tee Ball- Don Webb, Weeball- Jordan Ashley. Commissioner of Umpires -Tony Dini, Webmaster- Dom Contessa, Treasurer- Charlie Gunning, Kyle Marmelstein, Secretary- Rob Vets,
Registrations are ongoing now. For more information: shorehaveninfo@gmail.com or www.shjrbl.com.
Special thanks to Frank Dini for his considerable help in the telling of this tale.
Registrations are ongoing now. For more information: shorehaveninfo@gmail.com or www.shjrbl.com