When Mike Hogan arrived at Ferris High School as its new baseball coach in the spring of 1998, the players there really didn’t have a sense of the history involved. In fact, a lot of them had no idea who Hogan was.
"I knew nothing of him," said senior first baseman Rafael Ortiz.
When Mike Hogan arrived at Ferris High School as its new baseball coach in the spring of 1998, the players there really didn’t have a sense of the history involved. In fact, a lot of them had no idea who Hogan was.
"I knew nothing of him," said senior first baseman Rafael Ortiz.
"When he came here, I just heard he was a good coach," said senior third baseman Marco Collazo. "That’s really all I knew."
That idea didn’t surprise Hogan, who has spent the last two decades on Hudson County baseball diamonds, at St. Mary’s, then St. Anthony – where he was the mentor to future major leaguers John Valentin and Willie Banks – then on to Marist. During those years, Hogan’s teams captured six HCIAA championships and three NJSIAA Parochial B state crowns. As a coach, Hogan has won more than 300 games.
But to the students at Ferris, Hogan was just the new kid on the block. Little did they know.
"I really didn’t think they knew about Marist," Hogan said. "Or that I coached Willie. I think they know Johnny, because he’s a big leaguer from Jersey City. But I don’t think they knew about me and Johnny together. They’re all too young to know that."
Hogan didn’t want to take time to implement his winning ways and his strict form of discipline on the Bulldogs.
"I wanted to win right away, during the first year," Hogan laughed. "At least, I was hoping for that."
But in high school baseball, it doesn’t work that way. It takes time and nurturing. Much like a child taking his first steps. You have to crawl before you can walk and walk before you can run. Hogan was taking over a Ferris program that had no idea about discipline and dedication. Some crawling was necessary.
In 1998, Hogan’s first season at Ferris, the Bulldogs were 10-15. A year later, they were 14-13, qualifying for the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group IV playoffs, but making a quick exit at the hands of Bayonne. All strides.
But the dedication started to filter down to the players. They made the commitment to play together during the hot summer months, into the fall. When winter arrived, the players were in the weight room, getting bigger and stronger.
"They were lifting three times a week," Hogan said. "Some of them even ran track."
Like first sacker Ortiz, who was so successful in indoor track that he won the HCIAA indoor 400-meter dash.
"Running track helped me to get in shape," Ortiz said. "I got my speed up and it made me work harder."
"There weren’t many days off for those kids," Hogan said. "They really sacrificed a lot and were willing to put in a lot of time. And they’ve been around each other all the time. That helped."
As the 2000 baseball season began, there weren’t a lot of people who gave Ferris much of a chance. The Hudson County baseball race was restricted to the perennial powers like Memorial, Bayonne and St. Peter’s Prep. There wasn’t room for an upstart bunch of hard workers and their highly successful coach.
"There weren’t many people who expected us to have a good team," Ortiz said. "Last year, we didn’t get any respect. We wanted to open people’s eyes."
The eye opening has begun. In just the last week after a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Memorial, the Bulldogs have reeled off four straight wins to improve to 9-4. And their last two victories in the HCIAA came against state-ranked Bayonne and a shocking 10-0 lambasting of North Bergen, a game where senior Hector Morales fired a no-hitter, striking out 10 in the process.
"I was a little surprised that I threw a no-hitter," said Morales, whose record improved to 4-0 with the win. "We believe in ourselves. Everyone on this team believes in themselves."
"We’re playing very well," said Hogan. "Maybe the Memorial game showed that we could play with the good teams. The Bayonne win was a good win, because since I’ve been at Ferris, they’ve done nothing but destroy us. And they jumped out to a 2-0 lead and we came back. It was a big win, a nice win.
"Then, to go to North Bergen and beat North Bergen, with a good pitcher (Mike Vijande)," Hogan said. "I expected a close game, but we put five on the board right away."
Morales helped his cause by belting a three-run homer in the rally.
"Although we’re hitting the ball well, I don’t think we’re a great hitting team," Hogan said. "I think the key to the team is the pitching. Hector has better control than ever. Jimmy Hernandez is throwing well."
And sophomore Froilan Ramirez tossed a one-hitter in his varsity debut, a 17-0 win over St. Anthony. Kenny Munoz and Jorge Bultron, all 5-foot-4 and 120 pounds of him, belted three hits and knocked in three runs.
Needless to say, it’s a total team effort that is carrying the Bulldogs to their best season in recent memory.
Senior Mike Carrion, a transfer from St. Mary’s, is the team’s leading hitter, batting better than .500. Hernandez and Collazo have been solid at the plate as well. Freshman catcher Izzy Cuadra has been a pleasant surprise, hitting a two-run homer in the win over North Bergen.
"It feels real good right now," said senior outfielder Angel Perez. "We’re all playing better and the hard work is paying off."
"The confidence is definitely building with this team," Collazo said. "Everyone has to pay attention to us now."
Hogan knows that there’s a long way to go, but he also knows that his team will definitely play a major part as to what team wins the HCIAA championship later this month.