SPC official’s book recalls rise of Seton Hall quartet into big league baseball
When David Siroty was an assistant sports information director at Seton Hall University in the late 1980s, overseeing the actions of the baseball team, little did he know that his experience would someday lead to writing a book.
But then again, the Seton Hall team of 1987 wasn’t your everyday college baseball team. The Pirates, who won the Big East championship that year, featured three players, namely Mo Vaughn, Craig Biggio and Jersey City native John Valentin, who all went on to become stars in the major leagues.
Another Pirate performer, Marteese Robinson, was definitely the best player on the team that year. He won the National Collegiate Player of the Year honors, along with current Yankee third baseman Robin Ventura, and was taken by the Oakland A’s in the fourth round of the draft, higher than the other three.
"Marteese was easily the best of the bunch that year," Siroty said. "They were four very talented guys who were on the same team. I started having the idea to write a book about them and their experiences about three years later."
By that time, Vaughn was already on his way to stardom with the Boston Red Sox, along with Valentin, the former St. Anthony High School standout. Biggio was on his way to becoming an All-Star second baseman with the Houston Astros. However, Robinson was not as fortunate. His career stalled in the minor leagues with the A’s and he was forced to seek a life at first outside of baseball.
Siroty started to put together notes he compiled during his stay with the Pirates that year. When he approached a publisher with the idea for his book three years ago, he decided he had to do some intense research – which included extensive interviews with each of the featured players.
The result is "The Hit Men and the Kid Who Batted Ninth," a baseball biography that would definitely interest local baseball fans, especially with all the references of Jersey City involving Valentin.
One of the chapters of the book, which is now available at major bookstores as well as Amazon.com, features Valentin’s early days, growing up in Holland Gardens right outside the Holland Tunnel and how he learned to become a pull hitter because of a pack of wild dogs that frequented the playground there. The dogs would hang out near the right field line, so he had to hit toward left fiend if he wanted to get the ball back.
That approach became helpful later on when Valentin was a player for the Red Sox, banging balls off the famed Green Monster.
While the other three players were destined for greatness, Valentin had to travel the toughest road. He was not given a scholarship to Seton Hall and had to make the team first as a walk-on. When he had the chance to play for the Pirates, Valentin was simply considered as a defensive shortstop, so he was placed at the bottom of the lineup – thus the moniker of "the kid who batted ninth."
Siroty chronicles Valentin’s background, from his days growing up in Jersey City, to his first organized homer at Franco Field in the downtown section, through St. Anthony and into Seton Hall.
The 39-year-old author Siroty, who is currently the director of public affairs at St. Peter’s College, said that the book began as pure enjoyment, then evolved into a labor of love.
"It then went from a labor of love and turned into a complete passion," Siroty said. "It became a lot of work, especially transcribing all those hours of interviews."
But Siroty enjoyed telling stories about the three major league stars, as well as Robinson, who later became an executive in the St. Louis Cardinals’ scouting organization.
"I knew it was going to develop into something special, because I talked to the right people," Siroty said. "Because of that, I got the right stories. Towards the end, it was like doing a college term paper, making sure I got all the facts right. It’s always been exciting, but the thrill of writing it has been gone, because I was done writing so long ago."
Added Siroty, "But now that it’s out, it’s like the end of a dream. It’s four biographies of four different guys, with each story different. But it’s amazing when you look at it. The four guys all needed an anchor and that anchor was Shep (Seton Hall head coach Mike Sheppard). It then became about what they took from baseball and was able to put into their own lives."
Siroty said that he was particularly proud of chapters that showed the extensive charity work that each player was involved in, including Vaughn’s care of a little boy dying of cancer and Valentin’s participation in Boston’s Jimmy Fund.
"You really get a feel for what it’s like for the players to be involved, the relationship between the kids and the baseball players," Siroty said. "And how much their involvement does for the kids who are sick with cancer."
Siroty was asked if it helps for local sales that Vaughn and Valentin are currently playing for the Mets.
"I think it helps for a media perspective, but we probably lose a little now in the Boston market," Siroty said. "But since I’m from this area [a Westfield resident], I think it’s pretty cool."
It’s also pretty cool that a local guy is featured in a book written by someone with local ties. "The Hit Men and the Kid Who Batted Ninth," should be a must on your summer reading list.
The EXTRA INNINGS feature runs weekly throughout the summer months, featuring local baseball and softball teams outside of the high school season. If you have any noteworthy information to contribute to the EXTRA INNINGS, feel free to contact Jim Hague by voice mail at (201) 798-7800, ext. 751, by general mail at 1400 Washington St., Hoboken, NJ 07030, or via e-mail at OGSMAR@aol.com. Please include a telephone contact name and number, in order to secure further information for a possible story.