It was definitely a week to remember for former local products in their attempts to either remain solid in the major leagues or to make a return to the big leagues.
First, former Marist standout Joe Borowski continued to establish himself as a dominant closer in the majors for the Chicago Cubs. Borowski, who has emerged as one of the biggest Cinderella stories in all of baseball, coming back from obscurity to now prominence, recorded two saves in wins over the New York Yankees in Wrigley Field last weekend, giving him 11 saves for the season.
Also last week, former St. Peter’s College hurler Victor Santos made his return to the major leagues, this time with the Texas Rangers, eventually starting against the Mets in Arlington last Wednesday.
At the same time, Jersey City’s John Valentin returned to professional baseball, signing a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. Valentin, the former Red Sox standout who played for the Mets last year, had been out of baseball before the chance with the Phillies. He will report to Scranton-Wilkes Barre to play Class AAA ball for a few weeks to round himself into shape, before possibly joining the Phillies for the stretch run of the season.
And Valentin’s high school teammate, Willie Banks, was rumored to be on the verge of getting called up to the majors by the Yankees when the team released Juan Acevedo last week.
Banks has been pitching as a set-up relief pitcher for the Yankees Class AAA team, the Columbus Clippers. When the Yankees got fed up with Acevedo, they seemed poised to recall Banks, but selected rookie Al Reyes instead.
Still, four local products all making news with major league baseball clubs this past week. Pretty impressive…
Condolences to the good people at Stan’s Sports Center in Hoboken on the passing of a fixture and friend to all in the sports community, Ray Cerrito, the long-time owner of the sporting goods giant, who passed away Monday at the age of 79.
Ray was the father figure at Stan’s for nearly 50 years and helped many different schools, teams and organizations with his generosity and kindness. It won’t be the same going into Stan’s and not seeing Ray’s friendly face, making some crack about my columns and prognostications. My prayers go out to the Cerrito family. Rest in peace, friend…
You can always count on Jersey City’s Arturo Gatti to put on a great boxing show. Last Saturday night, the hard-nosed Gatti probably put together his grittiest performance to date, winning the rubber match against Mickey Ward in Atlantic City, after being knocked down and after breaking his hand during the fight.
The 31-year-old Gatti earned a unanimous decision in the 10-round junior welterweight war, the third time the two fighters had locked horns.
"They fought like champions," said Gatti trainer Buddy McGirt, who was trained by Secaucus boxing legend Al Certo during his boxing days. "The sad part is that today’s champions don’t do that. These guys both should have gotten a belt."
Gatti’s career has received a resurgence of popularity thanks to the Gatti-Ward trilogy. Look for him to get a chance to get other top-flight cards in the future, of course, after his hand properly heals…
We learned that former Hoboken High School and University of Miami standout Wilber Valdez has been tabbed to become the new head coach at Ferris. Valdez, still a pup at only 25 years old, has been teaching in the Jersey City school district since graduating from Miami a few years ago.
His former coach, Ed Stinson, was pleased to see that another protégé has entered the coaching ranks, joining former pupils like Chipper Benway (ex-Hudson Catholic) and Joe Rotondi (Union Hill).
"I think it’s a tribute to our program," Stinson said. "It’s a tribute to the young men who take the time and dedicate themselves to coaching after leaving Hoboken."
Valdez will get his coaching initiation in the hard way. Ferris opens against Hoboken in September…
It’s that time of year again. The EXTRA INNINGS baseball feature will begin next week, focusing on the best stories that come from local baseball and softball leagues throughout the area.
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. – Jim Hague