
The 2017 summer season saw the New York Nine Scout Team experience great success on and off the baseball diamond. On the field, the Nine defeated a who’s who list of area “powerhouse” programs en route to a 33 victory season with an outstanding .750 winning percentage (33-9-3 overall record).
The 2017 Nine Scout Team was a very special team. The passion the team played with, respect for the game and care that they had for each other and the coaches was incredible. All summer, opposing coaches and players, parents, tournament staff, scouts, college recruiters and spectators all commented on how the club carried themselves, cared about each other, played with passion, and was just more talented and athletic than almost everyone else. One ACC coach mentioned this was the closest thing to a GCL (Gulf Coast League) team he had seen in some time.
The team claimed three major tournament titles, winning the Blue Chips East Coast Championships, the Mid-Atlantic Showdown at Baseball Heaven and the Baseball Heaven Independence Championship. In their final three tournaments, the team amassed an incredible 17-0 record. Upon claiming the East Coast Challenge Championship they defeated the Body Armor Titans, for the Independence Championship they trumped the Bayside Yankees and in non-tournament action beat teams such as Next Level, Youth Service and NABF World Series participant SAYO Grays.
The most memorable moment of the summer belonged to a rising senior. During the Blue Chips East Coast Championships, the Nine were down to their final out trailing by two runs. Pinch hitter Jesse Spellman stepped to the plate and hit an improbable two out, two run home run that caromed off the left fielder’s glove trying to rob him, as he jumped over the fence. The home run tied the game, ultimately allowing the Nine to win in the ninth inning and advance to the semi-finals.
After the game, Scout Team manager Ian Millman stated, “I am both proud to have been a part of this special group and honored to be their coach. #TeamPanda will live forever. Vamos Panda!”
As a unit, the offense hit a robust .315/.423/.454 (batting average, on base percentage and slugging), good for an incredible 6.1 runs per game. In 1384 plate appearances, the Nine had 358 hits with 105 going for extra bases (74 doubles, 9 triples and 22 home runs). There were 197 offensive walks and 294 strikeouts in the 45 games.
Carlos De La Cruz led the team in batting average (.444), 2nd in OBP (.496) and 1st in slugging (.789). He also led the team in home runs (7), doubles (11) and RBI (49). He tied for the team lead in hits (48), finished 2nd on the team in runs (32) and tied for 2nd in stolen bases (10).
Danny Perez finished 2nd in batting average (.379), 1st in OBP (.511) and 3rd in slugging (.544). He also finished 1st in walks (26), 3rd in hits (39), 3rd in doubles (9) and 2nd in RBI (29).
Danny Alfonzo finished 3rd in OBP (.484), 2nd in slugging (.581), 2nd in home runs (4), 2nd in doubles (10) and 3rd in RBI (23). He also finished 3rd in runs with 31 and led the team and set a New York Nine record with 12 HBP.
Angel Presinal finished 3rd in batting average (.372), tied for first in hits (48) and led the team in stolen bases (14) and runs (34).
Nick Vella finished tied for 3rd in home runs (3, with Francisco Soriano), finished 2nd in walks (23) and tied for 3rd in stolen bases (10).
Elvis Torres and Oliver Fernandez tied for 3rd in walks (16).
On the bump, Nine hurlers threw 284 innings, struck out 324 and had a 2.44 team ERA. In those 284 innings, the Nine only allowed 206 hits. The Nine struck out 25.7% of batters faced, generated an impressive 11.9% swing and miss rate and had a 49.6% ground ball rate.
Chris Pichardo led the team in wins (8), set the organization’s record and tallied 14 victories in his previous two seasons.
Dimitri Papazoglou struck out 41 (good for 2nd) in 27.2 innings. Dimitri struck out 35.3% of batters faced and generated swings and misses on 18.7% of pitches. He controlled his contact, allowing only 3.29 hits per 7 while generating a 53.8% ground ball rate.
Austin Cole led the team in strikeouts (43) and only allowed 3.78 hits per 7.
Anthony Costa led the club with a 1.82 ERA to go along with 4 wins and 33 strikeouts (finishing 3rd)
Mark Novello struck out 30 in 23.2 IP
Mike Garcia struck out 17 in 11 IP and had a 1.27 ERA
DJ Flug struck out 21 in 20 innings with an excellent 64.2% ground ball rate to go along with 4 wins
Brayan Garcia struck out 26 in 17.1 IP while only walking 4 with a 1.62 ERA. He also had a 55.8% ground ball rate.
Bryant Gomez struck out 19 and had an ERA of .84 in 16.2 innings
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