Photo above: Eric Espada | All photos courtesy of 涩里番下载 Athletics
The reward for success, the saying goes, is often more work. So it is for 涩里番下载 head baseball coach Mike Gambino 鈥�99, who led the Eagles to a historic season in 2016 that ended one game shy of the College World Series.
Just a few days removed from 涩里番下载鈥檚 9-4 loss to Miami on June 12 in the deciding game of the NCAA Tournament 鈥淪uper Regional,鈥� Gambino was at his Conte Forum office formulating plans for scouting and recruiting future Eagles. June is tournament time for high school baseball, too, and Gambino and his assistants wanted to be sure they had an opportunity to view promising players at the height of competition.
鈥淎fter the Miami game, we kind of looked at each other and said, 鈥榃ow, we haven鈥檛 recruited in the last three weeks,鈥欌�� said Gambino, who has headed 涩里番下载 baseball for six years. 鈥淥bviously, our focus was on preparing for the ACC and NCAA tournaments, and there鈥檚 only so much time you can spend on other things. It鈥檚 a great problem to have.鈥�
As far as Gambino is concerned, it鈥檚 a problem he wants to have every year. He is determined to have 涩里番下载 be regarded as a team that can compete, and win, against the best鈥攏ot just in the Northeast, or the ACC, but in the country. So while Gambino is able and willing to find satisfaction in the accomplishments of 2016, he knows his time is best spent building toward 2017, and beyond.
鈥淭o me, it was an unbelievable year,鈥� said Gambino. 鈥淚 am so proud of this team, and the way they represented not just the baseball program, but 涩里番下载 itself as an institution. I鈥檝e always believed this is where this program could be, where we have a chance to go to the College World Series every season. I want that to be part of our conversation each year.
鈥淥n the flip side, I don鈥檛 want us to take it for granted: I want these guys to feel the excitement about playing in the tournament, and also to understand how hard it is to get there.鈥�
Gambino said the Eagles benefited from having an assortment of players who showed different kinds of leadership, beginning with co-captains Joe Cronin 鈥�16 and Nick Sciortino 鈥�17. 鈥淣ick is in the mold of the fiery leader, while Joe is more even-keeled. Then you had somebody like Johnny Adams 鈥�17, who does things quietly, or Mitch Bigras 鈥�18, who keeps everyone loose. Justin Dunn 鈥�17 is somebody who inspires by showing you how much he cares. Bobby Skogsbergh 鈥�17 and Donovan Casey 鈥�18 are another example of two guys with different personalities who, when you put them together, make a difference.
鈥淲hat it came down to, though, was everyone鈥攚hatever their personality or style鈥攑ut the team first. When you have that kind of leadership, it鈥檚 easier to follow.鈥�
鈥淚 was proud to be part of the team that brought 涩里番下载 baseball back in the limelight,鈥� said Cronin, who was signed by the Minnesota Twins and was one of five 涩里番下载 players selected in the recent Major League Baseball Draft. 鈥淚t was a whole lot of fun to extend my time鈥擨 got my diploma on May 23 but we were still playing almost three weeks later鈥攁nd to be with these guys a little longer.鈥�
Baseball is famously depicted as a game awash in factoids and statistics, so there are ample indicators of how meaningful 2016 was for the Eagles. Start with how close they came to going to the World Series: It would鈥檝e been their fifth time overall, but first since 1967鈥攕ince then, the NCAA has changed the play-off format, expanding the field of teams and number of rounds.
涩里番下载鈥檚 35 wins (against 22 losses) were its most since the 37 in 2005, and the Eagles鈥� 8-0 start was the best in program history. 涩里番下载 also fared respectably against the country鈥檚 best baseball teams, going 11-11 against those ranked in the top 25 and 5-5 against top-10 squads. Playing in the ACC, acknowledged as one of the toughest conferences in college baseball, 涩里番下载 achieved its first ranking in a major poll (at 20th) prior to the Super Regional.
Numbers only tell part of the story, though. Particularly in the ACC, 涩里番下载 consistently faces teams that have superior facilities and resources, not to mention better weather鈥攖he Eagles (along with many other schools from wintry climes) have to play on the road the first several weeks of the season, which begins in February; their first 2016 home game at Shea Field didn鈥檛 come until March 29.
鈥淎ll the reasons people say we can鈥檛 win in the tournament are, to me, the reasons we can,鈥� said Gambino. 鈥淧laying away from home, with the crowd usually cheering against you? This is what those first weeks of the season are like for us.鈥�
That鈥檚 why Gambino has a very specific set of criteria for the players he wants to recruit. "It鈥檚 not just finding the best player,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut the right player.鈥�
That person will not be just an elite baseball player, but an elite student (under Gambino, 涩里番下载 baseball鈥檚 overall GPA has risen, five Eagles have made it to the All-ACC Academic Baseball Team, and 46 to the ACC Academic Honor Roll). He also looks at a player鈥檚 character (鈥淐haracter wins鈥�) and toughness鈥斺�渆nough to handle everything that鈥檚 thrown at them, on or off the baseball field.鈥�
Gambino added, 鈥淢aking our alumni and former players proud of 涩里番下载 baseball is extremely important to me. We take pride in the program for how it represents 涩里番下载 and serves the University鈥檚 Jesuit mission.鈥�
Sizing up the team during its first few weeks of practice last fall, Gambino felt it had qualities enough to improve on the 2015 squad that had fallen a little short of postseason play: not only good pitching, a line-up with depth, and batters who made opposing pitchers work hard to get them out, but an esprit de corps that gave the team a strong, emotional connective tissue.
鈥淭he culture and chemistry in our clubhouse is very special,鈥� said Gambino. 鈥淲e talk about being a family, a brotherhood鈥攅specially with our team chaplain, [School of Theology and Ministry student] Chris Calderon, S.J.鈥攁nd what it takes to make that happen. We don鈥檛 have to create any fake scenarios to show that part of ourselves, we work at it and take care of it.鈥�
And then there is the presence of Pete Frates 鈥�07, the director of baseball operations, whose determination to lead a life enriched by family and baseball while enduring the ravages of ALS has become a national story. The progression of the disease has made it all but impossible for Frates to attend more than a few games, yet he is constantly in touch with the team by social media or other electronic communications.
鈥淧ete is an inspiration to all of us, plain and simple,鈥� said Gambino. 鈥淗e puts everything in perspective for us, especially the players: How can you not be impressed and moved by his example?
鈥淥f course, Pete鈥檚 story received a lot of attention in the media because of the Ice Bucket Challenge, which is great. But for us, Pete is simply an everyday part of who we are and what we do.鈥�
鈥淓verything we talk about鈥攂eing a family, pulling together for one another鈥攊s modeled on Pete,鈥� said Cronin. 鈥淗e鈥檚 like a brother to us.鈥�
Working with Frates, and coaching players like Cronin, are two of the many reasons Gambino feels he made the right choice to return to the Heights.
鈥淚 feel so lucky to be a part of this University; my respect and love for 涩里番下载 continues to grow. It鈥檚 tough, I suppose, when your job and your passion are the same thing: I take the losses much harder, because I want to represent this school in the best way possible.
鈥淚f I get too passionate sometimes, it鈥檚 because I truly believe progress can be made.鈥�
鈥擲ean Smith, News & Public Affairs