Dean Adams was asked to keep score for Orville’s of the AAA MUNY League this summer. After a few years away from baseball, Adams agreed, and his passion for the game was reawakened as he was there with his team through everything. I wanted to give Dean a chance to tell the story from his perspective. Here are Dean’s words:
I’ve had some time to reflect on my summer with the 2020 Orville’s, one of seven teams in Buffalo AAA MUNY Baseball.
During this time of COVID-19, I’ve had the pleasure of doing the scorebook for the squad – but by the end of the season, this team meant so much more to me than my one simple responsibility to them.
Before it began on July 6, I was busy as a marketing intern. Opportunities can come out of nowhere – but over the duration of my college career, I’ve had the courage to quickly say “yes” to anything. Orville’s third baseman, Medaille College alumni, and my good friend Dom Teoli called me last minute and asked me to do the scorebook in place of his dad, who had been the scorekeeper for as long as Dom has been on the team – five years. I couldn’t pass it up. A chance to get back into a sport that I hadn’t even been a part of since high school was awaiting. I just remember my hands were literally shaking as I wrote down my first lineup card. I didn’t want to screw it up and make a bad first impression!
There were two turning points during the regular season that immediately come to my attention: Our 7-5 victory over Diesel in the first meeting, and Dawson Bailey’s steal of home in a 2-1 win against All In Sports Buffalo. We began the year 1-4, and our vocal leaders, catcher Mike Mazzara (Canisius) and utility veteran Paul Wujek (Hilbert), started our winning ways. All summer, Mike consistently called a great game behind the plate, and Paul’s ability to manufacture runs at the top of the order is unmatched.
Let’s go back a couple bases – Dawson (Niagara University) stole second, third, and home to give the O’s a W. The night was completed with an amazing postgame meal of pizza. That’s when the fun started. Of course, playing four straight days was tiring, so we tried to find incentives to get the team through those long stretches. And it was great to get to know the guys even more while chatting and eating after the game.
A few games went by, and after we picked up an afternoon win, Coach Toughey and about ten of us headed to Duff’s for wings. There was a point in a conversation I had with Paul where “Wuj” asked me to pick out a glove via phone for his brother.
What I didn’t know was that glove would be presented to me at our last regular season game days later.
Words couldn’t explain how I felt in that moment, but now to rock a full uniform, glove, hat, jersey, and all, I became one of the O’s on and off the field. By the time playoffs came, I was taking pre-game hacks in the cage with Andy Xapsos (Bluefield), Joey Battaglia (NCCC), Derek Penman (John Carroll), Brian Norsen (SJFC) & Chase Chodkowski (Allegheny), trotting out to center field with Andrew Michalski (SUNY Cortland), and probably playing catch with every player to the point where my nickname in baseball, “Spaghetti Arm”, came back to haunt me, as I returned to throwing for prolonged periods of time.
Our semifinal series with Diesel was as intense and passionate of a five-game run as I’ve ever been a part of. They took games one and three; we took games two and four. Mike Steffan’s (Canisius) home runs in both wins were crucial to keeping the series afloat. Throughout the summer, he continued to get himself in good counts, leading to a pitch that he can drive out-of-the-yard, and drive it he did! I’m sure that’s something that Mike can keep applying to his at-bats in the spring. All series, it looked as if we had momentum on our side. I was so proud of our guys for giving it their all, to not concede defeat down 1-0 and 2-1, and we continued to grind. Our pitching excelled for us when called upon (Kyle Bell – Queens, Tyler Prospero – NU, Anthony Brophy – SJFC, Will Frank and Brett Kochanski – Canisius, and Jarret Johnston – UB), and the offense, which also included Benny Serrano (NU), put it all together in game five to advance – and ultimately fall in the finals vs Team Deb – a much deserved first Buffalo AAA MUNY Championship for them.
At the end of the day, our journey from start to finish was amazing. Any successful team requires accepted roles and chemistry from everyone involved, one through 26, and we certainly had both. These areas of peak performance were integrated by a tremendous head coach, Glenn Toughey, who always preached the perfect balance of fun and competitiveness in us. I’m excited to be helping him out again next summer for the AAABA Orville’s team.
I would like to thank Orville’s for an opportunity that I am extremely thankful for. After my high school baseball career ended at Cardinal O’Hara just a short three years ago, I thought I was totally finished with the sport. I had made the full-time transition to basketball to become a team manager for the men’s basketball team at Medaille College, along with pursuing public announcing opportunities on the side. I had once neglected the game of baseball because of how bad of a place in my life I was in during my playing days, but you guys have brought me back into this great game forever. We created a ton of great memories with a bunch of even better guys. I knew the experience for these guys would not have been the same without my infectious energy and enthusiasm (or else I wouldn’t have traveled to all 27 games!!!).
It’s crazy how the dominoes fall. Being around a team with D1, NAIA, D3, and professional players in AAA MUNY this summer was an unforgettable experience – unlike any talent I’ve ever been alongside. These collegiate & amateur athletes have hearts of gold too.
I hope from reading this, you can understand that there are so many ways to keep your dream alive, that it is always there for you, even during a pandemic. This is what sports are all about!! It’s been an amazing summer, and I can’t wait to hopefully watch our players compete at their respective colleges this spring.
Top 5 Orville’s Moments
- Dawson Bailey’s steal of home in 2-1 win vs. All In
- Mike Mazzara’s two-run walk-off home run at Vets Park vs. Outlaws
- Mike Steffan’s grand slam in game two of semifinals vs. Diesel
- Dom Teoli’s two-run, two-out double in game one of quarterfinals vs. All In
- Kyle Bell’s four-inning save vs. All-In