Two Former Clarkstown South H.S. Pitchers Selected In MLB Draft

The baseball savants are wont to say, almost like a mantra: You never have enough pitching.

For the latest confirmation, just ask the Yankees, whose once-highly touted Joba Chamberlain faces “Tommy John surgery” to repair a tendon in his right elbow.

Perhaps, too, you can look to the Cincinnati Red and St. Louis Cardinals, whose crop of picks in the Major League Baseball first-year draft featured a slew of pitchers—including two former Clarkstown South High School standouts, Corey Baker and Eric Alessio.

Both went in the 49^th round: Baker to the Cards; Alessio to the Reds.

Overall, the Reds made a pitcher their top overall selection, and selected 18 pitchers in their top 30. The Cards’ top pitcher was their No. 5 pick, but they selected 17 pitchers in the top 30, and 27 of their top 50 were moundsmen.

It stands to reason, then, that Alessio, who sat out the 2010 season while recovering from “Tommy John surgery,” and Baker, coming off a senior season that was not his best (5.04 ERA), will still get a good look by their respective organizations.

“I am thrilled, and can’t wait to get going,” Alessio, of West Nyack, said on Saturday, one day after agreeing to a contract for a “small bonus.”

Alessio, a graduate student at Marist College, and Baker, the all-time wins leader at the University of Pittsburgh, with 24 victories, were high school teammates.

“We had a really good team, and we both had decent careers. I knew I always wanted to play after college, in pro ball. I don’t know what he (Baker) thinks, but I would say he probably felt the same,” Alessio said. “Ever since I was a kid I wanted to play (professionally).”

Baker did, indeed, echo his former teammate’s sentiments.

“I couldn’t be any more excited; it’s truly a dream come true ever since I was 12,” Baker enthused Saturday, after also receiving a “small bonus,” and already based in upstate Batavia, where he will pitch for manager Dann Biardello’s Muckdogs in the short-season N.Y.-Penn League. (Batavia opens its schedule at home on Friday, and Baker will have a chance to hurl close to home when the Muckdogs visit the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Staten Island Yankees, and the Hudson Valley Renegades.)

Alessio is bound for Arizona, and five days of orientation, and then will report to the Billings, MT, Mustangs, an advanced rookie ball team that opens its season on June 20. For the Mustangs, Alessio will play for manager Pat Kelly, and the pitching coach is Bob Forsch, who spent most of his 18 big-league seasons with the Cardinals.

“I’m getting anxious,” added Alessio, who said he was considering the Independent Rockland Boulders of the Can-Am League, but prefers the chance to play for an affiliated minor-league team.

“I’m just glad to get with a team, and play. The money’s not important right now,” Alessio said.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound right-hander, who started his last collegiate season as the Red Foxes’ closer before moving into the rotation, went 4-3 with a 2.27 ERA in 44 innings. He showed good command, too, with just 12 walks and 38 strikeouts. His 73 career appearances tied for second-most at Marist.

“I’m looking at this as the start to my career, as weird as that sounds,” Alessio said. “I’m going to work as hard as I can to see if I can progress. Maybe one day I’ll play for a big-league team.”

Just five days before the draft, Alessio was asked to participate in a pre-draft workout in Cincinnati.

“I played in the stadium (Great American Ball Park), before some pro scouts, and the general manager. It was a cool experience,” the big-league hopeful noted.

Alessio is one of four Marist players to be drafted. He has two cousins, both pitchers, who played pro ball. Asked what advice they have provided, Alessio said “It’s basic, but good advice: Work hard, give it your best shot.”

Baker, a 6-1, 180-pound right-hander, was one of six players taken off the Pittsburgh roster, the most in school history.

Despite his “off” senior season, Baker struck out 55 in 80 innings. As a junior, Baker was chosen to the all-Big East team with the third-most wins (11) in the nation. In his career, Baker started the most games in Pittsburgh school history, with 49, and tied for the school record in appearances, with 64. He ranks fourth all-time with 221 strikeouts.

Baker, a New City resident who aspires to a post-baseball career in sports management, said he would have considered Independent League baseball only if all other options failed.

“Both my arm and body have a lot left. I feel great physically,” Baker said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity, for however long. This year I struggled a couple of starts, but finished strong; the last five or six starts were really good.”

Baker is ready for the jump to higher-level competition, where there are more good players, and where they will be using wood bats as opposed to the aluminum bats at the collegiate level.

“Sure, it will be tougher,” he said. “But I’ve faced the best of the best in Division I, and the Big East. They (Muckdogs) have a six-man rotation so it would be nice to keep starting, but if they need me in relief that’s fine. I just want to get innings any way I can.”

Baker said he also picked up valuable experience, and advice, playing summer ball with the Bayside Yankees, a well-regarded travel team.

“All of my coaches along the way, the best advice they gave me was to trust my stuff, and have fun,” Baker said. “Ever since I was a kid I was told to trust my stuff. You can have all the talent in the world, but you need confidence.”

Vinny Michello, now the head coach at Clarkstown South, was an assistant coach when Alessio and Baker were starring.

“Obviously, I’m really excited. When we had them, both were our aces,” said Michello, an 11-year physical education teacher at the Middle School. “They’re both good competitors, passionate about baseball. Now that they’re (pros), it’s unbelievable.

“They have great talent, a great work ethic. One thing about them: they are so baseball smart, really know the game. You always knew they’d be successful. I’m so proud of them.”

Putting on his scouting cap, Michello remembers Baker’s “deadly change-up,” and Alessio as being big and strong, and starting a sectional game as a sophomore.

“Both of these guys are really passionate about the game. They succeed because they get the most out of their potential. I couldn’t be happier for them.”