Mamaroneck's Rosenfeld Ready to Get Back on Baseball Field

Any player would be excited to join a Division I baseball program, but Mamaroneck's Mike Rosenfeld has even more of a reason to look forward to his arrival at Duke.

Rosenfeld tore his ulnar collateral ligament in February and missed his entire senior season at Mamaroneck.

"I can't wait to play again," Rosenfeld said. "I definitely missed baseball."

The catcher entered the spring as a Louisville Slugger Preseason All-American — the only player from Westchester County to receive that honor — after hitting .450 with four home runs and 30 RBI in 60 at-bats for the state champion Tigers in 2009.

But while throwing the ball in the gym during the preseason, something popped in his arm. Rosenfeld had never had an arm injury before, but he would eventually need to undergo Tommy John surgery in early March, an operation with a normal recovery time of nine-12 months.

He was forced to stay on the bench as Mamaroneck attempted to defend its Class AA title. The Tigers eventually lost in the sectional semifinals to Suffern.

"It was definitely tough to sit there and watch, but you have to look at the positive. It was good that I gave my body a rest," Rosenfeld said.

He was finally cleared to throw two weeks ago and has begun a strict training regiment that has him throwing three times a week. He's hoping to be 100 percent by the time Duke's season starts in the spring.

Rosenfeld picked the Blue Devils in part because of his relationship with their head coach, Rye native Sean McNally.

"I really fell in love with the coaches," Rosenfeld said. "Coach McNally is a local guy who worked out in places I'd been working out in, and I felt like I would be more than just another player to him. He knew where I would be coming from."

Duke's last catcher, four-year starter Ryan McCurdy, signed a contract with the Houston Astros organization last month. That showed Rosenfeld that Duke can send its catchers to the pros, and it also opens up a spot on the lineup.

"There are kids in the system but the coaches told me I'd have a pretty good shot at having an impact right away," Rosenfeld said.

Rosenfeld will be reporting to campus on Aug. 23, and even he will be interested to see what happens after taking a year off.

"The catching will come back to me quickly," Rosenfeld said. "I'm definitely going to have to get my hitting back. It's going to be different seeing 90 miles per hour and up."