Mele Enjoys His Summer Baseball Experience

In life it pays to know the right people. That is something that Croton resident Frankie Mele, 16, can attest too.

Last year Mele was playing for a solid Westchester Putnam Baseball Association squad in Cortlandt. However, through the father of one of his friends, he found out that the prestigious American Legion Shrub Oak Post 1080 17-and-under team had an opening on it for this summer.

He looked into, tried out and made the team, something that Mele was very excited about.

“It really felt great to make this team because it is not an easy team to make,” Mele said. “Making this team definitely made me an even more confident player.”

Mele was the top relief pitcher for Shrub Oak (21-8) in addition to also seeing some time at first base. He says he has enjoyed participating in the numerous tournaments that Shrub Oak has been involved in.

“We went to Pomona we won and we went to Saratoga and we won that tournament too,” Mele said. “We went to Providence and made it to the championship game, where we lost in the last inning.”

Besides playing in top-notch tournaments, another benefit to playing on Shrub Oak is the ability of his teammates and opponents. Mele says being around top-notch players makes the game of baseball even more enjoyable.

“It’s a high skill level,” Mele said. “You get to play with and against a lot of the best players in the region. Baseball is a fun game and it’s even more fun when you are playing with players like that.”

Mele also added that playing with players who are at a higher skill level is very important in his development as a player.

“It’s definitely going to make you better,” Mele said. “It has made me focus even more on improving my game.”

Another added benefit on playing with Shrub Oak has been the opportunity to meet new people. He said that before the season started that he didn’t know any of his teammates who come from Valhalla, Shrub Oak, Yorktown, Cortlandt Manor, Mohegan Lake, Mahopac and Somers.

Mele and his teammates ended the season in the state tournament at one of the best venues in Westchester County, Peekskill Stadium, where the team went 1-2 with both losses coming by one run apiece.

“It was a great opportunity to play the best in the state,” Mele said. “You’re seen by a lot of people in a great place to play baseball.”

As for which he likes more, Mele says he enjoys hitting but there is nothing to him that is better than having the control of the game that a pitcher has.

“I like hitting but I also like pitching because you are involved in every play,” Mele said. “On the mound is where you can have the biggest impact on the game.”

Shrub Oak Post 1080 coach Sal Gallinelli was happy he had Mele to call on this summer.

“He’s a quality pitcher,” Gallinelli said. “He’s a quality lefty arm. He’s been our reliever all year. Earlier in the season, he got the win against Middletown. We were down, we came back and he pitched two scoreless innings against them. He’s a quality pitcher. He’s my go-to guy. He wants to start, he will tell me before a game ‘I can beat this team’ and he probably could but he’s my finish guy. He’s had a quality year all season.”