Pleasantville Red Sox Celebrate 20th Anniversary

It hasn’t been quite the year the Pleasantville Red Sox expected to have this summer as the team has won just seven of its first 24 contests in its 20th anniversary season.

While record wise the Red Sox, of the Westchester Rockland Wood Bat League, aren’t enjoying the year they would like, there is still nothing like the experience of play baseball in the summer. The team is made up of a combination of collegiate players and adults.

“We have always had a good corp group of guys for the last 20 years,” Red Sox Co-Coach and third baseman/catcher Matt Meyers said. “The first set of guys carried over to the new corp and we have been able to keep the team going.”

What makes the passion for the game the Red Sox players have even more impressive is that they play on a team that currently doesn’t have a homefield unlike say the first-place Peekskill Tides, who play their home games in the comforts of plush Peekskill Stadium.

“We travel around the county,” Meyers said. “We have some neutral site fields like Purchase College and Manhattanville College.”

Meyers coaches the team with James Cisco, who also plays the field for the Red Sox at first base. They are one and two in batting average on the squad, with Cisco leading the way with a .346 mark followed by Meyers, who is batting at a .292 clip.

Meyers, who is in his ninth year with the Sox, is able to be successful at the plate by being a good contact hitter. Besides being a good hitter, he also enjoys being one of the coaches for his team.

“We have some young guys in college who are gaining valuable playing experience for their college seasons and the older guys get to come back after college and continue their baseball careers,” Meyers said.

Cisco, who is in his seventh year playing for Pleasantville, is also a good contact hitter who is able to hit the ball to the opposite field. He’s hard to strike out because he is patient and sees a lot of pitches.

Cisco, a left-handed hitter, said the key to his success with the bat is being able to stay focused throughout the grueling 32-game schedule.

“I try not to get too down when I am not doing well, though sometimes that is easier said than done,” Cisco said. “I just work hard every day and hit the ball as hard as I can.”

What makes it easier to work hard every day, besides having a great passion for the game, is the fact that Cisco loves being around his teammates.

“I like the guys that we are playing with,” Cisco said. “They are all good guys. It’s an honor to coach my peers. A lot of the guys played college ball together. If I can do my part and get the guys together, make sure everyone is in the right position, I am happy to do that.”

Also hitting the ball hard is the Red Sox slugger, catcher/pitcher Richie Salerno. He is third on the team in batting average at .282 and leads the team in RBI with seven.

“He’s our muscle guy,” Meyers said. “When he puts the bat on the ball, he hits it hard. He usually finds a hole.”

Pitching wise, it would be hard to find someone who is a tougher competitor than Red Sox pitcher Damien Myers. The lefty hurler leads the team in wins with three and has a glittering strikeout to walk ratio.

Myers has struck out 71 batters while allowing just 15 walks.

“He’s one of the hardest throwers in the league,” Meyers said. “He’s just a pitcher that does a real good job at keeping them off-balanced. He can spot any ball in the corners.”

Competitors like Myers are one of the reasons why Meyers continues to coach the Sox.

“I just love playing the game, the camaraderie on the team and giving other players a chance to play, that’s why I continue to coach,” Meyers said.

Another of those competitors is Cisco, who steadfastly refuses to throw in the towel on the season.

“As long as I have been on the Sox, we have never missed the playoffs so we don’t plan on missing it this year,” Cisco said. “To turn it around, guys have to just relax and if we play as a team, we are more than capable of winning.”