The Farmingdale Baseball League's 18 and under "A" travel team that plays in the Nassau Babe Ruth League ended their 2001 season in early August as the 4th place finisher County Championship play off tournament. This was the 8th year in succession that FBLI's Babe Ruth A team has been in the season ending playoff championships. No other Babe Ruth team in any division can equal or even come close to this successful run. During this streak Tom Sabellico managed the team for the first 5 years, winning 3 championships, and for the past 3 years George Koch, finishing runner - up twice, managed the team. The team started play back in May, as a very young team, as 12 of the players are 17-years-old or younger and playing in their first year of eligibility under the FBLI "A" team banner.

As these 12 players would indeed be playing their first season together, the team set out on its mission to try to make the Varsity Division Babe Ruth County Playoffs. Although they fell short of the championship, it still was a successful season nonetheless for the boys of Farmingdale.

The season opened for the A's with a victory over Massapequa, last year's League Champions. The Dalers split the season series with their archrival Massapequa this year. Other memorable games during the campaign include a 7 to 6 come-from-behind win over the eventual 1st place team, Levittown, that was capped off by a 4 run uprising in the bottom of the 7th inning, a brilliant 2 hit, 2 to 1 loss to Levittown, a 5 homer win over Levittown 2, another come-from-behind win, this one over the Valley Stream Mets that featured 2 long extra base hits by Seth Teitler that sparked the victory, and a gigantic home run off the bat of James Scarfo that helped clinch a playoff spot with a win over Baldwin. The regular season ended with the A's coming in 4th place.

As the playoff series opened, the A's faced the 1st place finisher, the Levittown 1 team, a team that had beaten the Dalers 3 out of 4 games during the regular season. Manager George Koch opted to open the playoffs with the team's hot pitcher, Jesse, who had pitched the brilliant 2 hit loss the week before against Levittown. Jesse hurled a solid 6 innings but ran out of gas in the 7th as Levittown tied the score at 5. It was a struggle into extra innings for both teams as scoring chances were blown by both but in the end Levittown scored a run in the bottom of the 10th to knock out the A's. It was a hard fought loss and Farmingdale now went into the losers bracket in the next round against Baldwin, who had just been beaten by the Valley Stream team.

In the 2nd round game, the A's offense was shut down and their lethargy on both offense and defense led to the disappointing 3 to 0 loss. The only bright spot for the Dalers was an 11-strikeout performance by pitcher Jim McCaffrey in a complete game loss. The famous Major League pitcher Nolan Ryan once said, "One of the beautiful things about baseball is that once in awhile you come into a situation where you want to, and where you have to, reach down and prove something." This time the A's were not up to that task. The Dalers dream and their season long mission of the county championship was not to be.

This was a season of high hopes but low expectations for the Dalers as this was a team that had not played together in the past. Finishing 4th, as disappointing as that was, is just a singular part of an ongoing fabulous streak of 8 straight playoff appearances by the Farmingdale "A" teams. All the players should be proud of themselves and what their team has accomplished in this continuing saga of excellence.

The team will be losing the contributions of its four 18-year-olds, led by Seth Teitler who has been among the team's leaders in most offensive categories the past two seasons. This year Teitler batted .404 and led the team in three offensive categories. Seth will surely be missed! Steady Bryan Zachman led the team in walks this season and had an on-base percentage of .463 and roamed centerfield with abandon all year. James McCaffrey returned to the A's this year and batted an even .300 and was our number 2 pitcher in the rotation as he won 3 games on the mound during the season. Rob Valdini has been with the A team for the last 3 years and was our relief pitcher in many tight spots over the course of the season.

The rest of the players are all 16 or 17 and are eligible to return to the team next season. James Scarfo was the team's cleanup batter most of the year, leading the team with a batting average of .516 and a slugging percentage of .937. His 28 RBIs plated many an important run. Julian Barnett was the team's steady right fielder, batting .289 for the season. Par Friszell platooned in the outfield and made many a fine defensive play and finished the season with a .314 batting average. Bobby Milnes played shortstop when he wasn't pitching or catching and batted a solid .297. Greg Booth played infield or outfield and was a terrific all-around player with an on base pct of .412. Joe Hammond played 1st base and won the FBLI Service Award Scholarship for 2001. Ken Kruger also returned to Farmingdale baseball this year and played an outstanding 3rd base most of the season while batting .452. Ryan Veracka was a late season call up from the "B" team and did an outstanding job in a utility player role. He knocked in 10 runs with his hits and will be a key player in the next few years. John Migliorisi was a newcomer to the Farmingdale scene this year as he moved here from the big city to our west. My guess is that they teach players how to play big time in that big bad city. John paced the team with 95 plate appearances and had the most runs scored with 22 and also led the team with 13 stolen bases. John had a batting average of .284 for the year but the offensive is not where John excelled. John or "Travolta" as his teammates called him emerged as our leading pitcher this season. Migliorisi had a stunning 2.17 ERA for the year pitching in 11 games and throwing 51 innings. John won 5 games for the A's, allowed only 7 walks in those 51 innings and striking out 55. What a year!

The last player that I have to mention is Mike Midea. Mike was the team's switch-hitting #2 batter most of the season. Mike set the table for the entire line up. Mike was unfazed at bat making contact no matter how hard the opposition's pitchers threw the ball and had a great on base pct of .441. Mike has been with the A team since he was 15 years old and has been a steady leader every year. Mike batted .381 this season while swatting 32 hits out of the #2 hole in the line up. All the returning players will form the nucleus around which the coaching staff will build a new team next season.

Team Manager George Koch, Coaches Tony Midea, Bob Scarfo and Scott Friszell wish to thank the entire team for their sportsmanship and great effort in a successful season that continued the string of playoff appearances by the Farmingdale A teams. They started the season as individuals but ended it not as individuals but as a team. They did not quite live up to their lofty expectations but their remembrances of their great season together as a team will never be forgotten.

It is with great sadness that I have announced my retirement as manager of the A's after 37 years of coaching, managing and directing youth baseball. Over the years I have had many winning championship teams as well as many years when the teams were not so good. Some times the not so good teams were more fun to manage than the great teams. Take managing/coaching, youth baseball in to perspective. The million dollar contracts are for the PRO's; you and I were out there trying to teach youngsters how to play the great game of baseball and have fun as a member of a team.