By Paul Gotham
ROCHESTER, NY – Statistics don’t always tell the whole story.
That is the case with 2013 New York Collegiate Baseball League Defensive Player of the Year, Stanley Susana (Syracuse Jr. Chiefs/St. Thomas Aquinas).
The Jr. Chiefs third baseman didn’t lead the league in assists or put outs, but he did leave a lasting impression.
NYCBL fans got a taste of Susana’s defensive prowess at the 2013 All-Star game at McDonough Park in Geneva. The Bronx, NY native brought the fans to their feet in the third inning with a spectacular catch on a hit off the bat of Carlos Guzman (Syracuse Salts Cats/Molloy). Guzman sent a flare over third base. Susana turned and raced into shallow left field. He looked over his inside shoulder, but the twisting hit looked destined to land just inside the foul line. Susana tracked it down, went to one knee and slid to make the catch with his back to home plate.
The play didn’t surprise Jr. Chiefs head coach, Chris Haynes. The first-year skipper grew accustomed to spectacular defensive plays from his man at the hot corner. Haynes recalled a similar play in Hornell where Susana outdid his effort in the All-Star game. Like the play in Geneva, Susana turned and sprinted into shallow field. This time he went airborne and made the diving catch.
“All we saw were his back and his numbers the whole time he was running,” Haynes recalled. “It reminded me of the Jim Edmonds catch in center field a couple of years back. He was way down the left field line, and he dove straight out and caught it in foul territory.”
“It was deeper and in foul territory,” Susana said by telephone when asked about the catch. “It reminded me of the plays me and my father used to do, just tracking the ball down like that.”
Susana finished with 28 put outs and 59 assists and a fielding percentage of .897 in 33 games played.
“He made some errors, but that’s going to happen,” Haynes explained. “It doesn’t account for when he makes a diving play down the third baseline and throws a guy out from one of the longest throws you can make in the infield, and he makes it look easy and gets the guy out by five steps. I’ll take that any day.”
Haynes and the Jr. Chiefs learned of their teammate’s value when he was forced to sit out four games after suffering a mild concussion when a ground ball took a bad hop and struck him in the head. The Jr. Chiefs dropped all four decisions.
“We hit that rough stretch with about a week and a half, two weeks left in the season,” Haynes recalled as he pointed out what was missing from his team’s defense. “We always needed him at third for his ability to cut the ball off in the middle and come and get the bunt. He did a great job with those.”
“Right from day one, if there’s a bunt he comes in, fields it, throws it off one foot side-arm and puts it right on the money and makes it look easy.”
As a freshman, Susana started all 53 games for the Spartans of St. Thomas Aquinas. He finished with a fielding percentage of .953 with 50 put outs and 151 assists.
“It means a lot,” Susana said when asked about being named the NYCBL’s top defensive player. “There were a lot of good guys in the league, a lot of good players. To be chosen top defensive player, I know how much that means.”
Susana received seven of sixteen first-place votes and finished with a total 67 points.
“The most enjoyable part of watching him play all summer was that plays any other normal-skilled infielder makes, he just makes it look easy,” Haynes continued. “That says a lot about the type of defensive player he is.”
Aaron Brill (Wellsville/Felician) received five first-place votes and 46 total tallies. Carlos Guzman (Syracuse Salts/Molloy), Chris Roeder (Hornell/St. John Fisher), Mike Bunal (Sherrill/Binghamton), Howard Joe (Oneonta/Mercer) and Lee Grosscup (Olean/Mt. Union) also claimed first-place votes.
The NYCBL is part of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball (NACSB) which oversees the rules and policies of ten different summer leagues: the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League, Cape Cod Baseball League, Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League, Florida Collegiate Summer League, Great Lakes Collegiate Summer League, New England Collegiate Baseball League, Southern Collegiate Baseball League, Sunbelt Baseball League, and the Valley League Baseball.
These ten leagues provide a variety of competition levels that help prepare young players for life in professional baseball. One in every six Major League players has spent at least one summer playing in the Cape Cod League.
Current major league players Tim Hudson, Hunter Pence and Rajai Davis all spent a summer in the NYCBL. In all, more than 100 NYCBL alums dot rosters in Major and Minor League Baseball.
The NYCBL, sending players to the pros since 1978.
2013 Defensive Player of the Year
Stanley Susana (7) 67
Aaron Brill (5) 46
Carlos Guzman (1) 19
Chris Roeder (1) 18
Mike Bunal (1) 13
Others receiving votes: Chris Pindar (Oneonta/SUNY Oneonta), Casey Fox (Geneva Red Wings/Haverford), Nick Sinay (Syracuse Jr. Chiefs/University at Buffalo), Howard Joe, Perry Rigby (Niagara/Covenant), Lee Grosscup, Alex Caruso (Syracuse Jr. Chiefs/St. John’s), Anthony Massicci (Syracuse Salt Cats/Canisius), Ka’ai Tom(Sherrill/Fort Scott CC), Taylor Empkey (Rochester/Eastfield), Aaron Haag (Hornell/Southeastern Louisiana), Jake Kenney (Hornell/Genesee CC), Cristian Fiorito (Syracuse Salt Cats/Concordia), Bret Viola (Geneva Red Wings/Stevens Inst of Technology), Tyler Lau (Wellsville/Illinois-Springfield), Dylan Dunn (Hornell/Hagerstown CC), Casey Gibson (Olean/Nova Southeastern), Mitch Hollander (Oneonta/SUNY Cortland),
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