Former Major League Baseball pitcher Chris Capuano will be inducted into the Western Massachusetts Baseball Hall of Fame on Feb. 1.
SPRINGFIELD – Chris Capuano, from West Springfield, a pitcher who won 77 games during his Major League Baseball career, heads the Western Massachusetts Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2018.
The Hall of Fame will induct its fifth class, which also includes the late Major League Baseball Commissioner Bart Giamatti, and will bestow a special honor on 11-year-old Brady Kahle, during its fifth annual banquet on Feb. 1 at La Quinta, 100 Congress St.
The banquet is open to the public. The social hour starts at 6 p.m., with dinner and the program at 7 p.m. Tickets are $45 each or $350 for a table of eight; they are available by phone (413) 533-1100, by emailing tickets@valleybluesox.com or online at the Valley Blue Sox website (www.valleybluesox.com).
As previously announced, Dan Duquette, general manager of the Baltimore Orioles, will be the guest speaker and an inductee.
The honorees, in alphabetical order, are:
Arthur “Ace” Adams: Adams, of Longmeadow, has been a pitching coach for several organizations, including the Boston Red Sox, Florida Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros, for more than 40 years. A native of Wellesley, Adams was drafted out of high school by the Cardinals in 1971, but chose to attend the University of Michigan. Following a brief minor league career, the left-hander became a coach. “I stay with it because l love it,” he said in a 2014 interview with The Republican. “When I see a kid go out there and have success with something we’ve worked on, that makes it all worthwhile.” Among the notable pitchers he has worked with are Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and Dontrelle Willis. Fun fact: Future Hall of Famer Dave Winfield was 0-for-8 against Adams in college.
Archie Allen: Allen was a legendary baseball coach at Springfield College from 1948-78, finishing his 31-year coaching career with a program-record 454 victories and an impressive .637 winning percentage. Under Allen, the team reached the College World Series in 1951, 1955 and 1970, made seven trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament, earned New England College Division Championships in 1969, 1970 and 1971, and an ECAC Championship in 1977. A two-time National Coach of the Year, Allen was inducted into the Springfield College Athletics Hall of Fame in its first-ever class in 1972 and the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973. Allen managed Team USA to a Silver Medal at the Pan American Games in 1963, and the Dutch National Team to a Gold Medal at the 1964 European Championships. Allen was a dual-sport athlete at the college as a member of both the football and baseball programs from 1933-1937. After graduation, Allen went on to play minor league baseball in the Eastern League, where he was named an All-Star in 1938, when he hit .307 for the Binghamton Triplets. Overall, he batted .296 in 476 minor league games. He passed away in 2006. Fun fact: At age 93, Allen had the following greeting on his answering machine: “I’m out playing baseball. Leave your number and I’ll call you back.”
Chris Capuano: Won 77 games during a 12-year major league career with six teams. Highlights include an 18-win season with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2005, and being named an All-Star in 2006. He also posted double-digit wins for the Brewers in 2006, the New York Mets in 2011 and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012. He was valedictorian of his class at Cathedral High School in Springfield, earned a degree in economics from Duke University, and was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1999. The left-hander helped Team USA earn a silver medal in the 2001 World Cup of Baseball. Fun fact: Capuano, along with three teammates, appeared in an episode of “The Young and the Restless” on June 20, 2007.
Dan Duquette: The Dalton native and Amherst College graduate has twice been named Major League Baseball Executive of the Year by Sporting News. In
Dan Duquette
addition to leading the Orioles to the playoffs three times in recent seasons, Duquette built successful franchises as general manager of the Montreal Expos from 1991-94 and the Boston Red Sox from 1994-2002. While with the Red Sox, he was responsible for assembling much of the talent that won the 2004 World Series, the team’s first championship in 86 years. Fun fact: Duquette portrayed Washington Senators manager Benny Van Buren in a 2003 production of “Damn Yankees” at Wahconah Park in Pittsfield. “I got my first foul ball at Wahconah Park,” he said at the time, reminiscing about attending his first professional game at the park with his father at age 8. “It’s a nice place for a ballgame and a perfect setting for ‘Damn Yankees.’ “
Bart Giamatti: Giamatti grew up in South Hadley, where he was manager of the high school baseball team. He served as Major League Baseball’s commissioner
Bart Giamatt
for just five months in 1989 before dying suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 51. The lifelong Red Sox fan is best remembered for negotiating an agreement with Pete Rose that resulted in Rose accepting a lifetime ban from baseball for his alleged role in a gambling scandal. Giamatti also served baseball as a writer (once penning about the sport, “It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart”), scholar and National League president. He was president of Yale University from 1978 to 1986 (he replied to rumors that he was a candidate for the post by saying, “The only thing that I ever wanted to be president of was the American League”), and was a longtime member of the board of trustees at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley. Among his children is Oscar-nominated actor Paul Giamatti. Fun fact: In the film “Sideways,” a photograph of Miles Raymond, the character portrayed by Paul Giamatti, with his late father is really a picture of Paul and Bart Giamatti.
Holyoke High School 1985 state championship team: Under the guidance of coach Joe McCarthy, already a member of the WMass Baseball Hall of Fame, the team ran up a 24-1 record. Holyoke defeated Minnechaug 1-0 to win the Western Mass. championship, Milford High School 6-4 in the semi-finals and Boston College High 4-2 to win the state title. The winning pitcher in all three games was Pat Brennan. Two players on the team, Mike Kennedy and Jim Woods, currently serve as varsity baseball coaches in Westfield and Granby, respectively. Other key contributors were Mike Levin, Joe Kennedy, Sean Miles, Pete McAndrew, Jay Pikul, Lou Cordero, Mike and Tim Cavanaugh. The championship was the fourth Div. I title for Holyoke, with the others coming in 1950, 1954 and 1978. Fun fact: Pat Brennan’s father, Bo, was the winning pitcher in the 1950 Western Mass. Championship and state finals, also against Boston College High.
Brady Kahle: The youngest honoree in Hall of Fame history will receive the first “Bunny Talifiero Community Service Award” for meritorious service to the advancement of the spirit of the game in Western Massachusetts. Brady
Brady Kahle
captured the imagination and admiration of Western Massachusetts and beyond when the avid sports fan and baseball card collector came up with the idea of selling some of his beloved collection to raise money for a young friend battling cancer, an effort that later was expanded to include a second friend. The Springfield boy’s “Cards 4 a Cause” campaign has garnered nationwide attention from “Inside Edition,” “Mike and Mike” on ESPN, “Good Morning America” and dozens of other media outlets. He also has been a regular at card shows in Chicopee and at Valley Blue Sox games. Brady has raised more than $20,000 to assist the families of his friends Landen Palatino (who passed away from cancer in August) and Ben Manzi (whose leukemia is in remission). Brady and his family are turning his venture into a nonprofit, largely to honor the memory of his friend Landen. “I just want to keep going,” Brady told The Republican earlier this year. “I want to keep doing it to help more people.” Fun fact: Brady was given his own custom baseball card by Upper Deck.
Steve Newell: Newell, of East Longmeadow, led the University of Massachusetts with a .374 average and was named to Collegiate Baseball Magazine’s All-America team in the spring of 1973. UMass boasted a 21-9-1 record, winning a berth in the NCAA tournament. That summer, playing for Wareham in the Cape Cod League, the left-hander batted .340, led the league with 11 home runs and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player. Newell spent three seasons in the Montreal Expos farm system as a first baseman and outfielder before returning home to play on championship teams sponsored by Oliver Auto Body in the Tri-County League. Fun fact: He was a college teammate of inaugural CCBL Hall of Famer and future Cy Young winner Mike Flanagan.
Julio Vasquez: Recognized as an icon in youth baseball, Vasquez in 1995 began his career as a City of Springfield police officer and coaching with the Springfield Police Athletic Association, with an emphasis on helping disadvantaged youngsters. In 2000, Vasquez started a baseball program with the Springfield City Hawks. Players in the program travel to local and out-of-state tournaments, with most players excelling at the high school level and going on to play in college. Among the program’s accomplishments are a 2001 Pee Wee Reese State Title and five finalist appearances in state tournaments in four age groups. He is a board member of the John L. Sullivan Sandlot League. Among his awards are Coach of the Year in 2007 from the American Amateur Baseball Congress and the Roland Kinlock Humanitarian Award in recognition of his public service in 2004. Fun fact: In addition to baseball, Vasquez has been active in youth basketball at the Springfield Boys and Girls Club, Chicopee High School and the High School of Commerce in Springfield.
The master of ceremonies will be local media celebrity Scott Coen.
The banquet also features a silent auction of baseball memorabilia, including autographed photographs and baseballs, to benefit nonprofit baseball organizations throughout Western Massachusetts. In addition, the Valley Blue Sox will have their 2017 New England Collegiate Baseball League championship on display for photographs.
The banquet is sponsored by the Valley Blue Sox and The Republican/MassLive.
In previous years, the committee has selected from a wide range of Western Massachusetts baseball talent, including former major leaguers Mike Trombley and Billy Jo Robidoux, local sportswriting legend Garry Brown, longtime high school coaches Dan Dulchinos and Tom Suchanek. several state championship teams, the team representing American Legion Post 21 for standing up for a teammate against racism in 1934, and others.
Guest speakers have included Red Sox beat writer Rob Bradford, Red Sox broadcaster Joe Castiglione and former Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee.