SPRING IN HIS STEP
Back from ban, Mandl starts fresh
STEVE MANDL is, admittedly, a man of extremes.
Suspended by the PSAL for recruiting violations last year, the George Washington baseball coach lived a life of court hearings and empty afternoons. Following his team from afar as it won the PSAL ‘A’ city championship without him, Mandl was sullen and depressed.
Now, his year-long suspension is over and Mandl couldn’t be happier, or more focused on the upcoming season.
Heading into his 28th season as the Trojans’ coach, Mandl says he finally feels whole again.
“It’s all I live for anyway,” said Mandl, who will coach for the first time since June 5, 2010, when GW hosts Manhattan ‘ A’ East opponent Brandeis at 4 p.m. Monday. “They ripped my heart and soul out last year. I guess I’m like Frankenstein this year — I’m put back together. I feel great.”
Last year was an emotional roller coaster for Mandl. He endured the frustrations of being suspended following a Department of Education investigation that determined he had recruited a player — outfielder Fernelys Sanchez — from Lehman HS, whose coach, Adam Droz, ended up filing a complaint against Mandl.
Following the Feb.15, 2011 ruling, Mandl spent most of his mornings last season in New York State Supreme Court, hoping to get the suspension overturned. But the Judge in the case, Shlomo Hagler, dismissed the lawsuit Mandl had filed against the Department of Education, keeping Mandl off the field.
Mandl filed an appeal, hoping to return to the dugout in time for the playoffs. Instead, he was in the stands at MCU Park in Coney Island on June 11 as the Trojans topped Tottenville for the city championship, led by Nick Carbone, Mandl’s 30-year-old assistant.
Afterward, Mandl made his way to the field for an emotional celebration with his team.
“We’re just happy to have him back,” power-hitting catcher Nelson Rodriguez said last week from Cary, N.C., where the Trojans played in the USA Baseball National High School Invitational. “We missed him last year. We’re like a family and we feel like the family is back together again.”
Mandl dismisses the idea that there might be some tension between him and Carbone, who now must return to being Mandl’s assistant after leading the Trojans their third city championship ever.
“We’ve worked well together and we always will,” Mandl said. “He did a great job. I admire him for it. I appreciate what he did. He ran the ship. He kept to the game plan of everything that we were trying to do before the season started. You have to give him credit.”
Carbone admits that being an assistant again feels “different,” but he said that he “knew this day would come.
“We’re just happy to have him back,” Carbone said. “He makes everyone better.”
As for the team, most of last year’s core is back, giving the Trojans a strong chance to repeat as champs.
In addition to Nelson Rodriguez behind the plate, GW also features a slick-fielding shortstop in Randy Rodriguez and a pitching staff that Mandl says consists of four No. 1 starters in Kevin Torres, Reynaldo Hernandez, Edwin Corniel and Freddys Rodriguez.
Since Mandl returned, the only negative has been an injury to the same player at the center of last season’s controversy, Sanchez. He suffered a high fracture in his right ankle during a preseason game against Grand Street Campus on March 24 and is expected to be out 4-6 weeks.
That hurts the Trojans, but Mandl isn’t worried.
“I’m just glad to be back,” Mandl said. “We have the talent to win it again. And now I get to be along for the ride.”