PITCHER OF THE SUMMER
Former ValleyCat Chris Salamida dominated in a summer pandemic
ALBANY, NY » The Albany Athletics had their ace pitcher, closer and leadoff batter all bundled into one.
The makeshift Independent Collegiate Baseball League had a season like no other and Chris Salamida was perhaps the most prepared from the start.
“It’s just the love of the game and the competitiveness that I have drives me to keep playing. That’s really all it is,” Salamida said, who was a member of the Tri-City Valleycats in 2006.
The hard-throwing left hander stood out amongst a crowd of mainly 18-22 year old college baseball players, but it wasn’t because of his age.
While statistics don’t always paint the whole picture, one of Salamida’s stats stands out above the rest, his strikeout to walk ratio. In 33.2 innings pitched this summer, Salamida struck out 56 batters, while walking just three. Even if you add the two hit batsmen that he had, those number show the true command that he had on the mound.
Salamida’s day leading up to games in either Amster
dam or Glens Falls is unlike most in the league. AS a fully fledged adult who have been out of college and professional baseball for some time, he goes to work everyday.
“I definitely look forward to it. It’s a lot tougher the last few years, with work. My job takes a lot out of me since I’m doing manual labor everyday,” he said.
“That’s from about 7:00 to 3:30 everyday and then I basically leave there and come to the field to put in more work. I was a little sad to see the season go and I’m looking forward to next summer depending on how the offseason goes and everything.”
The seven earned runs that the lefty allowed account for a 1.87 ERA (or a 1.46 if you’re considering the seven inning games). Either way, his performance is definitely deserving of some sort of Cy Young or Pitch of the Summer honors.
Out of his twelve outings this summer, eight were in save situations, which he converted all of to clinch wins for the A’s. When he did get the ball to start the game, he did not come out until, at-least, the sixth inning, twice going the distance.
“It’s a good thing to know that I am able to fall back on one side of the ball. Say I have bad day at the plate, I can go on the mound and do what I want to do and vice-versa, it’s not always going to be lights-out on the mound,” Salamida said, who joked about the final game against the Amsterdam Mohawks. “Obviously I wasn’t happy about striking out four times at the plate, but I was able to get on the mound and strike out some of their guys. Maybe I’ll subtract the four K’s I had from that.”
Salamida, who also bats lefty, hit .224 this summer, although his on-base percentage was .397, as the veteran used his keen eye at the plate to walk 18 times.
He continued, talking about the A’s team, who went 22-3-2 in the ICBL.
“We have a very good team this year on the mound, at the plate and in the field. It was fun to watch everything come together. I knew all the veteran guys and we had a bunch of new guys. Usually our guys have all been here eight, nine, ten years, so it was good to see some of the young talent come in and play the way that they did.”
Having an escape from the outside world has been hard to come by the past few months and is something to be relished even more now.
“I look forward to every game. We have a great camaraderie here. Being around baseball boosts everyone up. Not just their morale, but everything. You might have a hard day at work or hard time at home and begin able to do this lets you clear your mind and come back with a clear hear. It lets you become a different person once you step between the lines.”
Salamida’s pitching numbers, including his .205 BAA, stand out above the rest of the pack, but he also brings a ton of value to the Athletics simply by being a presence in the dugout.
“My mind is always open to pick at, but I don’t approach anybody or lecture anybody. I just want my teammates to know that I’m there and if anyone wants to know anything, like what I’d throw in a certain situation, things like that, I’m all ears and I love to talk about that kind of stuff,” he said
“It’s been a pleasure and an honor to be on this team.”