Making a pitch for a career in baseball
Canisius College offers Welland native Consigli an academic-athletic scholarship
Before Peyton Consigli begins teaching history in a classroom, he would like to make some history of his own on a baseball diamond.
While the 17-year-old Welland native has been offered a combination academic-athletic scholarship to major in education at Canisius College in Buffalo, he might put school on hold should he get picked high enough in the Major League Baseball draft.
“That’s definitely the goal. That’s been the goal since Day 1. Playing Division 1 is also a very big goal, but getting drafted is the ultimate dream,” said the youngest son of Tom and Karen Consigli, now of Fonthill.
He might follow in his older brother Royce’s footsteps in deciding which baseball path to choose. Royce played four seasons in the Oakland Athletics organization after leaving a scholarship offer from University of Pittsburgh on the table.
“It’s possible,” he conceded. “But right now I’m focused on making a name for myself with Canisius and making Canisius proud and just proving to myself that I can be the best I can be.”
Consigli, who is in his final year at St. Francis High School in Hamburg, N.Y., considered a “few” other programs before committing to the private Jesuit college that competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), “but Canisius was on top from the start and I think Canisius was one of my favourites.”
In addition to having a “great athletic program,” Canisius has high standards for its academics.
“All of the postgraduates I’ve talked to, they’ve talked to me about how great Canisius was not only on the athletic side but also on the academic side,” Consigli said. “The teachers are very one-to-one.
“Time after time, Canisius proved themselves to be a contender not only in their league, the MAAC, but also the NCAA.”
The multi-sport athlete has also been playing at St. Francis since transferring to the prep school from Notre Dame College School in Welland after his Grade 9 year. He wasn’t overly surprised that he wound up on the Canisius recruiting radar.
“I’ve been playing basketball and baseball for almost all of my life,” he said. “I wouldn’t say ‘surprising,’ because that was the goal from the start to go to college, not only for free but to play Division 1 baseball or basketball.”
He finds the skills between the two sports are transferable.
“Being a pitcher, basketball has definitely helped me athletically, helped me get off the mound and make plays,” Consigli said. “One complements the other.”
Baseball has the potential for a longer career compared to basketball.
“For me, personally, I think baseball because pitchers are always in need,” he said. “You see the guys in the majors, they’re constantly having arm issues.”
Avoiding arm issues is the reason the six-foot-five Consigli is working on filling out his 195-pound frame and strengthening his legs. He appreciates that “85 to 90 per cent” of pitching comes from the legs.
“Without legs, you don’t have a driving force, which is going to cause a lot of stress in your arm. Pitchers who don’t use their legs usually have arm problems earlier in their careers,” he said.
“I believe that, if I was at a certain weight, I’d be able to perform better and throw harder, but I’m just taking it day to day, working out and doing the things I need to do to get better.”
As a dual citizen, Consigli has been able to play baseball during the pandemic.
“Having dual citizenship definitely helped because that’s allowed me to go back and forth to the States since I go to school over there,” he said. “I’ve been going over all summer and I’ve been playing baseball all summer with Triple-ABA, which is a college league in Buffalo.”
The experience has given him a glimpse at the “mentality” of Division 1 hitters.
He will be getting even more peeks into what it takes to pitch at the next level competing in a wood-bat tournament with the Ontario Blue Jays. On the way down to Jupiter, Fla., they are playing against Division 1 junior college programs and Division 1 colleges.
“It’s definitely a good competition level as a young pitcher going to that level to see what I am going to be facing,” he said.
To say that baseball is part of the Consigli family DNA would be an understatement. Patriarch Tom played Division 1 at Niagara University in Lewiston, N.Y., after being drafted by the Atlanta Braves.
He didn’t feel any pressure growing up to follow in the footsteps of his father and older brother, who both were offered scholarships to play baseball at a university in the United States.
“Not pressure. They comfort me, they love me and they push me to be the best player that I could be,” he said.
“Growing up with a brother who got drafted and a dad who got drafted and played Division 1 baseball, I wouldn’t see it as pressure but more motivation.”
Peyton channelled his best inner diplomat when asked how he would fare pitching against his older brother. Royce spent one year with the Quebec Capitales Citadeles in the Canadian-American Association after four seasons in the A’s farm system.
“That’s a very popular question in our household,” he said with a laugh. “I definitely have the advantage. He probably hasn’t swung a bat in a while.
“It would be a good battle.”
“Growing up with a brother who got drafted and a dad who got drafted and played Division 1 baseball, I wouldn’t see it as pressure but more motivation.” PEYTON CONSIGLI CANISIUS COLLEGE BASEBALL COMMIT