PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
With the playoffs coming soon in both the Blue Mountain League and Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League, consistency will be crucial. Two players who have delivered consistency all season for their teams are Brandon Mazzie of the Martins Creek Creekers and Anthony Viggiano of the Quakertown Blazers.
Both play multiple defensive positions, but it doesn’t matter where they play in the field because both are consistent hit-makers at the plate.
Here’s a look at two Boys of Summer players who have been as hot as the weather:
BLUE MOUNTAIN LEAGUE
BRANDON MAZZIE (Martins Creek): Eric Schmitt and Brandon Mazzie have been friends for close to two decades, but until this year they had never been on the same team.
Schmitt, the player-manager of the Martins Creek franchise, finally got his way and coaxed Mazzie to come to the Creekers this season. Mazzie hasn’t regretted the decision.
The 35-year-old Easton High School and Arcadia University product is having the best year of his lengthy BML career, batting .395 with seven of his 13 extra-base hits being home runs. In fact, Mazzie’s 44 career home runs are the most in the BML’s wooden bat era, passing Rick Seltzer and Jesse Borden last week.
“The individual home run record is nice, but we’re more concerned with getting into the playoffs,” Mazzie said. “We haven’t been playing well as a team the last couple of games and we need to get it turned around.”
Mazzie will do his part. He is one of the guys Schmitt can count on to show up every game. Through Saturday he was the team leader with 25 games played despite having a full-time job, a wife and two young children.
“He never misses,” Schmitt said. “He schedules his vacations around the league. He’s a lifer and you need guys like that.”
“I still love playing the game or I wouldn’t be here,”
Mazzie said. “I’ve been blessed to play baseball for 30 years and as long as my body and my wife allow me to play I’m going to keep playing. I’m seeing the ball well and I’m always hitting with runners on base and my teammates give me an opportunity to drive in runs. They make me look good. I’m having a lot of fun.”
ACBL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
ANTHONY VIGGIANO (Quakertown Blazers): Like a lot of college freshmen, Anthony Viggiano struggled to get playing time in his first season at Bloomsburg University.
Viggiano, a Strath Haven High School graduate from Wallingford in Delaware County, played in just 23 games with four starts for the 35-16 Huskies. So he came to the Quakertown Blazers of the ACBL with something to prove.
Through two-thirds of the regular season, he has proved he can make an impact in a lineup.
“I think I am showing I can hit the ball at a high level because the pitchers in this league can throw two out of three pitches for strikes,” Viggiano said. “The competition is great. It has been a good experience for me.”
Entering a doubleheader on Sunday, Viggiano was among the top four hitters in the league with a .361 average. Seven of his 30 hits went for extra bases and he added 11 walks and eight steals in 10 attempts. He’s also adept defensively either at second base or a corner outfield position.
“It doesn’t matter where they put me,” he said. “I just want to be out there and get any opportunity I can. I love the game of baseball and I’m loving my time in this league and playing at a beautiful place like Quakertown Memorial Park. Right now we just want to win as many games as we can and get into the playoffs.”