By Dylan Butler
Growing up in the Briarwood section of Queens, Hasani Whitfield always dreamt of being like his idol, Ken Griffey Jr., of making the big play. And for one fleeting moment, Whitfield lived that dream Monday morning at Shea Stadium as he patrolled right field in the Federation Amateur Baseball League All-Star game.
“This was a good experience, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Whitfield, whose West squad fell to the East 11-4. “To play against players I know on a major league field was great.”
Whitfield, who played center field at Archbishop Molloy, had his Griffey-esque moment in the bottom of the third inning of a scoreless game. With one out and runners at second and third, East rightfielder Jess Torborg from Connetquot High School sent a short fly ball down the right field line.
Whitfield raced in, avoided a charging Sal Mancuso who followed the ball’s flight from second base, and made a sliding catch by the line. He then fired a strike to the plate to nail Kellenberg’s Mike Sharpe, who tagged up from third, for the inning-ending double play.
“I couldn’t see the ball off the bat because of the glare of the seats,” said Whitfield, who will play baseball at Division II Caldwell State in New Jersey. “I sprinted towards the ball and made a diving catch and luckily I made a good throw. I didn’t think he’d [tag] at first.”
Whitfield, who admits he is a Yankees fan, always wanted to play at Shea Stadium and said it was also fun to play against former Stanner teammate John Maser, who started at shortstop for the East squad.
“I never had the opportunity to play against him, it was fun to be able to joke around and make fun of each other,” said Whitfield, who represented the Long Island Cardinals ‘Red’ squad in the FABL. “It was great to be able to play in a fun game where there isn’t a lot of competition for once.”
Maser, who will attend C.W. Post in the fall, was hoping to play at Shea last month but the Stanners were upset in the CHSAA playoffs.
“We fell a bit short but we had a good season,” said Maser, who played for the Midville Dodgers during the summer. “This kind of a game serves as a farewell game of sorts. But I’m going to keep in touch with all these guys.”
While Whitfield and Maser did get the chance to play at well-manicured Stanner Field, Shea Stadium was a far cry from what Nick Theoharis was used to playing at the dust bowl at Cunningham Park for St. Francis Prep.
“There is no comparison,” said Theoharis, who teamed with fellow West all-stars Kenny Gleason from Christ the King, Maser and Molloy’s Phil Kushner for the Midville Dodgers. “Here there are good hops, the field is beautiful. Once you go from [Cunningham Park] to this, everything feels better.”
As soon as Theoharis entered the game in the fourth inning, the Stony Brook-bound third baseman tried to make a difference offensively.
“I was taking some big cuts and I wanted to get one out there,” he said. “Finally I got a shot.”
That shot was a two-run double to dead center field in a five-run seventh inning for the East All-Stars, who broke a scoreless tie with 11 runs in the final four innings.
Also enjoying the experience of playing at the home of the New York Mets was pitcher Jonathan Lewis, who dominated for Francis Lewis High School the last two years. Lewis took the ball in the bottom of the first inning and knowing he would only be used for one inning, threw his best as he struck out Sharpe and Maser before Torborg flied out to right to end the inning.
“It was a good feeling,” said Lewis, who played for the Long Island Cardinals “Blue” squad and will join Theoharis at Stony Brook next year. “I played here last year too, but you could never pitch too many times at Shea. I just settled down and pitched.”
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
