Alexander Ganias, ‘20

March 2019

Baseball has been a huge part of this great city ever since the New York Giants won the 1905 World Series. Yes, the games may be boring; yes, basketball and football may be easier to pick up and play; but nothing beats playing baseball, a sport that is the closest thing to chess without being chess. It requires you to play smart, incredibly fast mental processing, and of course, physical durability. Baseball and its intricacies have touched every borough of the Big Apple, and in 2017, the American Pastime came a-knockin’ at a small school on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

If you didn’t know already, BHSECM has a baseball team, that plays other schools with developmental or JV teams. The team is coached by Charles Sewell and Michael Schneider, who also coach the basketball team. The club is heading into its third season, and there’s lots of anticipation, seeing as last year’s squad had to deal with five games being cancelled due to rain or some forfeitures from the other team. Many complain about how “it’s just a club, it’s not PSAL”, and while that’s true, members of the team/club (whatever floats your boat) are proud to play for each other and the school. Raymond Simone (Y2) harkens back to a time before the team existed: “I’ve been part of the baseball club since freshman year… when we didn’t even have a coach. It’s disappointing that we aren’t PSAL, but that doesn’t stop us from playing our hearts out…”. The rest of the team shares this frustration, but they also share the same sense of commitment needed to be a part of this team.

This year looks to be a bit different however; outside of the newcomers from all grades (which always changes), the team is looking to keep its roster at a maximum of 15 student athletes. This leaves some tough decisions for the coaching staff, but there is also a glaring issue of the seniors graduating; in the past two seasons, a grand total of 3 people have graduated, leaving little or no search to be conducted for new players. This year however, about six seniors will graduate, twice the amount of the last two years combined. It will be tough to lose half of a productive lineup and bench, but that worry will have to wait until the season is over. For now, Bard baseball is back for the 2019 season. We’ll see you at Pier 40.