Ralph Branca, who pitched for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1944 to 1953 and earned all-star status three times, died Nov. 23 at the King Street Home in Rye Brook, NY, where he had been living. He was 90.

Ralph Branca, who pitched for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1944 to 1953 and earned all-star status three times, died Nov. 23 at the King Street Home in Rye Brook, NY, where he had been living. He was 90.
Four varsity baseball players at Msgr. McClancy H.S., East Elmhurst, signed national letters of intent during a special ceremony Nov. 10 at the school to announce where they would be continuing their careers in college.
After Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium was torn down in the old hometown in 2002, I began describing the vast empty space left behind as “the abomination of desolation.” That old brick horseshoe was where I learned baseball from my grandfather Weigel in the late 1950s – and where, a half-century ago, I had a foretaste of the joy of the Kingdom.
Right-handed relief pitcher Tom Hackimer, a graduate of St. John’s University, Jamaica, who was named the 2016 Big East Pitcher of the Year, was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in June. He is currently stationed with the Twins’ Class-A affiliate, the Cedar Rapids Kernels.
New York Mets legend Mike Piazza was enshrined in Baseball’s Hall of Fame, as Jim Mancari recalls his favorite Piazza memories.
With another competitive season of CHSAA baseball in the books, here’s a look at The Tablet’s 2016 All-Star Team. Special thanks to the league’s coaches for submitting nominations.
Baseball is by far the most Catholic of the sports on which we lavish such attention and passion.
For the second consecutive year, the Msgr. McClancy H.S., East Elmhurst, varsity baseball team finished third overall in the CHSAA ‘AA’ intersectional championships.
It all just seems like the perfect Cinderella story, right? But that all changed this past December with one phone call. Neil Walker went from being the hometown baseball star in Pittsburgh to being the newest member of the New York Mets. And his faith has helped with that transition.
Bernard Witek, a native of Rego Park and a parishioner at Holy Cross Church, Maspeth, threw a no-hitter for Loyola School, Manhattan, in a pre-season baseball tournament in St. Petersburg, Fla.