When the Long Island Stars of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League folded after the 2006 season, the league needed someone to turn around a dismantled franchise. The ACBL, a summer wooden bat league for college baseball players looking to show off to scouts and fine tune their game, was looking for a determined group of knowledgeable baseball personnel to bring respect to both the league and their team.
Starting a Legacy
When the Long Island Stars of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League folded after the 2006 season, the league needed someone to turn around a dismantled franchise. The ACBL, a summer wooden bat league for college baseball players looking to show off to scouts and fine tune their game, was looking for a determined group of knowledgeable baseball personnel to bring respect to both the league and their team. Fortunately, they turned to two former players, now in very different roles, to help fix a broken team.
Phil Andriola and Doug Manfredonia, two former Nassau Collegians during the 1980’s, got the league’s cry for help as they worked out of Ameriprise Financial in Garden City, Long Island, as successful financial advisors. The league’s request was simple: turn around a fractured organization. Turning their plea into reality, however, wasn’t so easy. Still, the two worked together and accepted the offer. The Long Island Mustangs were then born. Andriola became General Manager; Manfredonia the field manager. Manfredonia, a former St. John’s and New York Tech standout and Dodgers minor leaguer, and Andriola, a former St. Francis Prep standout and Harvard catcher, both were searching for something more than their day jobs. Baseball had somewhat fallen out of their lives (although Manfredonia was and currently is the Varsity head coach at Holy Cross High School), and they both wanted to get back into it.
They went about putting together a team. The Mustangs would play their home games at both New York Tech and the College of Staten Island. Because the team was brand new, it was tough to find the best local talent. Players from all divisions, from I, II, III, NAIA, and NJCAA, were compiled onto the field. Two former draft picks (Phil Pursino, 44th round, NY Mets, St. Joseph’s University, and Phil Valle, 44th round, Montreal Expos, Westmont College) were put on the team. A few players Manfredonia coached in high school (Effrey Valdez (NYIT), George Carroll (Hofstra), Eric Johnson (NYIT)) were added, as were other friends of the original players and others who made it while trying out. Phil and Doug expected a team that would struggle at first, and then grow and succeed after their inaugural season.
The success, however, came much earlier than expected. After opening their season with a walk-off win off the bat of IF Phil Tantillo (Sacred Heart University), the team was rolling. They finished the first half of the season at 12-8, first place in the Kaiser Division, and had seven players selected to the All-Star team. Unfortunately, the Mustangs have started the second half at 1-4, but still are only 1.5 games out of first place at 13-12. OF T.J. Greig (Molloy) is currently second in the league in hitting with a .438 batting average. Ben Green, a high school star at Plainview-JFK and a reliever for Fairleigh Dickinson University, has spotted one of the best ERA’s in the league as the ace of the Long Island staff.
The hitting, also led by Valdez, Bryan Burke (Frostburg St.), PJ Como (Fordham), and Matt Barnathan (St.Joseph’s), has been weak at times; but in a wood bat league with tough pitching, the Mustangs certainly have held their own. The starting rotation, which consists of Green, Johnson, Michael Scudero (Adelphi) and Bobby Kay (C.W. Post), has kept the team in games all season. Thankfully, reliever Rob DiFalco (Hofstra) has helped close out games and gives the ‘Stangs wins throughout the year.
With 15 games left to go, the Mustangs will most likely earn a playoff berth, and are hoping to gain a first-round bye by reclaiming first place in the division. For Andriola and Manfredonia, this season has certainly been a pleasant surprise.
Pat Andriola currently is an intern and statistician for the Long Island Mustangs of the ACBL. Please visit the Mustangs at www.limustangsbaseball.com, and for information on when and where you can see the Mustangs play, you can contact him at
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