Sept. 6, 2006
It’s a busy time right now at Notre Dame. with the various official fall sports in full swing while other teams – like the Irish baseball squad – have begun their fall practice. In addtition to upcoming coverage of the fall baseball season, several final Summer Baseball Diaries still need to be passed along over the next few days, including the most recent submission from sophomore third baseman/catcher Eddy Mendiola.
Mendioala spent the summer playing in his home state with the Altamonte Springs Snappers of the Florida Collegiate League. He was the regular third baseman – and a backup catcher – for the Snappers team that went 26-8 overall while dominating the league before posting playoff wins over the Sanford River Rats (5-1) and the Orlando Shockers (7-0). The championship game was played in Orlando at Tropican Field, immediately following a big-league game between the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Boston Red Sox. The Snappers suffered a heartbreaking loss in the title game, as the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs hit a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the 9th to secure a 4-3 victory.
Upcoming diary entries will include submissions from two other sophomores, Jeremy Barnes and Kyle Weiland, followed by some bonus entries later this month (see updated schedule posted below). A wrapup of all Notre Dame baseball player summer stats also is forthcoming (including former ND players in pro ball and the incoming freshmen).
An archive of links to the 2002-06 ND Summer Baseball Diaries can be found at the following link: http://und.cstv.com/genrel/basebl-summerdiaries.html.
Notre Dame Baseball 2006 Summer Diaries (updated schedule)
- Thur., July 20 – Mike
- Mon., July 24 – Brett
- Fri., Aug. 4 – Sam Brezovsky (Hays Larks; Jayhawk League)
- Sun., Aug. 27 – Wade
- Wed., Sept. 6 – Eddy Mendiola (Altamonte Springs Snappers; Florida Collegiate League)
- Thur., Sept. 7- Jeremy Barnes (Delaware Cows; Great Lakes League/also speed training)
- Sat., Sept. 9 – Kyle Weiland (Delaware Cows; Great Lakes League/also Team USA trials)
- Tues., Sept 12 – head coach Dave Schrage
- Fri., Sept. 15 – assistant coach Scott Lawler
- Mon., Sept. 18 – assistant coach Sherard Clinkscales
- Wed., Sept. 20 – volunteer assistant coach John Fitzgerald
- Fri., Sept. 22 – 2006 graduate Craig Cooper (Eugene Emeralds; single-A Northwest League)
- Mon., Sept. 25 – 2006 graduate Tom Thornton (Oneonta Tigers; single-A New York-Penn League)
Notre Dame 2006 Summer Baseball Diary #5 (Eddy Mendiola; Altamonte Springs; Florida Collegiate League; Sept. 6)
Hey there Irish fans, this is Eddy Mendiola checking in after spending my summer playing in Orlando, Florida. This summer was a lot of fun and very productive while playing for the Altamonte Springs Snappers in the Florida Collegiate Summer League. At first, it was tough because I had to learn how to play with a bunch of guys that I had never met before. Then, to top it off, I had to live with a new family for two months.
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I have to admit that I was a bit nervous before I got there, but then it all changed. Once I got to meet my host family, I knew it was going to be a good summer after all. The Haile family is an awesome family of three: Charlie, Carol and Zach, plus their dog Max, a big lazy yellow lab. They are baseball fanatics. Zach is a great kid, a great pitcher and he also can throw one heck of a batting practice. He is really into baseball and just made the varsity team at his high school as a sophomore. He definitely has a bright future ahead of him.
By the time I stepped foot into that house, they knew everything about me and my team back at Notre Dame. They knew how tall I was, how much I weighed, what my stats were and what the ND team stats were. Zach’s room looked like a baseball paraphernalia pawn shop. He literally had about a hundred different baseballs signed by different major leaguers. That’s just one example, but his room was out of control. I felt right at home with the Hailes and I truly appreciate their hospitality, for going to most of my games and letting me be a part of their family.
The coaches included coach Peters from Stetson who became the hitting coach for UCF in midseason, coach Varitek from Rollins (if you’re wondering, he is the brother of Jason Varitek, who plays for the Boston Red Sox) and coach Hopkins from Rhode Island Community College. They were second-to-none, extremely supportive and always willing to lend a hand.
Eddy Mendiola is one of 11 veteran position players on the current Notre Dame roster (photo by Pete LaFleur).
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My teammates were a great bunch of guys who also were highly competitive and skillful. They came from universities that were in the BIG EAST such as USF, as well as a team that we played in this year’s regional, Kentucky. Other players that were on the team were from past opponents that we have had such as UCF. ACC powerhouse FSU and SEC powerhouse Florida also were represented by three of our starting players.
My team was fortunate enough to have these players on our roster, which gave us a competitive edge. We were 26-8 and had a streak of almost 20 wins in a row. It almost felt as if I was back during our hot streak this past season with my teammates from Notre Dame. On some occasions, we were winning and not even knowing how we were pulling it off. That is a similar feeling to the win streak that we had at Notre Dame. We were going out there with no intentions of letting up. Losing was never an option on this team and – since I was used to that coming from Notre Dame – it was very comforting for me as a player.
We made it to the championship game and it was just unfortunate that we couldn’t pull out the win, but it was quite an experience to be able to play at Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The VIP treatment that we received and the chance to play on the same field as major leaguers was one experience I will never forget.
Being part of the summer league gave me more opportunities to gain experience and a better understanding of college baseball, since I had the chance to play every day at third base, first base or catcher. I just started catching a little over six months ago and I feel as if I have made tremendous strides in my progress as a catcher. Being behind the plate helped me learn how to be a catcher, rather than just know how to play the position. I learned how to control the speed of the game, be assertive and to communicate with the pitchers.
In closing, I had a great time and thanks to this summer experience and the 2005-2006 season, I am further along in my maturity as a baseball player. I am forever thankful to coach Mainieri, coach Rooney and coach Godwin for giving me the opportunity to be at Notre Dame and I wish them only the very best. Now I am ready to get back to Notre Dame and my teammates that I have missed like crazy. I am also looking forward to meeting coach Schrage and the rest of the new coaching staff. It’s going to be a great year. Go Irish!!
Eddy