Fowl Ball!

Weekly report on the

by Jason Eisenberg

Meet the Ducks:

1st Baseman Rob Cafiero

Rob Cafiero

by Jason Eisenberg

Rob Cafiero might be in his first season as a member of the Long Island Ducks, but he has been around the local area for far longer than that. Cafiero, 25, was born and raised in Massapequa Park and currently still lives in the same house he grew up in. This year, Cafiero, a first baseman, has finally gotten the chance to play professional baseball in front of his friends, family and the hometown fans, which is only fitting because he began playing ball right here on Long Island nearly 20 years ago.

Cafiero lists his father Mike and older brother Chris as the two people who most inspired his interest in baseball.

"Right from an early age, I always wanted to follow in the footsteps of my older brother," says Cafiero, "So whatever he did, whether it was playing baseball, basketball, soccer or something else, then I wanted to be able to do the same thing."

Cafiero believes that this support he received from his father, brother and the rest of his family since childhood has helped him become not only a better ball player but also a better person as well.

Cafiero started playing tee-ball around the age of six and then moved on to the local little league a short time later. Cafiero says that one of the most memorable moments of his entire baseball career up to this point happened during his time in little league. At the age of 11, Cafiero's team was playing at the state championships and they found themselves being no-hit through most of the game by Jason Marquis, who is now currently pitching with the St. Louis Cardinals in the Major Leagues.

"We were not doing very well this game so our coach, trying to cheer us up, offered five dollars to the first guy who could get a hit off of Marquis," Cafiero remembers, "I ended up being that guy, hitting a double off the outfield wall. It was pretty cool at the time and obviously means even more now."

Cafiero attended Massapequa High School and was the starting first baseman for the varsity team. From there, he moved on to attend Villanova and played four years of college ball. Cafiero was then drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2002 and he vividly remembers the feelings of excitement and anxiety during that day.

"My family and I sat by the computer all day hoping and checking for my name," says Cafiero, "Every little kid dreams of being drafted by a major league team, so when I was finally called it was an unbelievable feeling." Cafiero played one season with the Phillies' Single-A affiliate in the New York-Penn League.

Prior to this year, Cafiero had played the last two seasons with the Pennsylvania Road Warriors of the Atlantic League. The Road Warriors were a traveling team which did not have a home ballpark and struggled on the field most of the time. According to Cafiero, "it was not always easy playing for this kind of team, especially since I did not know about them being a traveling team when I signed on, but once you step on to the field it is still baseball and that is what I love to do."

At the end of the 2004 season, the Road Warriors folded and Cafiero was left looking for a team to play with. He had met Ducks owner Frank Boulton, a fellow Villanova graduate, during the past season and decided to contact him in the off-season to see if there were any openings on the Long Island roster for 2005. Boulton welcomed him to join the Ducks as the back-up first baseman and Cafiero accepted the opportunity.

Cafiero says it has been great to play in front of the biggest home crowds in the Atlantic League and he refers to the Ducks as the "Yankees of the Atlantic League" because of the overwhelming support they receive from the local fans. He also says it is nice to be able to play where his family and friends can come out to watch on a consistent basis.

As for his plans for next season, Cafiero plans to take everything day-by-day. "I love baseball so I want to be playing somewhere next year," Cafiero states, "I would like to come back with the Ducks but if that does not work out then I hope to be able to find another place to play." Right now, Cafiero only wants to focus on this season. With the team overcoming its first-half struggles and currently in first place, he sees no reason why they should not make the playoffs and even believes the team is capable of winning the championship for the second year in a row. "You just have to take every game one at a time, but there is no reason for us not to set our goals high," Cafiero says.

Cafiero, who grew up watching his favorite player Keith Hernandez and the New York Mets, says he has worked hard to maintain good relations with the little leagues and other organizations within the local area. "The community is a big part of my life," says Cafiero, "many people have supported me and given me great opportunities and now I feel like I am one of the few who have made it to professional ball so I should give back to the community for everything that was done for me." Cafiero says he is especially proud to represent Massapequa and that his favorite place in the area is an Italian restaurant called Ciao Baby. "I love not only Massapequa, but Long Island as a whole," says Cafiero, "regardless of what happens next year, it has been an amazing experience playing this season right here on Long Island with the Ducks."

Next week: West Babylon's Justin Davies

EXTRA INNINGS: •It was an up and down week for the Long Island Ducks on the field. They started the week losing three straight games to the Somerset Patriots, then swept a three game series with the Newark Bears and finished up with another loss to Somerset on Monday evening. Despite their record of 3-4 this week, the Ducks still remain in first place, now two and a half games up on Nashua going into play on Tuesday.

•One highlight of the week was Ducks' pitcher Justin Lamber tossing his first career complete game in an 11-2 Long Island win last Friday night over Newark.

•Armando Rios was named Atlantic League Player of the Month for August.