They say time flies when you're having fun. When you're having this much fun, they zoom past at a speed that could break the sound barrier.
This past spring marked the end of my third full decade covering city leagues high school baseball for the good, ol' Daily News and you know what that means ... yet another 30-year all-star team!
Don't all groan at once.
Thirty-year basketball and football teams were published after the 2004-05 hoops and '05 grid seasons, respectively, because for those sports my 30-year period included time spent covering scholastic sports at the original Philadelphia Bulletin.
Baseball was not covered extensively there, so All-City baseball squads did not debut until '78 in the People Paper.
Anyway . . . On these pages you'll find separate teams for the Public, Catholic and Inter-Ac and, of course, overall All-City squads.
Though it's difficult not to be influenced by what happens to players during college and beyond, a strong attempt has been made to make rankings based only on high school performance.
So, if a guy was "only'' second- team All-City in high school, he now won't find himself listed as an upper-echelon honoree. In fact, most of the guys on the three All-City teams twice earned first-team laurels.
The positions are self-explanatory except for DP. That stands for "dual purpose'' and allows us to honor guys who were outstanding as pitchers and position players.
That came in handy with regard to 1991 graduates Keith Conway (Archbishop Carroll) and Dan Kusters (Archbishop Wood). They were outstanding as seniors and juniors, witness the fact they swapped Player and Pitcher of the Year awards from one season to the next.
Now, for our big awards:
The Top Pitcher award for the 30-year period goes to Mark Gubicza, a 1981 Penn Charter graduate. In his senior season, Gubicza posted an 8-1 record with an 0.48 ERA. In 58 2/3 innings, thanks largely to a 92-mph fastball, he allowed only 27 hits and 25 walks, while striking out 83.
Early that spring, the Quakers spent some time in Florida and Gubicza recorded five whiffs in a three-inning appearance against a squad of first-year Phillies farmhands. Later, in the weeks immediately preceding the draft, close to 30 scouts showed up for Gubicza's appearances and he was a second-round selection (No. 34) of the Kansas City Royals. He signed within a week and later enjoyed a 14-year major league career, highlighted by a 20-win season in 1988.
We remain in the Inter-Ac League for our Top Player, and that award goes to 1995 Malvern Prep grad Ben Davis.
Davis, a switch-hitting catcher, created an incredible buzz among scouts and was the No. 2 overall pick, by the San Diego Padres, in that spring's draft.
Davis hit .507 with four doubles, seven triples and six homers, and drove in 37 runs. Just as impressive was his defensive wizardry. Only 12 guys tried to steal against him. Eight were rung up, and Padres scout Rene Mons called Davis' arm "the best I've ever seen.''
Baseball America, using scouts' judgments, called Davis the best high school catcher they'd seen since 1974 (Dale Murphy, who later became a high-quality big-league outfielder).
Davis played in the majors from 1998 to 2004. His best year was in '01, when he posted 11 homers and 57 RBI. After beginning this season with the independent Camden Riversharks, he is now playing for the Las Vegas 51s, the Dodgers' farm club in the Triple A Pacific Coast League.
ALL-CITY
FIRST TEAM
1B Howie Freiling Northeast '84
1B Tito Nanni Chestnut Hill 78
INF Mike Costanzo Carroll '02
INF Josh McKinley Malvern '98
INF Jay Aquilante Carroll 97
OF Dan Cataline Ryan '80
OF
Chris Lubanski Kennedy-Kenrick '03
OF Rick Burns Egan '83
C Ben Davis Malvern 95
DH John Marzano Central 81
DP Keith Conway Carroll 91
DP Dan Kusters Wood 91
P Mark Gubicza Penn Charter 81
P John Price Ryan 00
P Mark Adzick Penn Charter 07
SECOND TEAM
1B Jack Stanczak La Salle 89
INF Kengo Honda Washington '87
INF
Mark Iacovelli Judge 85
INF Rob Patete Roxborough '84
OF Bob Loscalzo Dougherty '78
OF Mark Steffens Gtn. Academy '88
OF Sean Grieve Gtn. Academy 04
C Mike Fuchs Carroll 97
DH Bob Zupcic Egan 84
DP
Rich Fernandez Central 87
DP Harry Carr Roman 92
DP Dan Waters La Salle 03
P Tom Stauffer Bonner 78
P Kevin McGerry Judge 97
P Matt Zielinski La Salle 05
THIRD TEAM
1B Glenn Davis Malvern 94
INF Ruben Amaro Penn Charter 83
INF Courtney Batts Penn Charter 93
OF Lou Spadaccini Neumann 92
OF Pat Kane W. Catholic 79
OF David Amaro Penn Charter 80
C Jesse Levis Northeast 86
DH Scott Hunter Northeast 93
DP Dave Miller Chestnut Hill 92
DP Deron Miller Franklin 84
P Gene Schall La Salle 88
P Andy Meltzer Northeast 84
P Bill Mendek W. Catholic 80
--
ALL-CATHOLIC
FIRST TEAM
1B Jack Stanczak La Salle '89
INF Mike Costanzo
Carroll '02
INF Jay Aquilante Carroll '97
INF Mark Iacovelli Judge '85
OF Dan Cataline Ryan '80
OF Chris Lubanski
Kennedy-Kenrick '03
OF Rick Burns Egan '83
C Mike Fuchs Carroll '97
DH Bob Zupcic Egan 84
DP Keith Conway
Carroll 91
DP Dan Kusters Wood 91
P John Price Ryan 00
P Tom Stauffer Bonner 78
P Kevin McGerry Judge 97
SECOND TEAM
1B Kevin Ward Bonner 05
INF Ted Dezzi OHara 84
INF Bob File Judge 94
INF Kerry Cahill
Judge 86
OF Bob Loscalzo Dougherty 78
OF Lou Spadaccini Neumann 92
OF Pat Kane W. Catholic 79
C Scott Lawler Kenrick 92
DH Jim Fuchs Carroll 99
DP Harry Carr Roman 92
DP Dan Waters La Salle 03
P Matt Zielinski La Salle 06
P Gene Schall La Salle 88
P Bill Mendek W. Catholic 80
THIRD TEAM
1B Lou DeTitto Ryan 01
INF Marty Carey OHara 89
INF Sean Hollenbach Wood 90
INF Mike Essery OHara 02
OF John OBrien Dougherty 83
OF Joe McEwing Egan 90
OF Dave Mastropietro N. Catholic 87
C Tom Bonk N. Catholic 79
DH Dale Curry Judge 04
DP Mike Kerrigan Wood 87
DP Matt Compton Judge 06
P Jeff Randazzo OHara 99
P Chris Gies Judge 87
P Chris Heck N. Catholic 95
HONORABLE
MENTION
(Two Per School)
Bonner: Dan Mulholland, p, 98; Jack McCoy,
of, 89.
Carroll: Frank Gailey, p, 04; Gerard Oakes, p,
00.
C-E (Egan): Brian Herman, p, 06; John Malloy,
of, 06.
Judge: Pat Waninger, p, 81; Harry Murray, of, 82.
K-K (Kenrick): Tom Sergio, inf, 93; Mike Migliarese, of, 85.
La Salle: Roger Harrington, of, 92; Ryan Parfitt, of, 01.
N-G (Neumann): Ray Russo, of, 93; Rob Carfagno, p, 88.
North: Jim Hooven, p, 80; Stan Orzechowski, of, 04.
OHara: Kenny Grant, p, 01; Eric Parker, p, 90.
Roman: Bill Black, inf, 93; Pat DiCicco, c, 83;
Ryan: Don Bradley, inf, 80; Jim McNesby, inf, 83.
St. James: Bob Christy, 1b, 85; Tom McNeely, inf, 85.
SJ Prep: Ed Turner, inf, 00; Steve Harris, of, 99.
West: Tom McDevitt, p, 85; Steve Sala, p, 93.
Wood: Brian Schaller, dh, 93; Chris Crawford, inf, 06.
---
ALL-PUBLIC
FIRST TEAM
1B Howie Freiling Northeast 84
INF Kengo Honda Washington 87
INF Rob Patete Roxborough 84
INF Bobby Higginson Frankford 88
OF Steve Harvey Franklin 78
OF Ernell Harley Mastbaum 81
OF Dave Coyne Roxborough 83
C Jesse Levis Northeast 86
DH John Marzano Central 81
DP Rich Fernandez Central 87
DP Deron Miller Franklin 84
P Andy Meltzer
Northeast 84
P Joe Farina Frankford 04
P Scott Vogel Northeast 80
SECOND TEAM
1B Ed Durfor Frankford 00
INF Ed Lowery Roxborough 78
INF Wilson Duran Olney 95
INF Stu Drossner Washington 81
OF Mike McDonald Lincoln 95
OF Lamont McGill Franklin 80
OF Frank Rubin Washington 87
C Joe Turvey Roxborough 89
DH Scott Hunter Northeast 93
DP Dave Firth Frankford 02
DP Terrell Berthau Franklin 89
P Al Baur Southern 86
P Bruce Konick Frankford 81
P Eric Kay Roxborough 89
THIRD TEAM
1B John DeLeon Univ. City 79
INF Ed Bowman Mastbaum 97
INF George Bobe Edison 80
INF Bob Sim Northeast 85
OF Anthony Franklin Franklin 84
OF Jim Krzywicki Central 89
OF Larry Abney Olney 93
C Billy Dunfee Bartram 87
DH Tom Dunfee
Bartram 78
DP Mike Gibbs Roxborough 02
DP Jared Farbman Central 07
P Ron Clarkson Lincoln 01
P Bill Gobeler Washington 79
P Rich Danson Central 83
HONORABLE MENTION
(*Up to Two
per School)
Central: Pete Whittle, p, 99; Joe
Dugan, of, 94.
Edison: Abel Rios, 1b, 79; Omar Monserrate,
dh, 98.
Frankford: Ramon Reyes, c, 06; Luis Alicea,
inf, 05.
Germantown: Ricky Ford, inf, 79; Chris
Wyche, of, 85.
Mastbaum: Mike Valentino, 1b,81; Jim
McKinstry, p, 85.
Northeast: Terry Rooney, c, 96; Jeff Weiss,
inf, 91.
Olney: Jose Caraballo, of, 95.
Overbrook: Eric Pugh, inf, 99.
Roxborough: Mike Miller, p, 90; Vinnie
Passalacqua, p, 96.
Southern: Dominic Raia, inf, 87; Rob Hale,
p, 89.
Washington: Jeff Capriotti, dh, 82; Kevin
Higgins, p, 87.
*-limited to schools with first team
All-City honorees.
---
ALL-INTER-AC
FIRST TEAM
1B Tito
Nanni Chestnut Hill 78
INF Josh McKinley Malvern 98
INF Ruben Amaro Penn Charter 83
INF Mike Galetta Haver. School 07
OF Mark Steffens Gtn. Academy 88
OF Sean Grieve Gtn. Academy 04
OF David Amaro Penn Charter 80
C Ben
Davis Malvern 95
DH Dan Dougherty Episcopal 80
DP Dave Miller Chestnut Hill 92
DP Joe Larkin Penn Charter 99
P Mark Gubicza Penn Charter 81
P Mark Adzick Penn Charter 07
P Mike DeNoia Malvern 83
P Mike Samuel Penn Charter 94
SECOND
TEAM
1B Glenn Davis Malvern 94
INF
Courtney Batts Penn Charter 93
INF Rick Welsh Gtn. Academy 94
INF Craig Shumock Gtn. Academy78
OF Tom Grandieri Malvern 07
OF Ryan Nanni Penn Charter 05
OF John
Barr Gtn. Academy 07
C Frank DeSantis Penn Charter 78
DH Steve Floirendo Penn Charter 86
DP Matt Bruderek Gtn. Academy 04
DP Frank Maletta Penn Charter 95
P Joe Bruderek Gtn. Academy 96
P Mike Koplove Chestnut Hill 95
P Dave Healy Penn Charter 86
HONORABLE MENTION
(Two per School)
Chestnut Hill: Anthony Cafagna, p,
07; Mike Brown, c, 00.
Episcopal:
Adam Murray, inf, 02; Mike Abate, inf,
93.
Gtn. Academy: Joe Matteo, p, 04; Tyler
Stampone, inf, 05.
Haver. School: E.J. Moyer, p, 91; Steve
Compton, inf, 00.
Malvern: Matt OBrien, of, 93; Phil
Gosselin, inf, 07.
Penn Charter: Kenny Devenney, of, 01; John Loughery, inf, 78.