Small ball, trick plays, and excellent execution – all make baseball a beautiful game.
I have written previously about some great trick plays at the Major League, college, and high school levels. However, I’ve recently learned of new ones, which were brought to my attention by my high school baseball teammates.
In a recent article, I fondly remembered my Hackensack (New Jersey) High School baseball coach, Dave Seddon, who recently passed away. But what I didn’t include in that article were the schemes he employed after I graduated.
For example, Bob Meli was a sophomore in 1971 when I was a senior, and he played varsity baseball for Seldon in 1972 and 1973. Here’s what he told me about one of Coach Seddon’s trick plays–setting up pick-off moves at different bases with signals.
Bob Meli: When I played first base, with runners on first and second or the bases loaded, I played behind the runner rather than on the bag. I would signal to our third baseman, Carl Padovano, when I thought the runner on first was taking too big a lead. Carl would say something to the pitcher to alert him. When the pitcher went into his stretch, Carl would make a fist on his thigh. When he opened his hand, I would break for the bag, and the pitcher would turn and throw to first. It worked great! Pitcher Tony Buono did it perfectly, as did Carl, and we picked off seven guys! We had a great pitcher who went on to play for the University of Pennsylvania and was very successful, but he would never throw over to first, and it drove Carl and me crazy! We would have guys out by ten feet, and he would turn and fake the throw. He was too good a pitcher to get angry with, and he would be apologetic. Great guy.
I guess that the pitcher was afraid of throwing the ball away with runners on base. But I wasn’t there, so I don’t know.
With one of our pitchers, we didn’t need a trick play. Rich Toscano was a standout left-handed pitcher who played varsity for two years. As good as Rich was, the thing we remember best is his pickoff move. When I played shortstop, I marveled at how unaware the runners on first were that they had been picked off. They were charging to second base, thinking they might have a successful steal, only to see me receive the throw from the first baseman and tag them out by fifteen feet.
If they stopped and retreated to first, Coach Seddon taught us a great rundown technique. As I slowly pursued the runner back to first (always run them back to the previous base, not forward to the next base), I would give a halfway downward arm fake once, then twice. The third time, I would give a full downward arm fake. Inevitably, the runner would turn and run right into me for the out.
Toscano’s pickoff move is legendary. All-County shortstop Tom D’Arminio, who played four years of varsity ball, two of them with Toscano, described it this way.
Tom D’Arminio: When Toscano pitched and Art Sarro (our All-County catcher) caught, no one advanced to second. I don’t know who taught Rich that move—a good guy who was innovative and competitive. I just told (first baseman) John Russo that I would be covering second and to throw to the inside of the bag. I would be there. I don’t know if John and Rich had a signal. A move like Rich’s could fool a first baseman. Funny to see how many poor suckers fell for Rich’s move. He never got called for a balk. Amazing!
Meli added, “That move was as natural as crossing the street for him. Sometimes, certain guys are gifted and able to excel in a sport due to their unique makeup or mindset, and you never see it again. I never saw the move for 15 years, coaching or playing by anyone else. I am sure some guys have it, but it’s few and far between.”
What I remember most about Rich’s move to first is that he was looking at home plate as he threw to first. He would raise his right leg straight up, and then avoid a balk by lowering his leg facing first base, but his whole body motion looked like he was throwing home until the last minute. Rich had the calm mental attitude necessary to pull it off. He was a soft-spoken, humble individual, yet a fierce competitor. A great hitter, he also played first base when he wasn’t on the mound.
Sarro and I had a signal when I played second base in my senior year. If I saw the runner on second taking too big a lead, I would pat my glove on my left thigh a few times. Then Art would rifle the ball down to me on the next pitch. We ended a game that way against our arch rival, Wayne Valley, the first of the two times we played them. The game was on their field, and they were trailing 5-2 with a man on second base and two outs in the last inning. That was no time to be taking a big lead, but the runner did, and I gave Art the signal. He fired the ball to me on the next pitch, and we nailed the runner by ten feet. Game over!
We ended our season by beating Wayne Valley again, on our home field. They came into the game with a 14-3 record, and we were 15-2. So we had to win to clinch the league championship. No trick plays, but Sarro nailed their fastest runner on a throw to me at second when he tried to steal. And I executed a sacrifice bunt in the sixth inning, which led to an insurance run. We won 4-1.
Small ball, trick plays, and excellent execution – all make baseball a beautiful game.
