THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Thursday, July 3, 2025 Page 15 MUSINGS | FROM PAGE 7 hours; endless games of hoop at Green Street (most underrated hoopster in Malden at the time?), poker games on Charles Street until the wee small hours, with more endless hours sitting idly in Signor Pizza. There was softball, flag football and even a Miller High Life or two thrown into the mix also. I wouldn’t trade my Jerry Lynch memories for anything in the world! Well, maybe a case of the now extinct Ballantine Ale. I kid! Great seeing you, Jerry. Let’s get brother Danny out of hibernation soon. • Joel Stuart Droker, 85, of Boynton Beach, Florida, formerly of Salem, Marblehead and Malden. May his memory be a blessing. As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” — we get letters... Take it away, Paul “The Pride of Oak Grove” Sieswerda: “Great to see you today, Peter! One of the great things I love about your writing style is you always bring me back BASEBALL | FROM PAGE 14 strikeouts in 53 innings pitched. Gavin had six wins (6-3) to go along with three saves and 65 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched for Malden. Revere High’s hard-throwing junior righthander Dom Bellia was selected to the State Junior Select All-Star Game. He was also a GBL All-Star selectee this season. Two Everett High players represented the Crimson Tide in the MBCA Sophomore State Select All-Star Game: righty pitcher Derek Soper and slugging outfielder Tyler Freni. Soper was one of the top pitchers in the GBL this year and was named a GBL AllStar — 3-2 W-L record, 1.49 ERA and 40 strikeouts. Freni was one of the Crimson Tide’s top producers at the plate with 15 RBIs and a .337 batting average. Three Malden High ninth graders represented the Golden Tornados on the Freshmen State Select All-Star Team: Middle infielders Davante Layne and Devin Otero Milonopoulos and third baseman/pitcher Nicholas D’Anna. to the old Malden I knew with the names of the kids I used to hang out with. I just want to share my experience with the work your brother Joe is doing for the Rec Dept. The basketball programs are second to the morals and life skills he is instilling in our youth. I have watched my boys go through Malden Rec and like we were talking this morning time goes by in a blink of an eye. I have been going to basketball with my kids and have reconnected with the Malden I know and love [—] the people that build a community! Talking with Dana (Brown), Joe (Levine), John (Furlong), and Danny (Gilligan) brings a sense of brotherhood as we go through life’s trials and tribulations. My heart goes out to the Gilligan family with the loss of Lisa, and I know too well the comfort of a community that stands behind the survivors that have to realize life still goes on. I enjoy being part of what the basketball community has brought to my family. This comes from an old rink rat that used to spend his time in Hockey Town USA. I went in there not too long ago and the smell brought me back to the days of sneaking in and turning on the lights just to get some practice time in. I hope you have a great rest of your day!” Paul continued... “Every year at Malden Youth Basketball MHS seniors coach their last Saturday morning of the winter season, however not every year a group of seniors are as special as these kids. Most of these seniors have participated in our programs since 3rd grade. Today was a bittersweet day watching them coach one last time before college. They have all made the city of Malden a better place.” Shout out to the next generation of Sieswerdas! Paul’s three boys Canon, Emory and Paulie, who all benefit from good Sieswerda athletic genes, or so I have been told — LOL — all outstanding ballers from Rec scouts I have spoken with. Canon (14), like Joe Levine, is a crafty lefthander who has considerable skills, while Emory (13) bangs the boards much like Charles Barkley from back in the day. “Paulie Buckets” (8) is catching up to his older siblings really quickly. Keep playing hard, guys, hustle and listen to your coach (and your pops!). Postscript: Maldonia had a near heart attack two weeks ago. Loyal readers cracked open their trusted Malden Advocate, coffee in hand, ready for their weekly fix of “Malden Musings”… and found nothing. Nada. Not a peep from yours truly. Now before anyone calls the FBI or files a missing person’s report, let me clarify: The column did appear online, but thanks to a gremlin in the print system (or maybe just an overworked press operator), it never made it into the physical paper. For some, this was merely a glitch. For others — like the legendary “Big John” Marsinelli — it was an emotional earthquake. A couple weeks earlier, Marse had gently suggested I trim the column by about 300 words — a little editorial nudge — so when he opened the paper and didn’t see anything, the poor guy thought he’d snipped the whole thing out of existence. He reportedly burst into tears, muttering something about censorship, the end of Western civilization, and life just ain’t worth living now. His sainted wife Maryalice did her best to comfort him, but you can imagine the scene. When I finally saw John in person, he put his big hand on my shoulder and said, “Good Lord Almighty, Peter, I just wanted you to shorten it, not vanish it!” So, Marse, this is for you. My deepest apologies for the temporary panic. The world is back on its axis, “Musings” have returned and your Friday mornings are safe once again. No fake news here. Just the good stuff — served up with a side of Malden nostalgia and Maryalice-grade consistency. —Peter is a longtime Malden resident and a regular contributor to The Malden Advocate. He can be reached at PeteL39@aol.com for comments, compliments or criticisms. and MJ [Guida] in the Freshman All-Star Game,” said Everett High second-year Head Coach Malik Love, who was in attendance at the games. “Those guys will be the core of our returning guys next season and it’s a strong group because of them.” *** Malden High freshman Devin Milonopoulos ready to field at shortstop in the State AllStar Game (Courtesy/Maldonian/Malden HS Yearbook) Layne started for Malden at second base every day this past season and batted leadoff. He ended up as the Greater Boston League batting champion with a .556 average (30-for-54). His batting average was the highest for a Malden player in 30 years, since MLB Atlanta Braves Kevin McGlinchy, MHS Class of 1995, hit .589 in his senior year at MHS. Layne made several outstanding snags and throws at second base in the Freshman State All-Star game and received the Malden High freshman Devin Milonopoulos connects with a pitch in the State All-Star Game. (Courtesy/Maldonian/Malden HS Yearbook) Gold Glove Award. Layne also led off the game with a missile line drive down the left field liner for a standup double, scoring the team’s first run later in the inning. D’Anna, who hit .378 for Malden batting and the everyday third baseman, and Otero Milonopoulos, a .345 hitter at DH for Malden this past season, batting fifth, both pitched and played in the infield in the State Freshman Select All-Star Game. “All three of our freshmen showed they can compete with the best players in the state in their class,” Coach Freker said. Malden High freshman Nick D’Anna pitching for Steel Gray in the MBCA Freshman State AllStar Game. Courtesy/Maldonian/Malden HS Yearbook) “Davante [Layne] won a nice award for his defense in a year where he made plenty of noise on offense with his bat. Nick [D’Anna] and Devin [Milonopoulos] both looked solid at the plate and on the mound in the All-Star game.” Freshman catcher MJ Guida had a tremendous first-year varsity season for Everett. He was among the team’s leading hitters and threw out eight runners from behind the plate. “We are very proud of our three underclassmen State AllStars, Derek [Soper] and Ty [Freni] in the Sophomore Game Malden High and Everett High players set for 2025 Bay State Games Baseball Showcase July 7-9 Most of the Malden High and Everett High standouts above will be out there with the best players statewide once again when they team up on the Metro Team in the upcoming Massachusetts Amateur Sports Foundation Bay State Games Baseball Tournament set for Monday-Wednesday, July 7-9. Returning to the Metro Team will be Malden’s McMahon (for the third year) and D’Anna (second year). Newcomers for Malden include Gavin and freshmen Layne, Jaylen Fuentes Rivera and Milonopoulos. The schedule is available at baystategames.org.
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