THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, MArCH 1, 2024 Page 15 CARMINE CAPPUCCIO | FROM PAGE 9 when the “Moneyball” era was not even a thought. He did lead the team in strikeouts and was a below average fielder, but stole 30 bases, too. Sports Illustrated bashed him with a cover story screaming “Bag it, Michael!”. But even that writer later retracted part of his vitriol. For someone whose resume only went up to a smattering of varsity baseball games in his junior year of high school and then a 13-year layoff, it was actually pretty commendable MJ could even get up against 90-mph-plus fastballs. Of course, after he fashioned a remarkable, to say the least, 27-game hitting streak in the early part of the season, the entire rest of the opposing pitchers in the Southern League went all “Not on My Watch” and threw the NBA’s greatest player nothing but the first number of his Bulls’ jersey. Yup. Nothing but deuces. Ever. That’s probably why he walked so many times thereafter. Can’t hit what you can’t see. They threw him so many curveballs, he probably got lucky, too, as not many hooks are in the strike zone. To add insult to injury, the three home runs MJ hit that season led the outfielders who were on the Birmingham Barons roster that season. PopGun City! Did the White Sox purposely have a subpar outfield contingent in Birmingham so as not to draw attention to their shortsightedness with Jordan’s addition? If every outfielder stinks, no one will notice how rough MJ looks. Who knows? What we do know is that no outfielder that year from Birmingham ever made it to the big leagues. What about those guys stuck in Single-A? We wonder what those three guys stuck in Single-A would have done that extra PUFFS | FROM PAGE 7 cox playing Harry, Fat Friar and others. Everett residents are Kaleigh Ryan playing Megan Jones, and Mark Damon as J. Finch Fletchley. Somerville residents include Joseph Grebla, who plays Clumsy Longbottom, Uncle Dave and others; and Meghan Patyear in Birmingham? How would Malden’s Cappuccio have done? Plenty of people said they thought they saw major league potential in Jordan, more than that say he wasted his time. After that 1994 season, he never put on a glove or took a swing again. His dalliance peaked before it even evolved. In March of the following year, after long eschewing a return to the White Sox, Jordan flipped the switch and returned to the Bulls, leading them to 24 of 27 wins in the home stretch of the NBA season, on their way to the 1994-95 World Championship. Two more titles followed as a second “ThreePeat” emerged before Jordan retired again, in 1997, only to return for a brief stint with the Washington Wizards. He’s now just your average billionaire NBA owner with the Charlotte Hornets in his home state of North Carolina. That 1994 season for Prince William was a solid one for all three budding White Sox prospects. Cappuccio led the team in hitting at .292 and established a career high in home runs (12) and RBIs (60). Teammates Hurst (25 HRs) and Cameron (18 HRs) also showed off some power. The Cannons’ year was also the first time Cappuccio was on the same team with Pete Rose Jr. Son of “The Hit King” Pete Rose Sr., he became best “baseball friends” with Cappuccio and the two of them ended up being on the same team, in different levels and leagues, for many of the following years the two of them played. I met Pete Jr. during the opening game for the Cannons, which I attended in ’94, and several years later joined him as a member of Cappuccio’s wedding party when he married his wife Shannon in St. Joseph’s Church on Salem Street in Malden in 1997. Pete Jr. “The Hit Prince”! What a great guy and a great friend! All three outfielders did finally make it to Birmingrick, who is Magic #1. Thomas Marsh, who is playing Oliver Rivers, is from Newton. David Lee Vincent, from Newburyport, is the Narrator. Billy Jenkins, from Stoneham, is Blondo Malfoy and others. Tricia Smith plays Hannah and is from Revere. The show has some adult language and situations that ham and Double-A the next season, in 1995. Cappuccio shined in Double-A and in midseason, got promoted to Triple-A Nashville, making local history as the first Malden High product to ever make it to that high a level – one step from the big leagues! He hit .278 with four homers in 65 games for Birmingham and .272 with five homers in the same amount of games at Nashville. Cameron got a call-up to the “bigs” and played 22 games in the majors in 1995. Hurst got traded to Detroit after the 1994 season. Cappuccio first-ever Malden HS player at Triple-A In 1996, Cappuccio played a full season at Triple-A Nashville and had one of his best pro seasons of all with 10 homers, 61 RBIs and a consistent .273 average. In 1997, Cappuccio ran into something he had avoided in his entire professional career until then: the injury bug. He missed about half the season with back issues, and they accelerated, even with therapy, so that he played just 55 games. He tried to come back and get ready for the 1998 season, but the clock had run out. He was released by the White Sox at the age of 27 and did not go to spring training in 1998. Married and with a new baby at time, a daughter, Tia, Cappuccio opted to take the season off in 1998 and heal up, hoping to come back in 1999. With no MLB offers, Cappuccio decided to go the Independent League route and signed with a fledgling team, the New Jersey Jackals. One of his teammates was Pete Rose Jr. so there was some familiarity. Cappuccio went on a hitting tear the first week of that season that did not end until he was named Independent League “Player of the Year” by Baseball America magazine. He was the Independent League’s version of the Triple Crown winner that year, leading the league in batting average (.349), homers (17) and RBIs (75) in just 80 games. Was there a might not be suitable for younger kids. “Puffs” is a stage play written by Matt Cox as a transformative and transfigured work under the magic that is U.S. Fair Use laws. “Puffs” is not authorized, sanctioned, licensed or endorsed by J.K Rowling, Warner Bros. or any person or company associated with “Comeback City” story here in the offing? I saw him play quite a few games in person that year, splitting time visiting either him or Kevin McGlinchy either in Atlanta or on the road, with McGlinchy – now with the MLB Atlanta Braves in his fourth year in professional baseball. What a thrill it was to be able to go see two guys I coached at Malden High – the city’s greatest hitter and player, Capuccio, and its greatest and most successful pitcher, McGlinchy, play pro ball in real time at the same time in 1999. Cappuccio’s stellar season with the Jackals earned him an invite to MLB spring training in 2000 with the Philadelphia Phillies, and he was assigned to Double-A Reading (Pennsylvania). At 30 and stuck behind some younger Phillies prospects, his playing time was staggered and his hitting numbers suffered. He was released by Reading about halfway through the season and with few options, signed a contract with Yucatan in the Mexican League to finish their season. That detour lasted 14 games and 62 at bats before he returned home to Florida to contemplate his future. Now with two children, his son C.J. now “on the roster,” the Cappuccios decided to give it another shot, this time headed out of the country once again, this time to Winnipeg, Ontario, Canada, to play for the Winnipeg Goldeyes, in the 2001 season, once again in the Independent League. Cappuccio’s final pro season in Canada in 2001 In Winnipeg, Cappuccio quickly became a bit of a folk hero. As he did in New Jersey, he went ballistic at the plate and set franchise and league records, including a 45-game hitting streak that still stands. He played in all 90 games, hit 9 homers and drove in 80 runs while hitting .359. His season there was so legendary, and so earth-shattering that the Goldeyes had a “Carmine Cappuccio Night” the Harry Potter books, films or play. “Puffs” was originally produced Off Broadway by Tilted Windmills Theatricals (John Arthur Pinckard / David Carpenter). “Puffs” was developed in part during a residency with the University of Florida School of Theatre + Dance, Jerry Dickey, School five years later... and gave out Carmine Bobbleheads that same night! Epic! It was a season to remember, and even though he was the highest-paid Independent League player in the United States and Canada, he was 31 and not looking at a major league contract in his future. With two kids, the nomadic life of a professional hitter looking to catch on and someday play in the big leagues was not so appealing. Cappuccio decided to call it a career after 9 professional seasons, 663 games, 2,634 at bats, 50 home runs and 336 runs batted in. For his entire pro career, he hit a prolific .291, a sensational statistic. These days he is a successful sales executive making his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. For many years previously, he lived in Greensboro, N.C., ironically, just a county or two away from Michael Jordan’s present home. His two children were both accomplished high school athletes and both graduated from college in Florida, as their parents did. Thirty years and “The Last Dance” later, lots of people, including Terry Francona (whose opinion I respect, but not in this instance), glamorously spoke of how Jordan “could have definitely been a major leaguer, if he stuck with it...” I do not buy into that school of thought. Could Carmine Cappuccio have been a major leaguer, perhaps with that extra season of Double-A seasoning? Perhaps. Yeah, maybe, but we will never know. But it is always nice to think of what may have been, isn’t it? What cannot be taken away is that Carmine Cappuccio is the greatest and most successful player of all time from the great city of Malden. He also played more professional baseball than anyone who ever picked up a bat or a glove in Malden history. Thanks for your service and your achievements, my friend. You made us proud, Carmine, you really did. Director; originally produced Off-Off Broadway by Stephen Stout and Colin Waitt. “Puffs” (Two Act Edition) is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. For more information and to purchase tickets, see the Theatre Company of Saugus website at TCSaugus.org.
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