New-Look Peglegs Look to Build on Last Year’s Success

The rain and fog loomed over the chilly Friday afternoon like a beef Stroganoff that someone had left out in the kitchen for much too long; it was thick, heavy, and distressingly cold. It had been a sluggish day, without much semblance of urgency or routine. With train lines all throughout the city in utter disarray, the Peglegs, Stuyvesant’s varsity baseball team, faced a heightened task of migrating to Newtown High School’s obscure, out-of-the-way field. Even after the game finally began, they huddled for warmth in the dugout as the powerful winds, presumably the final few breaths of winter that had somehow trickled into early April, relentlessly hassled them like an arrogant, overly masculinized wrestler. It was an odd irony, especially for the players on the bench who stood like statues, too cold to start warming up.

On the field, though, through the cold, wind, and rain, co-captain and pitcher Tobias Lange (‘17) brought the fire against the Newtown High School Pioneers. In a tremendous effort, Lange struck out nine different batters and went a second consecutive game without conceding a walk.

Meanwhile, on offense, everyone in the senior class seemed to pull through. Whether it was catcher Joseph Halim (‘17) at the plate or second baseman Kenneth Chu (‘17) on the base paths, that narrow 3-1 win amounted to a team-wide show of force that established the Peglegs as one of the city’s top teams that would end up finishing with its best record (12-4) and playoff seed (10) in half a decade.

This year, though, the team has an entirely new look. Solomon Medintz (‘17) and Chu have both graduated and headed north, leaving gaping holes all over the field. Halim, though still in town, has also graduated, leaving a wild scramble to establish a new stronghold behind the plate. Dean Steinman (‘17), the reliable designated hitter and relief pitcher that managed to maintain a batting average over .300 throughout last season, has actively fled the country. However, for all of last year’s seniors that thrived in various pivotal roles, the two losses that will take the greatest toll will be those of pitchers/infielders Lange and Jack Archer (‘17), who developed into all-city caliber players over their four years on the varsity squad. So, with the Peglegs’ depth chart looking like Swiss cheese, it is now up to last year’s developmental players to step up.

The Peglegs’ most glaring hole heading into this season is unfortunately also the sport’s most important position: starting pitcher. Last year, just three pitchers registered starts for the Peglegs: Lange, Archer, and current junior Jared Asch. Though Asch mostly served a spot-starting role last season, playing only when the other two were unable to go on short rest, he showed tremendous promise. With a 2-0 record and 2.15 earned-run average over 13 innings, Asch showed that he could tussle with the best of them.

As for the rest of the rotation, it will likely come down to junior and co-captain Jeremy Rubin and senior and co-captain Khyber Sen. With his background as a natural outfielder, Sen boasts tremendous arm strength, making for a fearsome fastball and a sharp, vertical curveball. While he missed all of last season with a nagging hip injury, he showed potential as a sophomore, walking just three batters over 11 innings pitched.

Rubin, meanwhile, is more of a finesse pitcher. He does not throw nearly as hard as Sen, but has excellent command over his entire pitching arsenal, which allowed him to become the team’s closer, or primary relief pitcher, last season. A fourth option for the rotation is senior, co-captain, and primary center fielder Max Onderdonk, who posted an insane 1.56 earned run average for the junior varsity team in 2016. With arguably the strongest arm on the team, Onderdonk brings a unique no-holds-barred, “Wild Bill” persona to the mound that would make any batter wary of crowding the plate. So, why isn’t he pitching this season? As he himself admitted, “[He’s] quite bad at it,” while adding that he does not feel as passionate about working on his pitching as opposed to his natural position.

The Peglegs’ other major holes to fill are in the infield, particularly the positions of second baseman, third baseman, and shortstop. While junior and co-captain Malcolm Hubbell, last year’s starting first baseman, is in no danger of having his spot taken following a successful season at the plate (.250 batting average with six runs batted in), the other three spots are up in the air. Right now, the favorites seem to be seniors Ronin Berzins and Simon Carmody at second base and shortstop, respectively, and a platoon of Asch and Rubin at third base. However, according to Onderdonk, there could be other possibilities, such as experimenting with the versatility of senior utility infielder Sam Merrick: “We may move Malcolm to short and put Sam at first,” Onderdonk said. This idea makes sense, as Hubbell may have the strongest arm of the infielders, while Merrick, whose scoops compensate for his height, adds intriguing length and flexibility at the first base position.

Another option is to play sophomore Franklin Liou at second base instead of Berzins. While his underclassman status and reserved persona make him somewhat of a dark horse candidate, according to Onderdonk, he is ready to play on the big stage. “He has really good baseball smarts, so it allows him to make up for a lot of physical gaps he may have with upperclassmen,” Onderdonk said.

Ultimately, the Peglegs’ success will depend on how well this new group of inexperienced starters will coalesce and work together. One of head coach John Carlesi’s mantras over the past few seasons has been fielding, which is another reason why Liou, who Onderdonk described to be “clean as a fielder,” could be a good option. If the team is sloppy in the field, Carlesi would often say it is akin to starting the game behind by multiple runs. This should prove to be especially valuable against tougher pitching teams in games where runs are at a premium.

For instance, Benjamin Cardozo High School’s pitchers, who the Peglegs are set to play on April 20, did not allow more than seven runs in a game last season. The Peglegs, meanwhile, did so twice. So, much of the Peglegs’ success this year could be contingent on their chemistry and consistency on defense.

While it is difficult to gauge opposing teams before the season begins, the two games to watch are the rivalry series against the Beacon High School Blue Demons in early May. While Beacon routinely fields a stronger team, the rumble with Stuyvesant always tends to be scrappy and close.

The Peglegs, who ended the year seven games behind Beacon, were walloped in the first game, 14-4, but managed to fight back for a surprising 9-4 victory the following day in 2016. After again taking a game from Beacon last year, senior outfielder Michael Gillow has an inkling that the Blue Demons could be out for revenge. “They’ve always been our rivals, and we beat them last year so I know they want to get us back,” Gillow said.