Caruso Claims 2019 NECBL Sportsman of the Year Honors
Published on August 15, 2019 under New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) News Release
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - Mystic catcher Michael Caruso (Fairfield) has been named the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)'s Sportsman of the Year for the 2019 season, as announced Thursday.
Caruso becomes the third Mystic player in team history to take the top sportsman accolade, joining Aaron Hill (2015) and Joe Rosencrance (2013).
A rising junior at Fairfield, Caruso wasthe Schooners' emotional leader all season. He was an instrumental piece of the team's 6-0 start, catching five of the six games and immediately displaying a relentless energy behind the plate that brought the team together in quick fashion.
Unfortunately, the right-handed-hitting Caruso - who was batting nearly .400 through seven games with five hits in 13 at-bats, as well as two runs scored and five walks drawn - sustained a wrist injury that would eventually shut him down for the remainder of the summer.
Rather than return home for the summer, Caruso elected to stay in Mystic and caught bullpens, worked on daily catching drills, coached first base and maintained his leadership status from the sideline throughout the season. He never denied a pitcher who needed extra work and took great pride in developing his left-handed throwing skills to assist the pitching staff.
A true student of the game, Caruso would spend his time with the coaching staff to learn and ease the workload by serving as a first base coach during the summer. His positivity and willingness to help was contagious to teammates, fans and young players; he quickly established himself as the Schooners' spiritual leader through his consistent hard work each day.
Caruso was named to the MAAC All-Academic Team this past spring after starting 46 games as Fairfield's catcher. He finished with a .239 average, 37 hits, 27 runs scored, and 15 RBIs while helping the Stags reach the MAAC Championship Final as part of a school-record 35-win campaign.
The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states. Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the NECBL started play in 1994 and is enjoying its 25th-year anniversary season this summer. The New England League has sent over 150 alumni to the Major Leagues and has had nearly 100 alumni drafted in each of the last 11 Major League Baseball Drafts. The New England League was recently ranked No. 2 in the Summer Baseball Register's Top-10 collegiate summer baseball leagues in the country. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on Twitter, Instagram and on Facebook.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from August 15, 2019
- Newport Gulls Season Review - Newport Gulls
- Caruso Claims 2019 NECBL Sportsman of the Year Honors - NECBL
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