STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Whether it was through his high school baseball days at St. Peter’s, his sportswriting legacy at the Staten Island Advance/SILive.com or his coaching experiences that lasted decades, Jack Minogue always displayed his love for the game of baseball.
But, some might say, that love paled in comparison to the passion he demonstrated when it came to promoting the importance of doing well in the classroom.
A good education was paramount, in Minogue’s point of view, and that was not negotiable.
The Staten Island Baseball Oldtimers (SIBO), through the dogged effort of newest member Joe Nugent, decided to honor the late Minogue by combining two of the things he loved into a noteworthy award.
Hence, the SIBO recently created the Jack Minogue Scholar Baseball Athlete Award and the inaugural winner is outfielder Christian Comodo of Moore Catholic, the Advance/SILive.com has learned.
The recipient must be a current high school senior entering a four-year accredited U.S. college or university; be a member of a high school baseball team and have maintained a 90 or higher average. The student-athlete must be in good standing, demonstrate strong leadership skills, be an outstanding teammate and possess a personality which enhances the spirit of the school community.
Staten Island schools with high school baseball programs were permitted to nominate one candidate for the award.
“I thought that it would be a real shame if (Jack’s) legacy didn’t live on in some way, shape or form, so I got in touch with the Staten Island Baseball Oldtimers, went to a meeting and proposed to do something in Jack’s name and they were 100% for it,’' explained Nugent, noting he played for Minogue in Babe Ruth League and on the powerhouse Cedric’s teams in the T-M Majors for years.
SIBO had several worthy candidates to choose from, but believes it nailed it by naming Comodo the inaugural winner.
The outfielder, who spent the last three seasons on Moore’s varsity, was superb in the classroom as evidenced by the fact he was the Graniteville school’s valedictorian at last Saturday’s graduation.
Comodo, in fact, had a perfect 4.0-grade point average and, if that wasn’t impressive enough, the Westerleigh resident had 100 percent attendance throughout his four years.
“Christian was a three-year varsity player, he had a 4.0 GPA and he was his class valedictorian, but what separated him from the rest, for me — as an educator – was the fact he didn’t miss a day of school in four years,’' said Nugent. “That’s pretty special. That’s very hard to do, I’d say almost impossible.
“There’s no doubt this kid deserved the award. He’ll wear it well.’'
Comodo, who will attend Binghamton University in the fall, was honored to be the inaugural winner.
“It’s a privilege to win this award. It means so much to me, you have no idea,’' said Comodo. ”I want to be a role model and hope this will make others say, ‘I want to be like him.’ I want people to be like, ‘if he can do it, I can do it.’ I want people to reflect their basis off me.
“Baseball, as a sport, is hard — going to practice, bus rides that take four hours, game days that take seven hours — it’s hard. And it’s hard to keep that grade-point average so high and even through four years, it doesn’t matter what happened the night before, whether we win or lose or how many innings we played, I was there at school, ready to learn, or get 100 on a test, no matter what happened. I was ready.
“And, to me, it’s not even about getting a good grade. It’s about showing up, even if you sit the bench, you have to show up.’'
Comodo also talked about the importance of chemistry with teammates, as well as the impact Moore’s coaching staff had on him.
“I understood my role. (Junior year, for instance), my role was to support and help the team succeed and at the end of the day, that’s one of the most important things to do,’' Comodo said. ”Make your teammates feel like they’re appreciated because when you’re a confident batter, you’re a better batter and I wanted every single (batter and pitcher) to know that I was on their side. Being a good teammate meant more to me than anything.
“Also, my coaches were some of the most inspirational and influential people to me because they taught me that failure was an accepting thing (because) when we failed, we got better and as a team, we got closer. My group of seniors is one of the most united group ever and even if I was studying all night, or before a game, they always had my back. We knew that no matter what happened, this group was inseparable and something that I really appreciate.’'
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