By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
Marc DeBlasio, a Galloway resident and 1989 graduate of Absegami High, has been around baseball his entire life, from his time growing up playing the game to his days at Absegami, then at Rutgers University, then the past 20 years coaching up his son, Michael, who is about to enter his sophomore year at Rowan University.
But it took nearly 53 years of his life to fulfil one of his longest-running baseball dreams — to get a chance to take the field one time alongside Mike, wearing the same uniform and penciled into the same lineup card.
That dream became a reality in the final game of the regular season for the Galloway Mustangs, a team in the South Jersey South Shore Baseball League, which is wrapping up its fourth season with the championship series that features the Hammonton Hot Shots vs No. 1 seed Margate Hurricanes.
The Mustangs didn’t make the playoffs in the 13-team league this season, and even though they lost that final game, 8-4, to the Ventnor Bay Sox, the DeBlasio family will have something to talk about for a long time to come.
Marc, a standout pitcher in his day, made a guest appearance on the mound and threw three innings, allowing four runs on five hits. All four runs came in the first inning, but after that he settled down to toss consecutive shutout innings before giving way to the bullpen. Mike played right field and went 1-for-2 with a run scored for Galloway.
“I was trying for a couple years to actually play with Michael and we just never could get it scheduled. What made it even more special was I was actually able to play with some kids that I coached since Little League. Frank Gargione’s son was playing third, there was Tim Coleman at shortstop. It was weird to be out there with them, but it was cool. It was definitely a gift. I appreciated every minute of it. What was that saying from the movie “Moneyball?” ‘How can you not be passionate about baseball?’ And I soaked in every minute,” said Marc, owner of DeBlasio & Associates engineering firm in Wildwood. “The first inning I gave up a couple of runs and got hit a little bit, but then after that I shut them down the next two innings. I was nervous because I’m thinking, ‘I’m almost 53, right?’ But I was able to hold my own. I was able to get up on them quick, but putting put them away with two strikes wasn’t easy, they are good players. I have to tip my cap to them. They were a good hitting team.”
Marc said he knew he had to bring his best effort because the Mustangs were fighting for a playoff berth right up through that final game of the season.
“I was definitely in the competitive mode, but more so just enjoying having that opportunity. I enjoyed every minute of it. I didn’t want it to end,” he said. “The guys didn’t know what to expect, but they were like, ‘hey, you can still throw the ball hard.’ I said, ‘I was a little bit better a couple years ago before I developed right hip arthritis.’ It was fun, they were getting a kick out of it as much as I was. I appreciate the kids letting me play with them, and the league for being around for me to do that. That’s probably every dad’s dream, to be able to do that. It’s not always easy as dads get older, it’s tough to keep in good enough shape to play baseball at a high level.”
“That was really fun. A lot of the guys I play with were kids that I spent a lot of time with on travel teams. So playing with my dad and with guys I haven’t played with in a few years was pretty fun,” Mike said. “I always knew what he had. He’s definitely slowed down a little bit but these guys knew he could pitch. They would always complain taking batting practice against him because he was never one to take it easy on us. He was like, ‘you’ll see this in the game, so I’m going to give it to you right now.’ His first inning was a little rocky, but the next couple he was getting outs. Everyone had a good time, and (my teammates) were impressed.”
Mike said he really wasn’t sure what to expect. He had mostly seen his dad pitching batting practice, not in a competitive game.
“I’m not exactly sure if I had any expectations. I think that when he told me he wanted to do this, the only thing on my mind was to make sure my schedule was free so I could be at the game (that he was able to pitch in). I don’t think I expected him to do good or bad, but I think he definitely did better than I thought he was going to,” Mike said. “It will definitely be a great memory. I would definitely say it’s in my top five coolest baseball memories, for sure.”
Mike had an outstanding high school career at Absegami before graduating in 2023, so he said it was nice for his dad to finally be the center of attention after all those years of toiling as a coach and mentor.
“He’s played a massive role in my success. Where do I even begin? He pushes me very hard. He does a lot of things on my behalf. He will take a lot of time out of his day — he still catches me sometimes or we’ll go long tossing on football fields. He’ll be bouncing it 50 feet in front of me but he’s still out there catching for me,” Mike said. “He and I built a mound in our backyard. We talked about doing that for years and we finally did it. There are days when maybe I’m not pushing myself as hard as I should be, whether it’s with baseball, lifting or nutrition. He’s always there to just kind of remind me of my goals.”
For Marc DeBlasio, it was never going to matter what the scoreboard said at the end of the game, or what his pitching line ended up being. Just being able to sit with his son in the dugout, and talk about the game — as teammates — is a couple of hours he said he’ll cherish forever.
“After the game, Mike and I had good laugh, my wife got some photos of us. I’m just happy I had the opportunity to do that, it was good stuff,” he said. “I appreciate everybody who’s involved with making baseball happen for kids.”
Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com
