By Brian Zanzonico
Big brother Frank, a senior, is three home runs away from tying the school's all-time single season home run record held by the boys' father, Frank. The Dowling College-bound second baseman also leads the team in stolen bases and on-base percentage, and according to coach Paul LaMarca, brings an unparalleled work ethic that has rubbed off on his teammates.
Together, the Intagliatas have teamed up to put Carey (8-4 Conference A-III) in position to clinch a playoff berth with two weeks to play. The top four teams in the conference advance to the second season, and with games against division leaders Herricks and MacArthur beginning this week, the year is hanging in the balance. But if the Intagliatas keep it up, LaMarca said, the Seahawks will return to the playoffs after laboring through a dismal 4-12-1 campaign last year.
"Frank has the most outstanding work ethic I've ever seen," LaMarca said. "I live near the school, and after a long practice last Saturday, I saw him running near my house. I asked where he was going and he said 'I've got to go to the gym, coach.'"
But Frank's success this season does not come as a shock. In the High School Division World Series in Greensboro, North Carolina last summer with his travel team, IGB Lightning, Frank won the Rawlings Tournament Batting Championship, as he batted a lofty .638 throughout tournament play. He will attend Dowling next year on a baseball scholarship.
In Sal's first full year with the varsity, the fleet-footed outfielder has opened eyes. "He's been tremendous," LaMarca said. "He's batting over .500. He's been a total surprise. We put him in centerfield hoping he could turn into an outfielder from a third baseman, and he's made the transition very well."
One thing that's not surprising is the boys' pure athleticism. In addition to being Carey's single season home run champ, Frank Sr. was an All-American baseball player at Adelphi University in 1978. Mom, Lola, the Carey girls' varsity soccer coach, was also an accomplished soccer player.
Lola's passion for soccer was passed on to Frank, who starred on the varsity team throughout high school and lost fewer than 10 games in his career. He credits the physically grueling sport for making him so limber. Despite being one of the tallest players on the team (both brothers are 6-foot-2), Frank plays second base, the pivot position in the 6-4-3 double play. The position requires acrobatic agility to avoid serious injury from runners' take out slides.
"Soccer has taught me the importance of staying in top physical condition, especially if I'm going to play second base," said Frank, who slides over to shortstop when starter T.J. Humrich pitches. "I feel my footwork's good enough for second. Baseball is more of a technical sport, but it's also physically demanding."
Sal, a basketball player in the winter, is an outside linebacker and sometimes quarterback on the football team. Known for his quickness, Sal said speed is his greatest asset.
"I bring it to the outfield now," he said. "As far as the similarity in sports, with football, you get more hyped up. Baseball is calm, concentrated."
His brother has had a calming influence on him. Frank's patience at the plate makes him a model hitter, Sal said, which prompts the younger Intagliata to constantly pick his brain. But if Sal's having a rough go of it, the last thing he wants is to hear is from his big brother.
"Like when I strikeout on a curveball and look awful," Sal said. "I know what I did wrong, and I don't want to hear it."
But Sal wouldn't trade the opportunity to play with Frank. Between Frank and his father giving hitting advice, Sal is learning from two of the top power hitters Carey has produced.
"It's been really fun to play with him on the same team, and to play with the guys we grew up with," Sal said.
Frank has tried to deflect attention away from his chase for the home run record. He even chooses to discuss the success of the team ahead of his own, a sign of maturity LaMarca said is rare in a player so young. So is he the reason behind Carey's success? Is his brother? It goes much deeper than that, Frank said.
"The chemistry [last year] wasn't there, neither was the talent or pitching," he said. "But it's all there now. Our fate is in our own hands, and the team's getting excited. Guys are focusing and feel that now we have it [the playoffs] in front of us, we can accomplish it."
Providing further motivation is the quest to win for LaMarca, who will step down as coach at season's end. A baseball coach on the junior high and junior varsity levels at Carey for 15 years, LaMarca took over as varsity head coach in 2001. He led the team to the playoffs in 2002 and 2003 before the Seahawks took a step back last season, and Frank and Sal said the team wants to give him one last taste of victory.
"I have little kids of my own, and I want to see them grow up and play baseball," LaMarca said.
As for the single season home run mark, Frank said it is a nice goal to work toward, but it will be bittersweet if he reaches it and Carey falls short of the playoffs. Sal said he has little doubt Frank will shatter the mark, and when he does, hopes big brother enjoys it.
"I figure I'll let him break it this year," Sal said. "I'll have two years left to do it [break Frank's record] ."
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