By Tom Jordan
He's got a strong and accurate arm, focuses just as hard on his defense as he does on his lethal swing, and can even run. He's smart and tough and clutch.
Most of all, says South Side coach Steve Smaldone, Michael Ambort is the real deal.
When the Cyclones played Floral Park on April 19, burdened by a six-game losing streak and short on pitching, Ambort came out from behind the plate and hurled a gem. He struck out nine in his first pitching appearance in as long as he could remember, blasted a home run and led the Cyclones to a 5-3 win. It was a Ruthian performance.
And that's why Ambort has been such a popular figure this spring Ñ with South Side fans, with his coaches and especially with the major-league scouts who have come out in droves to watch him play. They started to show up in March, three or four or a half-dozen on hand for non-league games in near-freezing temperatures, representatives of the Yankees and Braves and Angels and all the rest.
In a sense, it is still every American boy's dream to play big-league baseball. The dream is within reach for only a few, but it is within reach for Ambort. It's not unheard of, or even uncommon, for Long Islanders to make it big. Craig Biggio, Frank Catalonotto and Billy Koch, to name a few, are currently on major-league rosters. There's no telling how far Ambort's talent can take him, or what riches may await him in an era of multi-million-dollar contracts.
But that is all way, way down the road. For now, Ambort is content to simply watch the Mets or Yankees on television with his dad and be South Side's catcher. I just like playing the game, he said. Concerning the scouts that have come out for nearly every game, he said, You can't get much better than that. It's not nerve-wracking or anything. You have to remember that they're coming to see you for a reason.
It's not like he doesn't have options, either. He's got a scholarship waiting for him at Lamar University in Texas if he decides to go to school. Education and sports management are a couple of fields that interest him. I'm in a win-win situation, he says. I've got good people on my side and I've had all-out support.
Speaking hours after a South Side loss to Wantagh, a 3-2 defeat in 13 innings, Ambort said that what he wants most is for his Cyclones to turn their season around. The loss dropped them to 1-5 in conference play and 3-6 overall. They've started slowly in three of the past four years, but have always rebounded to play their best ball late in the season.
It looked like things would be different when South Side knocked off perennial power Oceanside on March 27, 12-11. On April 1, the Cyclones won 3-2 over Lynbrook as Will O'Grady drove in Tim Feehan with the game-winning run in the fourth inning. Ambort went two-for-two with a homer and a double.
Then the bottom fell out, as the Cyclones dropped six in a row. Four of those losses were by fewer than two runs. We haven't been stringing hits together, said Ambort. That's going to change. We have great kids on this team and we're going to pull through.
That's the catcher talking. He's a major-league prospect and the league's MVP, but he's a Cyclone first. South Side was scheduled to play Wantagh on Tuesday, after the Herald went to press. Next on the schedule are games against Floral Park, on April 24, and MacArthur, on April 28 and 29.
