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Shot heard 'round New England: Guides win pennant on Clareno blast
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It's not everyday the man of the hour in late October is someone who played in the AAA All-Star Game just a few months earlier.
Today in New England, Gabriele Clareno is that man.
The diminutive Italian's mammoth walk-off home run in the 11th inning of last night's Game Five propelled the Guides to a Brewmaster's Cup showdown with Carolina.
"Gabby came through for us," said Andrew MacGilledon, Maine's manager for the last decade. "He's had a few big hits for us this year. Gabby's having a great postseason and he's made a big difference for us — and I don't just mean last night."
The 37 year old Clareno has never been an everyday player for a team. A first round pick of Batavia in 1995, the Muckdogs and the baseball world had high hopes for the then young Italian. But after disappointing 595 at-bats with the big club in Batavia, the organization had just about written off Clareno. Though he hit the ball well at AAA Houston for a few years, the call back to the BLB club never came.
"I was just about ready to give up on baseball," Clareno admitted. "I was 30 years old and it seemed like no matter what I did — that it just wasn't meant to happen, that baseball wasn't meant to be. I was going to go back to Italy if nothing changed soon."
Something did change.
Washington claimed him off waivers, snatching him away from Batavia where he looked poised to grab the fifth outfield job. After an injury-plagued season in 2005 at AAA Richmond, Clareno saw his chance come with the Bats in 2006.
He hit well enough to stick around with Washington, where he became known for his discerning batting eye, clutch extra inning hits, and unique approach to batting.
"Lay off breaking pitches and try to hit fastballs as far as I can? Yeah, that sounds about right," Clareno laughed. "But it's gotten me this far!"
His teammates unanimously agreed that if they had to pick the player most likely to hit a 100 MPH extra inning fastball 420 feet, it would have to be Gabriele Clareno.
That's exactly what he did last night, when he led off the bottom of the 11th inning against stocky Pawtucket flamethrower Sandy Franco, whose arsenal consists of a triple digit fastball and a nasty curveball.
When Franco's first pitch curveball bounced in the dirt, Clareno steeled himself for the heat.
And it came.
And it went.
Everyone in Old Port Park knew it was gone the second he hit it. It made that sound. You know that sound.
Clareno dropped his bat and pointed jubilantly toward his teammates, who came streaming out of the dugout as he circled the bases, the pennant-winning Guides bound for a date with Carolina.
Gabriele Clareno joined the Guides on a minor league contract after the season began. They signed him for his bat. He used it to hit out of his mind at AAA affiliate Portsmouth, batting .308 with a 1.036 OPS. He received the call to join Maine at the end of June. He's been with the club ever since.
And now he's here, and that Sandy Franco fastball isn't.
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</div>It's not everyday the man of the hour in late October is someone who played in the AAA All-Star Game just a few months earlier.
Today in New England, Gabriele Clareno is that man.
The diminutive Italian's mammoth walk-off home run in the 11th inning of last night's Game Five propelled the Guides to a Brewmaster's Cup showdown with Carolina.
"Gabby came through for us," said Andrew MacGilledon, Maine's manager for the last decade. "He's had a few big hits for us this year. Gabby's having a great postseason and he's made a big difference for us — and I don't just mean last night."
The 37 year old Clareno has never been an everyday player for a team. A first round pick of Batavia in 1995, the Muckdogs and the baseball world had high hopes for the then young Italian. But after disappointing 595 at-bats with the big club in Batavia, the organization had just about written off Clareno. Though he hit the ball well at AAA Houston for a few years, the call back to the BLB club never came.
"I was just about ready to give up on baseball," Clareno admitted. "I was 30 years old and it seemed like no matter what I did — that it just wasn't meant to happen, that baseball wasn't meant to be. I was going to go back to Italy if nothing changed soon."
Something did change.
Washington claimed him off waivers, snatching him away from Batavia where he looked poised to grab the fifth outfield job. After an injury-plagued season in 2005 at AAA Richmond, Clareno saw his chance come with the Bats in 2006.
He hit well enough to stick around with Washington, where he became known for his discerning batting eye, clutch extra inning hits, and unique approach to batting.
"Lay off breaking pitches and try to hit fastballs as far as I can? Yeah, that sounds about right," Clareno laughed. "But it's gotten me this far!"
His teammates unanimously agreed that if they had to pick the player most likely to hit a 100 MPH extra inning fastball 420 feet, it would have to be Gabriele Clareno.
That's exactly what he did last night, when he led off the bottom of the 11th inning against stocky Pawtucket flamethrower Sandy Franco, whose arsenal consists of a triple digit fastball and a nasty curveball.
When Franco's first pitch curveball bounced in the dirt, Clareno steeled himself for the heat.
And it came.
And it went.
Everyone in Old Port Park knew it was gone the second he hit it. It made that sound. You know that sound.
Clareno dropped his bat and pointed jubilantly toward his teammates, who came streaming out of the dugout as he circled the bases, the pennant-winning Guides bound for a date with Carolina.
Gabriele Clareno joined the Guides on a minor league contract after the season began. They signed him for his bat. He used it to hit out of his mind at AAA affiliate Portsmouth, batting .308 with a 1.036 OPS. He received the call to join Maine at the end of June. He's been with the club ever since.
And now he's here, and that Sandy Franco fastball isn't.
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