Baseball City - Hartford, CT

STAFF

Bill Masse, Owner and Head Instructor at Baseball City, is a 45-year old native of Manchester, Connecticut. He has coached 13 years in Minor League Baseball, serving as a manager in 9 of those seasons. He is currently a Major League Professional Scout (East Supervisor) for the Seattle Mariners. Bill recently garnered his 500th Minor League win as a manager in 2007 while at New Hampshire, the Double A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Masse had joined the Blue Jays organization in 2007 after spending the previous six years working for the New York Yankees as a manager and coach. In 2008, Bill managed the San Antonio Missions, the Double A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. In 2009, Bill was the hitting coach for the Buffalo Bisons, Triple A affiliate of the New York Mets. While in the Yankees Organization, Masse managed the Double-A Trenton Thunder in the Eastern League during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. He led the Thunder to the post-season in both years at the helm, winning the regular season Northern Division Championship in 2006. Masse spent 2003 and 2004 as the Manager of the Tampa Yankees (Class A). In 2004, the Tampa Yankees were the Champions of the Florida State League. His other experience in the Yankees system was the Manager of Greensboro (Class A) in 2002 and as the Hitting Coach for Tampa in 2001 - Champions of the Florida State League. Masse also spent four years in the Montreal Expos organization. He managed Cape Fear (Class A) in 2000 and the Gulf Coast Expos (Rookie) in 1999. He also served as Hitting Coach for Ottawa (Class AAA) in 1998 and for Vermont (Class A) in 1997. After capturing an Olympic Gold Medal as an outfielder for Team USA in 1988, Masse played professionally in the New York Yankees organization between 1989-1995. He was named 1993 Minor League Player-of-the-Year while a member of the Triple-A Columbus Clippers. Masse graduated from Wake Forest University and was the only player in Division I athletics to be named both 1st Team All-American & 1st Team Academic All-American for the year 1988, his senior year. He received the Arnold Palmer Award in 1988 for Athlete of the Year at Wake Forest University.
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John Fote, Owner of Baseball City, pitched on the college level at Quinnipiac College. He had been the Head Coach at Wethersfield High School for ten years. John led the Eagles to their first ever Class L State Championship game in the 2005 season. John coached the District I team to the Senior District championship in 2002 and was named the coach for the Connecticut vs. Massachusetts All-Star Game at Fenway Park. John is the originator of 5-Star Baseball and conducts lessons in hitting, pitching and position play.
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Mark Bagdasarian, Owner of Baseball City, was a catcher at the University of Connecticut (Hartford). He is currently the Head Coach at Wethersfield High School and former Head Coach at Manchester High School. Mark is entering his 10th year of coaching at the High School level and was also an Assistant coach at the American Legion level. Mark conducts lessons in catching and hitting.
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Bill "Fridge" Perry, General Manager at Baseball City, graduated from the University of Hartford in 2007 with a Bachelor Degree in Elementary Education. Bill played in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Bourne Braves in the summer of 2007 and was named the Cape Cod League Top New England Prospect following the season. As a Hartford Hawk, Bill played four years at third base. He was named 1^st Team All Conference at the University of Hartford.
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Joe Serfass, a former pitcher in the New York Mets organization, is currently the Head Coach at Windsor High School. Joe finished his professional playing career with the Binghamton Mets (Double A) and posted outstanding numbers as a middle reliever. Joe was the winning pitcher for Eastern Connecticut State University when the team won the NCAA Division III National Championship in Division III. While at Eastern, he was a two-time DIII All-American, named to the DIII All-Decade Team, and set the NCAA record with 47 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings. Joe currently conducts pitching lessons at Baseball City.
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Gary Burnham, A native of South Windsor, CT Gary lead SWHS to a Class L state championship and earned All-American honors. In that same year he was named CT Gatorade High School Player of the Year. Gary was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 22nd round but elected to go to Clemson University instead. While at Clemson, Gary would participate in two College World Series Tournaments while earning All-American, All-ACC, and team MVP honors during his 4 year career. During the summer months Gary was a two time Cape Cod League All-Star for the Orleans Cardinals, and the Falmouth Commodores and was MVP of the Cape Cod League All-Star game in 1995. In 1997 Gary was drafted in the 22nd round by the Philadelphia Phillies and earned New York Penn League All-Star honors during his first half season in the minors (.325BA 5HR, 45RBI). In 2001 Gary earned AA Eastern League All-Star status for the Reading Phillies (.318BA, 15HR, 77RBI). In 2002 Gary was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays and earned AAA International League All-Star honors and was the teams' MVP. (.281BA, 18HR, 88RBI). After bouncing around with the AAA Reds, and AAA Cardinals Gary was back with the Phillies in 2006 where he set the career HR record for the AA Reading Phillies with (56HR). That same year he was also named to the AA Eastern League All-Star team and was the teams' MVP. In 2007 Gary would be promoted to the AAA Ottawa Lynx still with the Phillies minor league system and posted another team MVP year.(.292BA, 12HR, 84RBI). Taking his bat to Taiwan in 2008 Gary set the all-time foreign hitting streak record at 23 games in a row. In 2009 at 34 years old and still hungry for a major league job Gary finally got his break and landed a pinch hitting job on Bobby Valentine's team (Chiba Lotte Marines) in Japan. Gary conducts lessons in hitting and position play.
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Ace Adams will enter his fifth season as a pitching coach in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. Known for building strong relationships with his pitchers, his chief accomplishments in 2008 included developing talented hurlers such as Nick Additon, Mark Diapoules and Richard Castillo -- all of whom had breakout seasons that landed them on the prospect radar. Adams was a collegiate coach for thirteen years at University of Michigan (1989-96), Brandeis University (1986-89), Harvard University (1985) and Dartmouth College (1984). He was also a traveling batting practice pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in 1984-1986.After coaching in the Montreal Expos (1997-2001) and Florida Marlins (2002) farm systems, Adams was a pitching coach in the Red Sox Nation (2003-2006). He was a coach for the Lowell Spinners (2003), Augusta Green Jackets (2004), Wilmington Blue Rocks (2005), and Portland Sea Dogs (2006). Adams became a coach for the Quad Cities River Bandits in 2008 in the St. Louis Cardinals' minor league system. Ace conducts pitching lessons.
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John Skinner has been in Connecticut teaching beginner to advanced techniques to young pitchers and hitters since 2003. He was drafted in the 23rd round by the Houston Astros following his freshman year at Chabot Junior College in Hayward, California. In 1998 he walked on to the Cal State Fullerton pitching staff. In 1999 he was given an athletic scholarship to pitch at San Diego State University. He Currently holds the Mountain West Conference Record for most pitching appearances in a single season (33 in 56 games). In 2001, Skinner was again drafted, this time in the 24th round by the Florida Marlins. After over two years in the Marlins organization where he made it up to the Portland Sea Dogs (AA), Skinner now focuses his time on teaching young kids mental preparation, mechanics, strength & conditioning, pitching grips, and strategy of the game. John conducts lessons in pitching and hitting.
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Pat Egan signed with the Baltimore Orioles in June 2007 after being drafted twice by the Orioles in 2005 and 2006. In 2010, Pat made it to Triple A with the Orioles as a middle reliever and is currently pitching in the prestigious Arizona Fall League for top prospects. Pat grew up in Rocky Hill playing multiple sports. In 1997 his little league team lost in the CT State finals. Pat was All State in both basketball and baseball at Rocky Hill High School where he was named Connecticut State Basketball player of the year in 2002 after leading Rocky Hill to its only State Championship. He then went onto Quinnipiac University where he was named NEC pitcher of the year in 2004 leading the league in wins. He led the league in wins again in 2005 as Quinnipiac University played in its first ever Division I NCAA tournament. Pat finished 3^rd in career wins at Quinnipiac. Pat conducts pitching lessons.
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Kevin Rival began his collegiate career playing at Eastern Connecticut State University for two years. He then went on to play at Division I Central Connecticut State University. After college, Kevin took his playing career to the professional level, where he played six years for both the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees organizations. Kevin conducts pitching lessons for all ages.
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Kyle Vazquez resides from Berlin Connecticut, attended Berlin High School and lettered in both baseball and basketball. Was All-State in baseball and won a state championship in both sports. Attended Franklin Pierce University as an Education major. Was a Daktronics and Rawlings All-American, first team All-Region, First team All-Conference, and NE10 conference pitcher of the year in 2009 while posting an 8-1 record in 93 innings of work with a 1.93 ERA and 112 strikeouts. He appeared in two DII College World Series, in 2007 and 2008. Kyle enjoys working with youth baseball players and has helped run youth clinics at Franklin Pierce U. He played summer baseball in the Northwoods Colligate League for the St. Cloud Riverbats in 2007 where he won a league championship and was an All-Star in the NECBL for the Pittsfield Dukes in 2008. He was Drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 15^th round of the MLB first year player draft in 2009. He played his first pro season in 2009 with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, a short-season A affiliate. He played the 2010 season with the Augusta Greenjackets, the Giants long-season A affiliate, and was sidelined from an injury for the most of the 2011 season. Kyle conducts lessons in pitching
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Mike Nemeth an instructor at Baseball City, graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2011 with a Bachelors Degree in Political Science. He was a four year starter at first base at UCONN and holds career records in Hits (331), Doubles (70), RBI’s (211), At Bats (931), Games Played (241) and Total Bases (481) along with single season records in RBI’s (84), Hits (98) and Games Played (66). He was an ABCA/Rawlings All-American in 2010 and was placed on the Rawlings Division 1 Gold Glove list at first base in 2011 for being the top defensive first baseman in the nation. He was a three time Big East All-Tournament Team selection, named to the All-New England and All-Northeast Region Team in both 2010 and 2011 and named to the Clemson Regional All-Tournament Team in 2011. Mike is currently playing in the Milwaukee Brewers minor league system. Mike conducts lessons in hitting and fielding
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Matt Rondinone is currently Asst. Head Coach at Wethersfield High School. Matt has been actively involved in the Connecticut Capitals organization since its beginning in 2007. He has been the Head Coach of the 2008 14U Team, the 2009 15U team, and is currently the Head Coach of the Fall 18U team. In 2009, Rondinone’s coaching helped earn his team 4th Place at the 15u AAU Div I National Tournament. In High School, Matt was an All-State and All-Conference player at East Hartford. He also played on the #1 Ranked High School team in CT in 2005. He continued to go on to play college baseball at Keene State & Albertus Magnus. Matt conducts lessons in catching and hitting.
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Ismael Bolorin A graduate from Eastern Connecticut State University (Sport and Leisure Management), Ismael was a four year member of the Warriors baseball team. He recorded a record 13 triples in 2007 as a junior right fielder and led the team in steals (14), helped lead the team to the Division 3 World Series. Ismael assisted at various camps help by head coach Bill Hollowaty. He also played two years in Puerto Rico after college where he led the team in triples and stolen bases. As a Senior captain, he helped lead Manchester high school to the state tournament under former Eastern CT Graduate Paul Winarski. As a Junior was all conference as a center fielder and pitched. Ismael conducts lessons in hitting and fielding

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To schedule a lesson with one of our instructors, please call Baseball City - 860-527-CITY