Who here would run full-speed through a fence for the team? I’ll wait.
Just after 2:30 p.m. this past Sunday, May 15, on a field hidden behind Little Vincent’s of Lake Ronkonkoma, right fielder Kevin Petrullo, 26, chased down a first-inning liner on a hit-and-run, then doubled off the baserunner at second with a blazingly accurate “rifle” for a throwing arm.
Thankfully for the Long Island Crush of the Long Island Stan Musial Baseball League, this was not Petrullo’s first experience with a firearm. Not by a longshot.
With four generations of Veterans preceding him in his family, Petrullo always knew serving his country wasn’t just something he wanted to do; it was something he would do when the timing was right.
On January 21, 2018, he made it official. The slugger was now a soldier.
At the top of this year, Petrullo was honorably discharged from his Army duties four years to the date he began them. During his tenure as a Signal Support System specialist, he operated and maintained battlefield communication systems. For his efforts, Petrullo received: the Army Achievement Medal; the Army Commendation Medal; the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; the Good Conduct Medal; and the biggest hug imaginable from his best friend when he touched back down in “the 631.”
“The Army gave Kev an invaluable experience and provided a clear picture of what matters most to him,” said Nick D’Antonio, 26, of Hauppauge. The pair became fast friends as “New York Metropolitan grit”- wielding neighbors when Petrullo first moved to Hauppauge over a decade ago.
“Going through it pushed him to be who he is today. We’re ecstatic that he’s back around these parts. Ultimately, he’s doing his thing and is damn happy doing it. That right there is the best part for me,” D’Antonio added.
Post-Army, Petrullo’s “thing” means spending the precious free time he has between continued career advancement with his family. His girlfriend. His “day ones” since day one at Hauppauge. And his game one and game two brothers in Crush orange, gold, and navy blues since day one after graduating high school.
“After four years being off the diamond, it felt great to be back out there with some of the same guys I started with,” said Petrullo. “To have the same team chemistry, and motivate one another to eventually win the first game 3-2 with a 2-out, 2-run walk off hit? It was awesome.”
On the split double-header day, Petrullo sent a charge into a few pitches right at some defenders before a bullet eventually found a hole in right-centerfield, his first base knock as a Crush regular once more – following military travels that brought him as far as Germany, Poland, Turkey and Kuwait.
Aptly so, there is never anything too daunting for someone who becomes the life of every room they walk into. Whether it’s running 20 miles in the desert, or running 20 metaphorical “poles” as repercussion for breaking everyone on the team’s bat, you know Kevin’s doing it with a superlative-snubbed ear-to-ear smile.
“I’ve lost count,” said Petrullo, notorious for rendering his friends’ offensive weapons irrevocably nil. “I am glad none of the guys keep a tab of the damage because I’m sure I would’ve been their number-one customer on Venmo or PayPal.”
Never say never, Kevin.
As D’Antonio indicated, when the funnyman traded his boyhood lumber for an Uncle Sam-issued upgrade, those closest to him took notice at how the experience turned a good guy into a great man.
“Kevin’s military training developed him into a fine and outstanding adult, and further built the strong character already in him,” said Petrullo’s grandfather, Steve Black (pictured left of Kevin above), a Physical Education teacher and baseball coach within the Hauppauge School District from 1970-2005.
Of the infinite life lessons he accrued during his time in the Army, Petrullo himself singled out one among the rest: “In the Army, you ‘get comfortable with being uncomfortable.’”
One place Petrullo doesn’t look uncomfortable? The ballfield; especially at his team’s Lake Ronkonkoma County Park / “Baymen Field” stomping grounds.
“Kev is no doubt one of my all-time favorite teammates,” said Nicky Martin, 26, of Nesconset. With Petrullo now back in the dugout after the four-year hiatus, he and Martin are a few of the Crush roster leftovers from the inaugural 2015 club that saw Petrullo begin as the 12-batter and end in the 3-hole. The following year, both were standout members of the Crush’s National Junior Baseball League – 20-Year-Old Division “worst to first” championship run.’
“Not only does he bring power and athleticism to the team, he brings an energy no one else can. He’s clearly built different. I’m extremely excited to have him back in the dugout and I look forward to the season ahead,” Martin added.
Another member of the first Crush regime and the most recent noted the difference between “high school Kev” and “men’s league Kev,” citing the “sense of leadership” he’s exhibited since even before enlisting in the Army.
“Kevin is very grounded in himself, confident, and has matured over the years; tremendously so,” said Sean Prahalis, 26, a Commack High School history teacher and fellow Hauppauge ‘14 grad.
Despite his reputation as everyone’s favorite teammate, Petrullo saw virtually no playing time on his high school teams – merely tolerated as the raw skill-setted afterthought. But with enough reps, Petrullo doesn’t defy odds. He proves there was no reason to doubt him to begin with. Opportunities were simply denied for curious reasons.
“As a past varsity baseball coach, I see the love he continues to have for the game, and even though he’s had coaches who basically quit on him, he never quit on himself,” his grandfather said. “He continues to play because he loves to.”
For others like Kevin who’ve been in a similar situation, it’s imperative they too resist being manipulated into walking out the door when shown it. If there’s one flaw in an otherwise flawless baseball film, it’s that 2011’s Moneyball supposes “we’re all told we can no longer play the child’s game.”
Long Island Stan Musial Baseball League President Jimmy Rose, of Selden, emphatically begs to differ.
“I can relate to every kid who sits on the bench. I was that kid that never got the chance to play,” Rose, the driving force of the premier competitive men’s league for 18-and-over Long Island local baseball lifers, recalled. “So now, 50 years later I run LISMBL, where my goal is to make it an enjoyable experience and outlet to create memories for everyone who loves the game, whatever level you play at. I can’t begin to tell you the enjoyment a player gets from getting a chance to play the game they love. Kevin Petrullo is that kid all-grown-up. The next man up. In addition to his service to our country, he’s enjoying playing baseball and at an All-Star level. This is what it is all about!”
Many disillusioned by the political racket youth baseball can become at times also point to the tiredness of misguided coaches likening the heat of athletic battle to “war,” as if they’d know what true wartime was all about.
Having dressed in both baseball pants and Army-certified camouflage, Petrullo actually finds it somewhat understandable. “It’s more so a (similar) mental battle,” Petrullo noted, “if you let it be.” “I’ve always been an aggressive competitor since I was a kid so I like to envision each at-bat or batter I’m facing on the mound as a 1-on-1 fight. I’m putting forth my best effort against another guy’s best effort and I am looking to come out on top against him.”
Who here would spend the better part of their 20s in the Army, throw themselves into multiple new lines of work upon coming home when most others would quicker relax for a red-hot minute, and still find time to get back to crushing baseballs?
I know who. And I would take that guy in a head-to-head over anyone else. Because he’s not just playing for the right reasons. He’s playing for the only reason: to play. “Crush on three, Crush on three; 1, 2, 3..”
#Crushtape.
