Staten Island resident finds a baseball home in Brooklyn

9Mendez.jpgJoe Mendez led St. Josephâs College with 18 extra-base hits and 31 RBIs this past season.

TOTTENVILLE -- When Joe Mendez attended Monsignor Farrell High School, he played lacrosse, not baseball.

It’s not that he didn’t want to, it just didn’t work out for the Tottenville resident at the Oakwood school.

He’s gotten a chance to play at St. Joseph’s College in Brooklyn these past two seasons, and the fledgling Division III program couldn’t be happier with the results.

Mendez, a power-hitting righty, helped St. Joseph’s to a season-ending four-game winning streak which allowed the fifth-year program to finish at 18-17 — its first .500 or better season.

Mendez played a big role in that success, and not just a 4-for-7 performance which included four RBIs and two doubles in a season-ending sweep of Yeshiva.

The talented outfielder hit .360 and led the Bears with 18 extra-base hits, including 13 doubles and three homers, both team bests. He had 31 RBIs which also led the team and an impressive .568 slugging percentage.

“He’s a good baseball player and we are very happy to have him,” said Dongan Hills resident and assistant coach Jerry Sidman.

Mendez came to St. Joseph’s through the efforts of former College of Staten island standout Bobby Glennerster, a Bears’ assistant at the time. The Great Kills resident was very familiar with Mendez, having coached him in his Dynasty travel baseball program.

Glennerster left St. Joseph’s to take the head coaching job at NYU-Polytechnic but Mendez enrolled at St. Joseph’s.

“He came in as a first baseman and we played him there early on, but he really is a natural left-fielder,” said Sidman. “He finished freshman year there and has become our best outfielder.

“He tracks balls down and catches everything in sight,” added Sidman. “He has an above-average arm and runs pretty well for a big guy and, despite us having to move him to right field this season, he continues to do everything we need.”

As good as he has been in the outfield, it is with his bat that he makes the most noise.

As a freshman, he led the team with 32 RBIs, hit .319 with a .504 slugging percentage and .371 on-base percentage. He was named to the Association of Division 3 Independents (AD3I) All-Independent first team.

Sidman expects that honor to be duplicated shortly and feels Mendez can even get better.

“The times that he struggled this year he just didn’t make the adjustments quick enough,” said the coach. “We feel that if he continues to mature as a player, there is no telling what he could do, and what level he could reach.”

St. Joseph’s, which loses just two players to graduation, is hopeful it can reap the benefits of that improvement next year and continue its upward climb.

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