It’s not unusual for college athletes to work in restaurants to make some spending money.
Louis Annunziata is no different than many college ballplayers in that regard. He is a freshman catcher on the baseball team at Farmingdale State College and he’s working hard to get a starting job on one of the best Division-III teams in the northeast region that just won 32 games.
What makes his case more interesting is that his family owns “Patrizia’s of Long Island.” If you are from here and you enjoy great food, you are probably familiar with it. They have locations in Hicksville, Massapequa and Hauppauge and have essentially turned every visit into a huge family celebration.
While their business is booming, he has his sights set on his playing career first.
He has always loved the sport of baseball, and knew he wanted to play the game from a very young age. “[I knew from] tee ball that I loved it,” Annunziata said. Annunziata picked up tee ball at the age of three, and credits his coach Anthony Ambrosino as he was the one who use to drive him around to practice and games. “My coach was really the one that made me fall in love with the game.”
Annunziata pursued his passion as he grew up playing baseball with a travel team as well as in high school. He still holds on to the relationships he made in his youth to this day and uses them to improve himself on and off the field. “My travel baseball coach, I definitely still keep in touch with him, he was one of the people that gave me that Farmingdale call as a recommendation,” Annunziata said. From there when he was introduced to what would be his future institution, he knew it was a perfect match for him going forward. “I was lost at one point and didn’t know where I was going to go, but when I found Farmingdale I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the team, coach, facility everything,” Annunziata said.
Annunziata currently does not start for Farmingdale since it is usually hard for incoming freshman to get a consistent spot in the lineup off the bat.
“Very early I didn’t really know anybody on the team so [I] had to show off my ability, because no one knew me I was very curious early on if I was going to be good or bad,” Annunziata said. Even though the transition from high school to his new school wasn’t the smoothest, he got by remembering the lessons that he learned from playing baseball in his younger days and looking at role models in society for guidance. One of his favorite baseball players growing up was Derek Jeter because he played to win and that was always something that Annunziata admired about him and wanted to imitate. “Always put out a good image of yourself because you never know who is watching you,” Annunziata says is another important lesson he learned.
Annunziata didn’t just sit on these lessons he learned, he put them to use as he got ready for the next step in his baseball career. Before the school year started he dropped 35 pounds in order to get in better shape on the playing field. During the spring of last year Annunziata weighed in at 225, but now at a reduced 190 pounds he finds himself feeling better than ever before. “I’m trying to do my best to gain my starting position on the field, as a freshman so I got work really hard,” Annunziata said. “ I’m a catcher so I got to be agile and move around a lot, so taking off that weight definitely give me more mobility.”
Annunziata is dedicated to earn a starting spot on the team and play a bigger role. Not only did he stay dedicated in the weight room, but also with what he put into his body. “ I took all bread and pasta out, basically all carbs, and [took] only protein. I ran almost three miles every day, and worked out and went to the gym,” Annunziata said. Now that the season is about to get in full-swing he has lightened some of the workload in order to maintain the weight and not get to bulky or too thin.
Annunziata realized in middle school that he would want to play baseball professionally when he grows up. Realizing that this is his dream he put in the work in hopes of one day reaching his goal. “ If I do [ever] get the chance to play professionally I would definitely take the chance.”
Off the field Annunziata also has a backup plan in case baseball doesn’t entirely pan out for him. He opted to become a business management major in college as a possible career following in the footsteps of another idol in his life—his father. “ Even though he can be a pain… I know that he is doing it for the better of me and he wants me to be the best that I can be in baseball and life.”
