Vitali was first Leopard to be selected in MLB draft
Submitted photo
Tom Vitale has the distinction of being the first baseball player from Belle Vernon Area High School to be selected in the Major League Baseball Draft back in 1975.
Vitale, a left-handed hurler, got an early start in athletics.
“Growing up in Western Pennsylvania athletics was about all we had,” Vitale recalled. “I played Little League, Pony League and then high school, American Legion and even after I graduated from college I kept playing.
“My other sport in high school was golf. I was on the golf team. Back then golf was in the spring and so was baseball, so I would go back and forth. On games that I would pitch I would go with the baseball team and then otherwise I would play on the golf team. We had a pretty good golf team back then.”
Vitale made his mark at Belle Vernon on the baseball diamond playing for the late Don Asmonga.
“I basically was a pitcher for the Leopards,” Vitale said. “I was not that good of a hitter. I was better on the mound than I was in the batter’s box. I played a little bit of first base as a lefty, but I basically was a pitcher.
“I was a little guy. I was actually known as the little left-hander. My size was 5-foot-7, 170 pounds. I did not grow until I went to college.”
Belle Vernon baseball was middle of the pack early in Vitale’s career. During his senior campaign BVA challenged Charleroi for the Section 15 title. The race went down to the last game of the regular season with Charleroi nipping the Leopards by one game in the standings. Charleroi finished with a record of 14-2 and Belle Vernon ended up 13-3.
Vitale had a breakout season that helped propel the Leopards into contention.
The diminutive Vitale was a strikeout pitcher.
“I had a pretty good fastball,” Vitale offered. “Looking over my numbers I broke the Belle Vernon record of 18 strikeouts in a seven-inning game. That was against Uniontown. My trademark was I had a big leg kick in my pitching motion. One of the games I lost late that season was a 5-1 defeat by Laurel Highlands and that’s how we wound up in second place.
“That senior year was the best year for the team while I was in high school. I relied on the fastball, but I had a curveball and a change up. We had some good players on that team my senior year, like Jake Krebbs, Mickey Susick, Mark Laerio and Ronny Quinto come to mind.”
Vitale posted a 6-2 record for Belle Vernon in 1975 with a sparkling 1.60 ERA. He tossed one 1-hitter and two 2-hitters that season.
Vitale was a standout hurler for the Fayette City team in American Legion baseball under the guidance of the legendary Jim Russell.
After finishing second to Connellsville two years in a row, Fayette City broke through to capture the American Legion title in 1974 behind the pitching duo of Vitale and Dean Cain. In doing so Vitale caught the eye of Connellsville coach Herman Welsh, who was the area scout for the Baltimore Orioles. That led to the O’s inviting Vitale down to Baltimore for a tryout.
Vitale was an Fayette American Legion All Star and pitched against the Washington-Greene County All Stars.
“Welsh drove me to a tryout at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore,” explained Vitale. “I pitched two innings and it was a collection of players from the whole Atlantic seaboard. We had a rainstorm and we had to postpone the tryout. The following day we went to the University of Maryland’s field to complete the tryout.”
Vitale showed the Orioles enough that he was selected in the 14th round of the 1975 Major League Baseball Draft.
“Being in the 14th round, I was not going to command much money,” Vitale stated. “The bonus was like $1,000 dollars and the rookie salary was $500 a month. I had a full $40,000 scholarship to play baseball at Clemson.
“Plus, I could be drafted again my junior year. The gateway to Clemson was my association with the Orioles. I met a scout during my tryout, he talked to the coach at Clemson. Ironically, it was the Orioles that forged my ticket to Clemson.”
Things didn’t go well for Vitale at Clemson.
“I caught a severe case of mononucleosis and that was followed up by shoulder surgery,” Vitale said. “I ended up transferring to Ohio University and after a red shirt year I played through 1980 at Ohio U. My junior year we were very competitive, we had three players who went on to sign pro contracts.
“My senior year we were middle of the pack. I concluded my college career in 1980. I was a math major.”
Vitale returned to Western Pennsylvania after graduating from Ohio U and worked for Westinghouse. He moved to California in 1985, working in the Tech industry in Silicon Valley as a programmer for various companies. He retired from Dell Technologies in September, 2022.
Vitale, 66, resides in Pleasant Hill in the San Francisco Bay area with his partner of 23 years, Vicki Hill. Vitale is divorced and has one child from that marriage,a daughter Karina. He has two grandchildren, a boy and a girl.
Looking back Vitale is pleased.
“I have been blessed in life,” Vitale said.
George Von Benko’s “Memory Lane” column appears in the Sunday editions of the 无毛视频-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.