Family matters for Madison Park baseball, where five schools have banded together to build something
For Madison Park baseball, playing like family is a non-negotiable.
So when starting shortstop Raymond Nunezlost his grandmother, Maria, to pancreatic cancer in late April, his teammates did not hesitate to put something meaningful together.
After the Cardinals shut out East Boston, 11-0, on April 27, they hurriedly packed up their gear and ventured over to Maria’s wake.
All 23 players arrived in full uniform, their cardinal-red jerseys smeared with faded dirt, and embraced Nunez one by one.
“It completely caught me by surprise,” said Nunez. “I started to tear up as I saw the first guy, and then I saw the whole line of them. It was just a surreal moment. It was like a movie scene.”
With players on the co-op roster representing five high schools in the city — Madison Park, Fenway, Snowden, Dearborn STEM, and Josiah Quincy Upper School — that family atmosphere is essential.
“We take family very seriously,” senior captain Cesar Casado Jr. said. “These past two years, we haven’t been the best, but we’ve seen how not being together led us to some losses. Us being together, as one, is everything.”
Being their best is what the Cardinals (13-1) attained this spring — albeit Muniz Academy ruined their perfect regular season in Wednesday’s finale with a 6-5 comeback win.
“Would we have taken that record at the beginning of the year?” Madison Park coach Joe DeVeau said. “Absolutely. So we feel great about where we are.”
Going to a Madison Park game is an experience that lies somewhere between a party and a baseball contest.
All but one player on the Cardinals’ roster is of Spanish descent — primarily Dominican — and the dugout is infused with that culture.
“We just like to bring the energy, be loud,” Nunez said. “Our culture, we just like to have fun with it. At the end of the day, we do it to hype each other up. It connects us.”
Most of the time, DeVeau and assistant coach Zach Davis, who work together in “lockstep,” don’t have a clue what their players are saying, but it sounds really cool.
“I think the love of baseball overrides that,” Davis said. “I think the other thing is, the bottom line, these kids are all great ballplayers. The record shows that.”
The 6-foot-5-inch Casado is a menacing batter due his sheer power; his seven home runs, 29 RBIs, and .694 batting average are a testament to that.
Excelling on the basketball court this past winter has made a tremendous impact on his overall psyche.
“He’s always been a talented player, but going into the box confident this year, the sky is the limit for that kid,” Davis said.
On the other side of Madison Park’s turf field in Roxbury is a softball diamond, and across Ruggles Street from the fence in left field is a row of brick houses.
When Casado comes to the plate, those houses are in danger of getting pelted, which has happened on several occasions.
“I mean, the kid’s got so much raw talent, but now he’s playing loose,” DeVeau said. “Success breeds confidence, and he just knows what he wants to do when he goes up to the plate. More often than not, he executes every time.”
Nunez, batting .324 with 13 RBIs and 14 runs, reminds DeVeau of Derek Jeter at short because of his baseball IQ and the way he controls the infield.
Read more Eastern Mass. baseball: Players of the Week for May 7-13
Sophomore Handy Castillo (.526 batting average, 16 RBIs, 26 runs), a spitfire center fielder, has a rocket for an arm, and he’s blazing fast when in pursuit of the ball.
“He just runs around like his hair is on fire,” DeVeau said.
The leadership core rounds out with Alberto Taveras (.528 BA, 2 HR, 20 RBIs), who can play anywhere in the infield, and catcher Saul De la Rosa, a workhorse.
“He tells the kids, ‘I need you to run through a wall for me,’ ” Davis said. “He’ll do anything for the team.”
On the mound, Taveras (1.27 ERA), Casado (1.62 ERA), and junior Maikol Arias (2.50 ERA) keep a firm grip on opposing lineups.
In comparison to a number of other programs in the state,resources are not plentiful for Madison Park. The Cardinals’ makeshift warm-up bat, which has torn-up fabric taped to the end of the barrel for extra weight, is an example.
But that has never been a distraction nor a hindrance to the players’ performance.
If anything, they are grateful they have something that some other teams do not — a family.
“I mean, I’ve seen teams that have $600 dollar bats and all the swag,” DeVeau said. “We had to buy our own hats this year, and the kids bought their own pants. These kids are just ballplayers, and you could put them in shorts and T-shirts and they’ll still play the game the right way: together.”
Extra bases
▪ Good news, Super 8 fans. On Wednesday, the MIAA’s board of directors approved the return of the Division 1A tournament for baseball, beginning in spring 2027.
The tournament, which previously ran from 2014-19, has a few tweaks. The eight qualifiers will be selected based on the MIAA power rankings, from across all five divisions.
For example, this year the current field, based off Tuesday’s power rankings, would be: BC High (Division 1), Hamilton-Wenham (D4), St. Mary’s (D2), Bishop Feehan (D1), Catholic Memorial (D1), Natick (D1), North Reading (D3), and St. John’s of Shrewsbury (D1).
The new tournament will do away with the old double-elimination format, instead moving to a best-of-three for the first-round matchups, with each team guaranteed a home game. After that, the four advancing teams would play semifinals, with the championship game joining the current five state title games at Polar Park.
▪ Shawsheen captured an impressive sixth-straight Commonwealth crown Wednesday. St. Mary’s is also a Catholic Central champion for the second-straight season. Bridgewater-Raynham clinched the Pioneer Athletic Conference title Wednesday.
Games to watch
Friday, North Reading at Hamilton-Wenham, 6 p.m. — The unbeaten Generals face perhaps their toughest task yet — a Hornets team that sits atop the Division 3 power rankings.
Friday, No. 11 Reading at Winchester, 6:15 p.m. — A key clash atop the Middlesex League — the Rockets won a 2-1 duel in the prior meeting.
Monday, No. 4 Natick at No. 6 Walpole, 4 p.m. — A huge Bay State Conference matchup between the Carey Division-leading Redhawks and the Herget Division-leading Timberwolves.
Wednesday, No. 7 Braintree at No. 13 Milton, 4 p.m. — A second meeting between these Bay State rivals, with the Wamps claiming a 4-3 win April 13 in the prior matchup.
Thursday, No. 2 St. John’s (Shrewsbury) at No. 1 BC High, 4 p.m. — Rescheduled from a rainout, this game isn’t just between the top two teams in the Globe’s Top 20, it’ll also decide the Catholic Conference title, as they’re both 7-2 in league play.
Globe correspondent Mike Puzzanghera contributed to this report.
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