Lehigh University Athletics
Backyard and beyond
4/23/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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By Don Bostrom
Of the Morning Call
Mark and Greg Angelo have come a long way since the days when they used to pretend they were John Kruk, Lenny Dykstra or Chipper Jones while playing Wiffle ball against each other in their backyard in Quakertown.
Mark, a senior first baseman, has overcome being cut as a freshman to become a
Greg, a sophomore pitcher for Lehigh, has held foes to a .197 batting average and is 1-2 with a 3.09 ERA in eight games.
Each credits those backyard showdowns and the patience, love and commitment of their dad, Ed, for the development of their baseball skills.
''The two things he loves in this world are his family and baseball,'' Mark said ''Put those two together, it's a deadly combination. He's taught us both so much over the years.''
Mark was 7 and Greg 5 when they became hooked on baseball by watching the exploits of the 1993 Phillies with their dad.
Ed Angelo surprised and confused his kids one day when he brought home a bag of plastic golf balls and told them to use them in their backyard games.
''We didn't understand why, but we did it,'' Mark said. ''The next Little League game we played, the baseball looked the size of a beach ball.''
Greg said they used a bucket for a strike zone and would ''pelt each other'' with the golf balls.
''It made for a dominating game for the pitcher,'' Greg said. ''But it did help our batting eye.''
It didn't take long for Greg to become Mark's teammate at
On Opening Day 2003, they were playing games on adjoining fields at
Mark's varsity game was interrupted by a long smash from the other diamond. Greg, a freshman, had smoked a monster home run in the junior varsity game.
''I thought, 'He'll be with us tomorrow,' '' Mark recalled. ''And, he was.''
Mark's enthusiasm was soon curbed when Greg replaced him in the Panthers' pitching rotation.
''To be honest, it was very tough on me at first having my kid brother take my spot,'' Mark confessed.
''I soon realized it's not a fluke, get used to it and give him credit where it's due. In the long run, it made me mature as a ballplayer and as a person. It made me step back and say, 'Hey, I am not competing against him. Let's both do well. Let's concentrate on us both helping the team.' ''
Mark used that maturity to cope with the disappointment of being cut while attempting to make the Bucknell squad as a walk-on his freshman year.
''I used my frustration and anger as motivation,'' he said. ''I worked harder than ever and came back 20 percent stronger in the fall.''
He earned a spot and posted averages of .364 and .287 his first two years.
''My goal is to hit the ball hard twice every game,'' Mark, a 6-2, 195-pound left-handed hitter, said. ''If you hit the ball hard, you are doing your job.''
Greg Angelo made a smooth transition to the college game. The 6-1, 180-pound lefty features a slider, a mid-80s fastball and a rapidly improving change-up.
''I love pitching because you're in the middle of the game all the time,'' Greg said. ''And, there's something you can learn about it every single day. It never ends.''
The two had a memorable battle last season when they faced each other for the first time in a real game.
''I let Greg dictate how it would go,'' Mark said. ''If he smiled at me, I'd smile at him. If he was going to be a bulldog out there and treat me like another hitter, I would take it seriously, too.''
Greg was all business.
''It was really weird and nerve-wracking,'' Greg recalled. ''He knew all my pitches because he's been watching me my whole life and he did get the best of me.''
Mark went 2-for-2 off his kid brother, but Greg picked up the win.
''Two hits off any pitcher is quite an accomplishment,'' Mark said. ''To do it off a quality lefty like him, who I think is one of the best young pitchers in the league was a feat for me. Greg is the best, most natural, athletic baseball player I have ever played with.''
Lehigh visits Bucknell this weekend, but Greg's status is doubtful because of a jammed finger on his pitching hand.
Even if there's no rematch, Greg's No. 1 baseball memory was forged with his brother.
''To me, the best day ever was my freshman year in high school when Mark and I each hit a home run in the same game at
Mark envisions a scenario that could top that.
''I'd love to face him again at the next level,'' said Mark, who has been contacted by several professional teams.
If that doesn't pan out, the Angelo brothers can always break out those plastic golf balls for plenty of future showdowns when the family gets together for a barbecue.
This story originally appeared in the Wednesday, April 23, 2008 edition of The Morning Call. Used with permission.
