Pirate Postcard - Papaccio/Terhune
7/2/2013 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MESA/TEMPE, ARIZ. – For six members of the 2013 Seton Hall baseball team, their dreams of playing professional baseball came true last month. After playing organized baseball for more than a decade, two former Pirates, Giuseppe Papaccio (Nutley, N.J.) and Greg Terhune (Washington, N.J.) began their professional careers separated by just seven miles in Arizona.
Seton Hall’s summer postcard series brings us to Arizona, Mesa and Tempe to be exact, to visit with two recent baseball alumni.
In 2013, Papaccio had one of the finest offensive seasons in Seton Hall history. Unanimously named a First Team All-BIG EAST selection and New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association’s (NJCBA) Player of the Year, he finished ranked third in the BIG EAST with a .365 batting average and led the conference in doubles. Further showing his prowess for the two-base hit, Papaccio set Seton Hall’s career record with 56 doubles and tied Kim’s single-season Pirate record with 24. Two national entities recognized him as a Third Team All-American.
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| | Greg Terhune (left) and Giuseppe Papaccio |
Papaccio was drafted in the 18th round of the Major League Baseball
First-Year Draft by the Chicago Cubs on June 8. The shortstop was designed to the franchise’s rookie team, the Arizona League Cubs in Mesa, Arizona.
After spending much of his time as a reliever in the prior three seasons, Terhune became one of the most dominant weekend starters in the BIG EAST in 2013. A First Team All-NJCBA selection, he led Seton Hall’s regular starters with a 2.33 ERA, tied for fifth-best in the BIG EAST, and a .218 opponent batting average, tied for fourth-best. The 6-foot-5 left-hander pitched as primarily the Pirates’ Saturday starter and tied for the team lead with seven wins.
Terhune wasn’t selected in the MLB Draft, but signed a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Angels less than a week later. He too, was designed to the franchise’s rookie team, the Arizona League Angels in Tempe, Arizona.
PLAYING IN ARIZONA
“It’s extremely hot,” Papaccio said. “It was 117 degrees yesterday. You get used to it eventually, but it’s a lot hotter than I thought it would be. We do mandatory early work two hours before we take batting practice, so by 3 or 4 pm, we’re out on the field and that’s the hottest part of the day. Fortunately, all of our games are at night, so it’s a little better then.”
“The heat takes a lot of getting used to,” Terhune said. “The last three days it’s been 115 degrees plus. It’s a dry heat, but it feels like someone is blowing a hairdryer on your face when you step outside.”
BIGGEST DIFFERENCE VS. THE COLLEGE GAME
“Two big differences stick out to me in terms of the pro game vs. the college game,” Papaccio said. “First, the pitchers are throwing much harder than most of those we saw in college. It’s not just their fast ball that is impressive, but they have extremely good off-speed pitches. They’ll throw a fastball in the mid-90s and then a hard slider at 83. The pitchers you see every night here are all Friday night starters in the BIG EAST… maybe even better. Secondly, the speed of the players is amazing. It takes some getting used to when playing the field. Every throw has to be hard and quick to first.”
PUTTING ON THE UNIFORM
“Putting that uniform on for the first time was such an amazing feeling,” Terhune said. “What an incredible honor. To be able to say I’m a part of the Los Angeles Angels organization, especially after not getting drafted, means so much to me. The Angels gave me a huge opportunity and I couldn’t be happier to be here.”
FAR FROM HOME
“It’s tough playing so far away, because no one can see the games,” Papaccio said. “There’s no web feed and we’re three hours behind New Jersey, so the games are ending early in the morning and most family and friends don’t know how I’ve done because they end so late.”
“It’s different playing so far away from home, but I’m really glad I played summer baseball in California last summer,” Terhune said. “This is kind of a second go around for me. It’s been weird getting used to the time difference, but everyone has been very supportive and I’ve been able to keep everyone updated over the phone.”
A SURPRISE VISITOR
“My dad paid me a surprise visit for my second game of the season,” Terhune said. “I had talked to him earlier in the day, but he didn’t answer the first time, and he called me back and told me he was out mowing the lawn. That night we got to the stadium and I’m warming up down the left field line when someone pointed towards the stands and I saw my dad hanging over the left field fence. It was great to have him there, because he saw my first professional appearance.”
On the field, both former Pirates are making a positive impression on their coaches and teammates. Papaccio has been a regular in the middle of the Cubs’ batting order, while starting at shortstop. Through July 1, he’s batting .286 with a triple and three RBIs in eight games.
“We have a bunch of infielders, so we rotate and give others a chance to play,” Papaccio said. “But I’ve really tried not to change anything. “My approach at the plate has been the same and I’ve been fortunate enough to see positive results so far. The coaches have appreciated my work ethic and like what I’m doing so far.”
Terhune had a rocky first professional appearance, but bounced back in a big way with four shutout innings, while giving up just one hit in his first professional win in his second career appearance.
“It was a tight game,” Terhune said. “My first outing didn’t go the way I wanted to, but it was great to bounce back. I entered in the eighth inning and we were down by one run, and we were on the road. We scored in the top of the ninth to tie it and my coach told me I was going back out there. I threw two more scoreless innings and then we put up a four spot in the top of the 11th and I was able to work a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the 11th to earn my first professional win. It was an amazing experience.”
PLAYING EACH OTHER
“It was awesome. We played G’s team in our first game,” Terhune said. “I just played a whole college season with him and then my first game as a professional is against my college teammate and very good friend. It was really cool to have him there. It was also cool to see him in a different uniform, a professional uniform, and he actually got his first professional hit, a single up the middle, against us. Afterwards I went to see him and congratulate him. I was so happy for him.”
“We’ve got to find an off day so we can go and hang out, because Greg’s only 15 minutes away,” Papaccio said. “He’s having fun out there. It’s awesome to have a familiar face on the other side. It was our first game of the season that we played the Angels. Greg was there to see my first professional hit and he was really nice afterward congratulating me.”
“Unfortunately, we don’t have cars out here, so it’s hard to meet up when you’re playing every day, but we’re hoping to meet up on a day off sometime soon,” Terhune said.
Both the Cubs and the Angels play a 56-game schedule that will keep Papaccio and Terhune busy through the end of August. Both hope that promotions are in order down the line to a higher level of professional baseball. But for now, they are elated to be doing what they love for a living.
“Playing baseball for my profession… it’s a dream come true,” Terhune said. “It’s weird to say that I’m playing professional baseball and it’s my job. I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else and I’m just having a great time.”
