The St. Joseph’s University baseball team is like most Division III squads from the Northeast getting ready for the season, eagerly looking to shake the rust off from a winter indoors.

That was the case Tuesday afternoon, as the Bears of Brooklyn roused from that hibernation and took to the diamond at the Verrazzano Babe Ruth League complex in Sea View, being put through their paces by first-year manager and Annadale resident John Downey.

The campaign was slated to begin this past Saturday, but frigid temperatures nixed that, pushing the lid lifter to this Friday at New Jersey City U. in Jersey City. If anything, it’s made the Bears a little more antsy while increasing that sense of optimism that pervades the team.

“I’m super excited,” said four-year starting catcher and captain Nick Tapio, a native of Sacramento, Calif. “This is a program on the rise. There’s been a culture change here.”

Credit the no-nonsense Downey for much of that. The former St. Peter’s HS assistant JV coach and retired NYPD sergeant is “a firm believer in finishing what you start” as evidenced by getting his degree online from Molloy College, a two-year process that ended this past January, some 24 years after leaving school for the police academy following the Tommy John surgery that derailed his playing career.

After being hired by the Skyline Conference university last July, one of the first calls he made was to one of his former players with the Eagles, someone cut from the same cloth as Downey.

SEDUTTO’S STORY

During his junior year pitching for Fairleigh Dickinson in Madison, N.J., Danny Sedutto began experiencing headaches. An MRI in October of 2021 revealed that his skull was too small for his brain, a condition he had been born with, a situation “that would only get worse, so I would have to get it corrected,” recalled Sedutto.

A scary-sounding procedure called Chiari malformation decompression surgery performed by Dr. Ronit Gilad at S.I. University Hospital North in Ocean Breeze followed on July 12, 2022. And then a second operation 15 days later. In between, Sedutto had a bout with chemical meningitis, a side effect of the first operation.

In all, part of Sedutto’s skull was removed along with his C-1 and C-2 vertebrae. A patch was used to allow fluid from around the brain to flow freely and relieve pressure. Amazingly, four months later, Sedutto was given the OK to do cardio. Two months after that, in January of 2023, he was cleared to lift weights and perform baseball activities.

Then on April 7 at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pa., he returned to the mound to record the final out for the Bears. “It was an emotional roller coaster that day,” said Sedutto, who now lives in Farmingdale, N.J. “I had a lot of adrenaline pumping. My emotions were running so high. Getting back to that point was not fun.”

CALL FROM DOWNEY

Sedutto would wrap up his playing career with one more appearance, recording two outs on Senior Day. He would go on to graduate from FDU in May of last year before receiving that surprise call from Downey to be his pitching coach for the 2024 campaign.

“I knew his coaching style from having played for him, so I knew what it would take to get ready for the season,” said Sedutto. “As someone who had just graduated, I could bridge the gap between Coach John and the players. I know what it’s like to be in their shoes.”

“He’s different, someone very fresh,” said senior southpaw Thomas Gamba-Ellis of Neptune, N.J., tabbed as Friday’s starter in the opener. “Dan’s only one year older than me. He understands the new wave of pitching. And he has good communication skills. He’s easy to talk to.”

Sedutto also knows when to be quiet, such as when he’s coaching right-hander Jake McDonald. The senior side-armer has a highly unorthodox delivery, tossing the ball to the plate like a shot putter.

“I never knew anyone like that,” said Sedutto of McDonald and his funky motion. “But as long as he’s getting outs, that’s the most important thing.”

“As a pitcher, Dan knows what we’re going through. And because he’s so young, he relates to us,” said McDonald, who hails from Lynbrook, N.Y. “I know he and the other coaches like [the delivery] because it gives the hitter a different look. It makes them feel uncomfortable.”

PROMISING FUTURE

Sedutto’s rapport with the players hasn’t gone unnoticed by assistant coach Robert Muccio, who doubles as president of the Cadets Baseball Club, a travel program Sedutto played with growing up.

“It’s nice to be reunited with Danny and with John,” said Muccio, who also coached at St. Peter’s for several years before becoming an assistant at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn. “It’s great to see how Danny has matured, and it’s going to be fun watching him grow as a coach. He brings something different than us older guys. His future is bright.”

“I think it’s a good opportunity for Danny and our players,” said Downey. “He’s an aggressive kid, a go-getter. I think within five years, he’ll become a head coach somewhere.

“Definitely the No. 1 reason why I brought Danny in was because he’s a hard worker. He’s someone who, if he falls down, gets back up. I don’t believe in ‘can’t’ and neither does he.”

Sedutto – who purposely has a short haircut to show off the scar above the back of his neck so that people know his story – knows being a rookie pitching coach “isn’t an easy job. But compared to brain surgery, this is like a walk in the park.”