In a season where the Grand Valley Mustangs had unparalleled team success, it wasn’t quite as easy to define who the top player in Ashtabula County was.
While many could stake claim to carrying the honor of being named Player of the Year, two players rose to the top of that chart – Grand Valley senior Mitchell Lake and Edgewood senior Jeff Imbrogno.
For all they accomplished at the plate, on the bases and in the field the two were named the Star Beacon’s Ashtabula County co-Players of the Year.
Lake was nearly unstoppable at the plate and on the basepaths, stealing 52 bases this season... without being caught.
It seemed that every time I saw Lake hit a single, it was turned into a double or triple because he invariably stole whatever base was left.
It all started with a little offseason motivation.
“From the beginning of the year, one of my friends had led us in steals last year with 28,” Lake recalled. “I would tease him that I was faster and told him I’d get 50.
“Coach (Russ) Bell would let me steal and always said I had it when I wanted it. I just ran whenever I could.”
Conversely, while Lake was stealing bases, Imbrogno was throwing out would-be base stealers.
The senior catcher threw out 79 percent (11-for 14) of those who attempted to steal on him.
While the percentage is absurdly high for a catcher at any level, perhaps the more impressive figure is the fact that only 14 runners tried to steal on him.
Additionally, Imbrogno allowed just one past ball and committed just one error, which came playing third base in the final game of Edgewood’s season.
“For one thing, I felt my pitchers held runners pretty good,” the always humble Imbrogno said. “That’s a big thing. Passed balls – it’s a chemistry thing. I’ve been catching these guys a long time and have become pretty good at knowing when a bad pitch is coming.
“I did think I get a lot of respect for throwing guys out. When they aren’t running it shows respect. I liked that.”
While the two played different positions – Lake pitched and played short while Imbrogno predominantly caught – they played on similar teams.
The Mustangs had a team that sported eight seniors.
Imbrogno and the Warriors also had eight seniors.
“Oh man, I don’t know it’s just been a great run,” Lake said of playing with his fellow seniors and friends. “We started this thing in fourth or fifth grade. We started off by going to state then we finished it up that way.
“It’s been a great eight years together.”
Edgewood didn’t see as much success as GV, but Imbrogno shared similar sentiments about playing with his class one last time.
“It was really special,” he said. “Especially since Coach (Bill) Lipps let (senior, Matt) Burch play. He was a big part of our year, he was always in our group of friends. We never got too tense and we were really cool with each other. It was a big part of our winning.”
If there weren’t enough similarities between this year’s Players of the Year, they both shared a common mentor – Ray Webker.
Lake went to Webker for instruction starting at a young age, while Webker helped volunteer at Edgewood this season.
“Well, the last four years I’ve had a lot of mentors, but I could tell you even further back, Ray Webker was a big influence,” Lake said. “My grandpa, my dad (Doug) always wanted me to hit the ball hard and my mom helping out with fielding, I don’t know how to explain it but she’s always paying attention and helping.
“Coach (Tom) Henson is another one, he’s there no matter what sport it is. And obviously, Coach Bell was important, making sure we had confidence.”
Imbrogno said Webker was an important influence on and off the field for him.
“Ray Webker was really important to me,” he said. “He not only made me a better player but a better person. He’s such a great guy and he taught me so much about hitting, throwing, catching and religiously, too. That (religion) was a big part of it.”
As far as hitting goes, the two players couldn’t have been more similar.
While Lake had more home runs (6), Imbrogno also displayed power (3).
Lake had plenty of more steals (52), but Imbrogno led the Warriors in running (14 steals).
Lake tallied more triples, but Imbrogno put up more doubles and both had comparable RBI totals.
Each had a batting average in the upper-.500s.
This, after the switch to the much-talked about BBCOR bats came out.
Imbrogno for one wasn’t a fan.
“Actually, I thought I was going to hit bad with the bats,” the son of Jeff and Leann Imbrogno said. “It kind of helped me in a way because I stopped thinking about home runs and that was a big thing. I was focused on hitting. I still hit three out; that surprised me.
“But, I hated (the bats). I think they’re trash.”
Lake didn’t make much out of the new bats. He felt regardless of what he was hitting with, it was going to be a successful year.
Part of that was the work he put in during the offseason, namely going to Puerto Rico for a camp to play with some of the top players in and out of the country.
“No doubt, it was important because down there, there are pitchers throwing mid-90s with nasty movement,” he said. “It was helpful to see that and coming back here and using that as a benefit a lot.
“As far as pitching, I was able to throw a lot of strikes this year. Down in Puerto Rico one of the coaches taught me how to work my body in motion to get more speed and velocity. I worked at that and it’s been very helpful.”
While Lake was a leadoff hitter from opening day to the final game of the season, Imbrogno experienced two spots in the Warrior lineup.
He started the season hitting cleanup, sandwiched between 2011 Star Beacon Player of the Year Bobby Dragon and RBI-machine Jimmy Wilson.
But as his average continued to climb as well as his stolen-base totals, Imbrogno moved to the leadoff spot.
Regardless of where he hit, he got on base.
Part of that was the protection Edgewood’s lineup gave him.
“Coach Lipps always told me he wanted me to steal more cuz I can run pretty well, too,” he said. “If I hit behind Bobby I couldn’t run as much. We thought that helped our team because then Bobby would hit me in perfectly.
“It’s a really good feeling no matter where I was in the order because the pitcher won’t pitch around me because he wouldn’t want to pitch to them. That’s always a good thing and nice to have your team pick you up.”
Similarly, Lake (named a second-team All-Ohio infielder) had plenty of protection around him.
Hitting behind him was A.J. Henson and following Henson was a pair of All-Ohio players – Jeromy Rockafellow (all-state honorable mention) and Adam Moodt (first-team all-state).
The bottom of the GV order also provided plenty of help, setting the table for Lake.
“Like if I get on, I knew A.J. rarely strikes out so I knew if I get on, I felt like I can score,” he said. “But, our whole lineup hit the ball, everyone in the lineup still hit the ball. Our walkoff wins came from No. 6, 7 and 8 hitters so that’s a whole lineup with confidence to be able to hit whenever.”
Lake admitted the team’s lack of success at the end of the 2011 season as well as the carryover from a somewhat disappointing football and basketball season helped to motivate he and his fellow seniors.
Grand Valley was by no means unsuccessful in the 2011 baseball season nor in football or basketball, but Lake, and many others, felt they didn’t realize their full potential.
That wasn’t a problem in baseball this spring.
“Everyone says we can go so far in all the sports,” Lake said. “Especially, losing in the first round in basketball it gave us a bunch of motivation in the tournament. It was great, just a little school from Grand Valley getting to go all the way to state.
“So many people, all over the Internet, everywhere recognized us. I went to Warren and I had my GV hat on and people came up to me like, ‘Oh, you’re from there? Do you play baseball?’ They started saying how they’ve been following us and the whole thing was just a crazy experience that it got all over the place.”
Imbrogno also felt his team had underachieved in recent years.
He, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure success was on the way as first-year coach Lipps entered the picture.
Seniors are always leery of starting over with a new coach, especially given the success former-coach Steve Kray had instilled in the program despite having a somewhat down year in 2011.
But, Imbrogno and his fellow seniors were able to welcome in Lipps.
“Well, I was kind of skeptical at first with a new coach, I weren’t sure if we’d gell,” he admitted. “Coach Kray was great, he taught us all in junior high, too. But Coach Lipps came in... we were skeptical, but once we talked, he was really cool and we all gelled.
“So once we met with him, I knew it was going to be a special year. We took a beating last year and we wanted to do something special like a family and I think we did.”
Both Edgewood and Grand Valley’s season ended in disappointment, as all seasons do expect for the four teams that win state titles.
The Warriors fell in a sectional final to NDCL, falling short of a much-anticipated third matchup with rival Jefferson.
Still, Imbrogno deemed the season a success.
“I thought it was successful year just in some big games we didn’t come through, like losing to Conneaut (2-1), we got the defense we needed, we just didn’t hit,” he said. “It was the exact opposite at NDCL. Five runs, you can win with, but when you commit six errors, you can’t.
“Probably beating Jefferson was my favorite memory, though. I’m friends with those guys and it was a special thing to win both games against them, especially coming back in that last inning in the second game. It’s special and really important to us seniors to win those games.”
Lake’s season extended five games longer, culminating in a heartbreaking 2-0 defeat in the Division III state semifinal.
But, as the season went on, he said his team grew closer together and that’s something he’ll always remember.
“I think our run brought everyone a lot closer,” he said. “Half the time, it was kind of segregated like the seniors and juniors. The tournament started and we got those walkoff wins then everyone started like hanging out and all that. We became a lot closer and that was really cool.”
While there are many similarities between the two seniors’ seasons, there is one thing separates Lake from Imbrogno – the color pink.
Huh?
Lake was often seen wearing a pink wristband and batting gloves during the season and even used a pink wood bat at this week’s Star Beacon Senior Classic.
Why? Real men wear pink, according to Lake.
“I don’t really know,” Lake said chuckling at the question of why he wears pink. “It’s just, people say real men can rock pink and all that. Ever sinse basketball, I got the pink head phones I wore before games and it’s just been entertaining to see people’s reaction to it.”
Ironically, Lake will be wearing purple next season when he’s playing at Mount Union for the Purple Raiders.
Imbrogno doesn’t come across as someone who will be wearing anything pink anytime soon, but appearances aren’t always everything.
He doesn’t look to be a base stealer, but displays incredible quickness for his size on the bases and cat-like reflexes behind the plate.
He also has great intelligence, heading to Akron to major in biomolecular engineering, while considering trying out for the baseball team.
“I think I’m going to Akron and going to try and walk on there,” he said. “I’m not sure if I am because of the course load for school will be tough. I’ve always wanted to try out for Lake County Captains, too. That’s always been a dream of mine.”
That’s a big dream, but much of what Imbrogno has set out to do he’s accomplished.
The same with Lake.
That is why it is appropriate that two players who appear so different, but succeed so similarly, are deserving of sharing Ashtabula County Player of the Year honors.
Peluso is a sports writer for the Star Beacon. Reach him at vpeluso@starbeacon.com.
Click here to subscribe to The Star Beacon print edition.
Click here to subscribe to The Star Beacon replica edition.
