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08/17/2017 12:00 AMGianni Mumford didn’t play for the East Haven High School baseball team this year, but he still turned in a successful season on the diamond. After previously competing for the Hamden Yard Dogs and Connecticut Grind in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), Gianni spent the season playing in the Pony Division of the Foxon Rec League. Gianni had a great year for his squad, Shoreline Orthodontics, and now he wants to bottle that momentum and take it into the 2018 spring season, when he will look to land a spot on the Yellowjackets.
“I didn’t play for the high school team as a freshman. No AAU teams play [in the spring], because of the high school season, so I decided to join the Foxon Rec League,” Gianni says. “I hope I do my best on the field and make the high school team. I’m going to try my hardest and, hopefully, do better than I expect.”
Gianni started playing baseball when he was seven and skipped T-ball all together. Once he got on the field, Gianni quickly fell in love with the game.
“It’s been a passion for me since I was a kid. I wasn’t interested in another sport at all,” says Gianni. “It’s not an easy sport and not everybody can play. You need to be very talented to hit a 90-mile-per-hour fastball. I’d like to do that, and that’s what has inspired me.”
The Foxon Rec League’s Pony Division features players who are aged 13 to 17. Gianni’s coach Ed Strosnick liked what he saw in terms of Gianni’s skill set, and that’s why he selected him as the top pick in this year’s draft.
“There were three kids in our draft that I knew could make a difference, but he was a true shortstop. We needed a shortstop and this kid, he’s the real deal,” says Strosnick. “He had an incredible year playing short and pitching. He pitched 30 straight scoreless innings and didn’t make an error all year.”
Gianni lit up the Pony Division, while helping Shoreline Orthodontics win its league title with a record of 16-4. At the plate, Gianni batted .731 with seven home runs, 49 RBI, 41 runs scored, seven doubles, and six triples. On the mound, he gave up just four earned runs in 48 innings pitched with 110 strikeouts.
“Those two hours during games, I try to make them my hardest working,” says Gianni. “I don’t give anything other than 100 percent.”
Even with all of the success that Gianni saw this spring, Coach Strosnick says he was impressed by the fact that it didn’t go to his head.
“The best thing about the kid is that he’s one of the quietest kids on the team. He’s the best kid in the league, but based on his body language, you’d never know,” Strosnick says. “He never missed a practice and, during games, he’d go after it. The kid has great work ethic, great desire, and just brings it. It’s amazing. I can’t say enough good things about the kid.”
As evidenced by his error-free season, Gianni thrived at the shortstop position this year. Gianni made the move from third base to short a few years ago and has become quite comfortable there.
“I used to play third base, because I had a strong arm. As I progressed, I started to play shortstop, because of my athleticism and range from left to right,” Gianni says. “At first, I was uncomfortable, but I got adjusted to it. Now, I feel very comfortable playing shortstop.”
Although he’s solid on the mound, Gianni says that he prefers playing the field, and likes that has such a big impact on the game as a shortstop. Gianni is also aggressive whenever he’s in the batter’s box, and that approach worked like a charm this year.
“I love pitching, but I’d rather play shortstop,” says Gianni. “At the plate, I don’t need to take the first strike. If I see something, I go after it. I don’t like to take any pitches. I’m going to swing if I like the pitch.”