Printer Friendly Version - Anthony Buffone Plays Wherever the 89ers Need Him

Anthony Buffone uses his versatility to his advantage as a baseball player in East Haven. After primarily playing left field with the high-school team in the spring, Anthony is suiting up at multiple positions with the 89ers’ Senior Legion baseball squad this summer. Photo courtesy of Anthony Buffone

Recent East Haven graduate Anthony Buffone played four years of baseball at the high school and is currently a member of the town’s Senior American Legion baseball team. Anthony has seen time at multiple positions throughout his career and, while he likes playing left field the most, he’s willing to go wherever he’s needed to help his teams succeed.

Prior to starting high school, Anthony typically saw time at catcher, shortstop, and even on the mound. As a member of the Senior Legion team, Anthony is always ready to lend a hand to the 89ers in any way they need him to.

“I shift around a lot. I think for the team, it means a lot,” says Anthony on being versatile. “We don’t have many players, and I’ve had to catch most of our games. Usually, whatever the team needs is what I’m going to play.”

Senior Legion Head Coach John Longley appreciates the versatility that Anthony brings to the diamond. East Haven has a pretty small roster this summer, and so Longley is relying on Anthony’s well-rounded skill set.

“He’s played third base, all of the outfield spots, and caught a few games. We’ve had a little bit of a situation of missing guys, so he filled in at catcher, which has helped us dramatically,” Longley says. “For me, he’s very versatile and comes in handy where, if I get in a tough position, he does not hesitate to help out the team and do whatever he has to do to make sure we can compete. He’s one of those well-rounded players.”

Since he’s been spending so much time behind the plate, Anthony hasn’t yet had the chance to showcase what he can do on the pitcher’s mound with the 89ers. Still, Anthony believes that he can be an effective pitcher if given the opportunity. He features a fastball, a split-finger fastball, and a curveball in his repertoire.

“I’ve always messed around with curveballs from a young age. Watching [Major League Baseball], I just think there’s something really cool about it. I’ve been throwing that for a while, but when I got to high school, I realized I needed a third pitch,” says Anthony. “I was messing around with a changeup, but my [friend and teammate] Nick Kraszewski showed me a splitter, and I’ve just gone with it from there.”

Even though Anthony wasn’t a captain on the high-school team as a senior, he still prided himself on being a leader for the Yellowjackets. Anthony believes his biggest impact in that regard came during preseason conditioning this year.

“When baseball first started in the winter, me and another friend who also was not a captain would run conditioning, because our two captains played basketball and weren’t able to, so we helped younger kids with that,” he says. “The team is always good and there are a lot of people blocking [the younger players] at their positions, so they have to work hard. That was the case for a lot of us seniors, where we had to wait until this year, but we were told to keep working and you’ll get your chance. You just have to make the most of it.”

Anthony found a steady home in left field with the Easties. While he’s happy to play anywhere, Anthony says that he enjoys playing left field the most out of all his positions.

“I love being in the outfield more than anything,” Anthony says. “I think I have a decent ability to track down fly balls, and I just love running while I’m out there.”

Anthony typically batted fifth or sixth in East Haven’s order this spring, hitting a pair of home runs along the way. Anthony says that he loved playing for the high-school team and feels the same way about being part of East Haven’s Legion program.

“It really is a big thing for me,” says Anthony. “Playing with people from East Haven, I’ve made a lot of friends, so that always made me want to keep playing.”

Anthony played alongside his twin brother Sal with the Yellowjackets, and now they’re teammates on the Legion squad. Anthony says that playing on the same team with Sal puts a little extra fire in his eyes.

“It’s always fun, because it’s always a little competition between us to see who does better,” says Anthony. “It always adds some motivation for me to do better.”