Sachem’s former longtime baseball coach Bill Batewell received the highest honor when the field at Sachem High School North was named in his honor on August 7, 2021.
Student-athletes will now play at Bill Batewell Alumni Field in Lake Ronkonkoma.
Batewell, who died earlier this year after battling cancer and fighting COVID-19, is the fifth winningest coach in Suffolk County history. He won 452 games at Sachem and another 106 at Bellport. His Sachem teams won Suffolk County titles in 1979 and 1987 and he coached nine players who were drafted by Major League teams, including two who played in the big leagues.
More than 250 people gathered for the field dedication that included presentations from Sachem Alumni Association President/Founder Chris Vaccaro, Sachem North baseball coach Tom Gambino, former Sachem baseball coach Joe Murphy, former Sachem football coach Fred Fusaro and Tony Frascogna, President of the Suffolk County Baseball Coaches Association (SCBCA).
Other letters were read from former Sachem Athletic Director Tom Sabatelle, former Sachem and Major League pitcher Neal Heaton and Mike Mendonza, Batewell’s nephew, who could not make the event.
“Coach Batewell imparted his love of baseball and passion for coaching to his players,” said Murphy, who coached with him at Sachem and Bellport for decades and took over the Clippers program from him in 2021. “He stressed to respect the game, be competitive, work hard, learn something every day you take the field, and most importantly enjoy yourself. He transcended past the basic coaching responsibilities, taking a sincere interest in the player as a person. He preached responsibility and accountability. One former player remarked to me, ‘Coach Batewell taught me more than just baseball. He showed me how to be a man.’”
Gambino, who took over the program from Batewell in 2005, delivered a heartfelt and emotional speech about how he helped make him the coach he is today.
“From a personal standpoint, I contribute much, if not all, of my playing and coaching career to Coach Batewell, and will always savor our time together,” he said. “All of the lessons I teach to former and current players were taught by Bates”
Frascogna brought two surprises to the event. He presented Murphy with the president’s award from the SCBCA and announced the creation of the Bill Batewell Man of the Year Award, which will be presented annually to a Suffolk County baseball coach who embodies the character that Batewell carried for his life and career.
Batewell joins Fusaro, Sabatelle, Don Woolley, Jack Mahoney Spider Westervelt and Matt DiStefano, who all have fields, rooms and courts named in their honor.
The event was organized by the Sachem Alumni Association with support from the Sachem Central Teachers Association, Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame, Sachem’s board of education and administration and a number of individual donors.
“Bill Batewell was more than a great coach,” Heaton wrote in his remarks. “He was a great teacher, a great friend, and a great man. He will truly be missed, but now with this dedication, he will always be known for what he loved most and did best, coaching baseball.”
