New England Baseball Journal’s The Base Path

Thayer Academy's AD and Varsity Baseball Coach Rick Foresteire has been leading prep sports since the 1990s. Having coached at Buckingham, Browne and Nichols and Thayer, Foresteire has decided it's time to move on from the game and seek new adventures. In this podcast, he explains to Dan Guttenplan why he chose to make the move, and what he has seen change in the game throughout his career.

Bentley University’s Bob DeFelice, the longest tenured coach across all levels of college baseball, is entering his final season in 2022. In this podcast, Coach DeFelice tells us what he has learned across 54 years of Division II coaching, his life as Bentley’s only baseball coach, and how he almost became a career football coach instead.

Ryan Leahy’s baseball journey is as complex as any you’ve heard of. He started as a player, making his way to the L.A. Angels, when he was diagnosed with recurring thyroid cancer. Not letting the illness define him, Leahy won the Angels’ 2008 Courage Award and was friends with BU’s Pete Frates, whose ALS diagnosis brought New Englanders together. Leahy has gone on to scout for MLB and found Recruiting Edge, a consultancy for students looking to get an honest assessment and the best match for their baseball careers. 

In this edition, we’re joined by Vanderbilt Commodores Head Coach Tim Corbin. A native of Wolfeboro, N.H., helped lift Vanderbilt to national championships in 2014 and 2019. Over his 20-year career at Vanderbilt, Corbin has led his teams to a record of 802-377-1 – good for a winning percentage of .680. His message boils down to not “over-coaching” and “letting the kids play.”

Milton High Baseball’s Head Coach Brendan Morrissey has established one of the top ten programs in New England. Not only is the club successful, but it also has 10 players on its roster on track to play college ball. Here, he and Dan talk about running about a great program and dealing with Covid.

John Stuper, the winningest head coach in the history of baseball at Yale, will be retiring after this season, marking 30 years with the Bulldogs. Stuper won a crucial World Series game for the St. Louis Cardinals game in 1982 as a pitcher. Here, he passes along stories, his thoughts about MLB today, and his wisdom about the game in this entertaining podcast

No one in the Boston area has made a bigger impact on Black and Latino youth baseball players than today’s guest Robert Lewis Jr. In 2013, Robert founded The BASE, an organization that leverages the power and passion of baseball to help student athletes find pathways to success both on and off the field. Since 2013, the organization has helped student-athletes earn $45 million in scholarships and financial aid. Robert will share how he and his athletes have faced instances of racism and continued to strive toward their goals.

We’re joined in this podcast by Ray Fagnant, Northeast Regional Scouting Supervisor for the Boston Red Sox. Ray shares his insight into the scouting process and what kind of player the Red Sox are looking to add. A veteran of the scouting process, Ray shares his stories of life on the road, hunting for great ballplayers,

Rhode Island’s Ryan Westmoreland was all set to play for the Red Sox, when tragedy struck. The 2010 draft pick was struck down by two brain bleeds that brought his nascent career to an untimely end. But that hasn’t stopped Ryan from being involved in the game. Listen to his fascinating, inspiring story in this podcast.

University of Maine Black Bears’ Head Coach Nick Derba joins us via Zoom in this edition of the podcast. Nick has the Black Bears on an upward trajectory toward contending for an America East Conference title. Last year, Maine opened the America East baseball playoffs with a win over top-seeded Stony Brook before eventually falling in the conference semifinals. Nick talks about his pitch to potential players who he’d like to see on the Black Bears.