Winning Triple Crown is Iavarone's latest dream

BY JIM BAUMBACH | jim.baumbach@newsday.com

May 13, 2008

Horse racing always intrigued Michael Iavarone, but it wasn't as if he spent his nights growing up in Bethpage dreaming of owning a Triple Crown threat like Big Brown.

Iavarone had a far more common fantasy. He envisioned himself in the major leagues, pitching in front of crowds of thousands. And if you speak to anyone who was around him at Bethpage High 20 years ago, this kid had a chance.

They say he had so many of the ingredients -- the talent, the pitches, the attitude and even the genes. His mother's maiden name is Rizzuto, and, yes, Phil is a second cousin.

But what ultimately derailed his dream came in the form of the worst possible news for a pitcher.

Torn labrum.

Twice.

During a break in the craziness that is his life right now -- the Preakness is Saturday -- Iavarone yesterday looked back on his once promising baseball career and said, "Just as things were starting to get real good for me, I hurt my shoulder."

He said it matter-of-factly, with absolutely no hard feelings. Sure it's easy to forgive and forget now, as he's in the middle of what has to be the most exciting stretch of his life.

But the way Iavarone tells the story, it's almost as if going through the surgeries and the rehab during college helped him think more about his future in the real world.

Around the time he had his second shoulder surgery, he changed his major at St. Joseph's College in Patchogue to business and he was thinking a lot about investment banking.

"I knew I was playing for fun at that point," Iavarone said. "That was where I was at, mentally. I was just hanging on to baseball while I was finishing out my education. I was really learning more about investing banking, so I knew it was going to be a fine transition. Of course I didn't think I would wind up owning the winner of the Kentucky Derby, but ... "

Dreams of being a major-leaguer started in earnest probably when he was 10 years old and finished third in the nation in the annual "Pitch, Hit and Run" contest. He competed at Shea Stadium, and he made a trip to St. Louis, as well.

Two years later, he led a team of Bethpage Little Leaguers -- coached by his father, Joe -- to the Long Island finals. They fell just a few wins short of a trip to Williamsport, Pa.

"He was always the ace of the staff, on every team," said Kevin Coumatos, who played with him from tee-ball up. "He was a clutch kid, the three hitter, the shortstop when he didn't pitch. He was just an all around baseball player."

Iavarone made the varsity as a sophomore, and made his mark as a pitcher. He had a fastball in the 80s with a curve, change, slider -- and even a knuckler. His catcher, Andy Marinuzzi, said there wasn't one out pitch. "It was more the way that he pitched," he said. "He always found ways to put batters off their games. They were always off balance."

He also had a bit of moxie. His mom's favorite story is the time he played basketball the night before a late-season game and came home with a splint on his right middle finger. Anita asked her son how he'd pitch like that. "He said, 'I'll just take the splint off,' and that's exactly what he did," he said.

Iavarone laughed. "I remember that," he said.

Away from the mound, Iavarone kept his teammates loose with his sense of humor. "He was a joker," teammate Mike Sardo said. "He was definitely a lighthearted guy."

But on the mound, it was his game.

Scouts from the Cardinals and Mariners reached out to him during his senior year, and told him he had promise if only he could put some muscle on his 5-11, 160-pound frame.

He went to C.W. Post looking to fill out, thinking about the majors, but in truth his shoulder was already hurting. Soon his shoulder finally went, and he needed surgery.

After a year and a half at Post, he went to Suffolk Community College and played for his old assistant at Bethpage, Mike Palermo. The coach sent him to St. Joseph's, where he tried pitching again.

Then, again, another surgery.

Palermo took over at St. Joseph's in Iavarone's senior year, and he made Iavarone a third baseman / first baseman. It had been years since he was an everyday position player, but he made the transition with the ease. Palermo wasn't surprised. "The way he threw at Bethpage, he was a prospect," Palermo said. "But it wasn't just his pitching. He was an all-around great baseball player."

Sometimes, it's not meant to be. Guess he'll have to settle for the Kentucky Derby, and a shot at the Triple Crown.