This weekend the Suffolk County Baseball Coaches Association honored legendary Coach Al Desiderio.
Before the scrimmage between Port Jefferson and Amityville Coach Desi’s family and Port Jeff alumni were invited onto the field, and former coaches spoke about the lasting impact Coach Desi had on his players and fellow coaches.
Coach Desiderio is the longest-tenured high school baseball coach in Suffolk County’s history, having coached at Port Jefferson for 37 years. He has coached his teams to over 400 wins, including 10 league championships and 20 playoff appearances.
Coach Desi was inducted into the Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame in 1997. He was also a professor of business management at Suffolk County Community College for over 40 years and was a business teacher and coach for the Port Jefferson School District from 1958 to 1995.
The ceremony culminated with Coach Desi’s son, Ronny, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.