BY TIM HAYES
Bristol Herald Courier
BRISTOL, Va. – Joe Serafin appears to have a knack for making good first impressions.
As a freshman at the University of Vermont in 2005, he tossed a no-hitter in his second start.
And, in his first season of professional baseball, Serafin has been simply sensational. With a 4-0 record and a 0.39 earned-run average, the Bristol White Sox left-hander has emerged as the ace of the Appalachian League.
He opened the season with 17 straight scoreless innings, and opponents have posted a measly .169 batting average against him. He’ll go for his league-leading fifth win this afternoon at Danville.
“Good starts are good,” Serafin said with a smile on July 8 after blanking the Burlington Royals for six innings.
Listed at a generous 5-foot-10 and 185-pounds, Serafin is not an imposing presence on the mound. However, the long-haired lefty can pitch.
“Obviously, you can’t ask for more,” Bristol pitching coach Curt Hasler said. “Joe has done a super job.”
Overcoming obstacles
College and professional scouts didn’t flock to Simsbury High School in suburban Hartford, Conn., when Serafin pitched there. He didn’t possess a blazing fastball, and Connecticut isn’t exactly a hotbed for baseball prospects.
“In high school, I was throwing 78-79 [miles per hour] and just throwing strikes with a big curveball,” Serafin said. “Vermont gave me a chance to be on the roster.”
It was a move that worked out well for both sides. Serafin finished as the Catamounts’ career leader in strikeouts (262) and innings pitched (317), and his 21 wins are tied for the most ever by a Vermont pitcher.
Those records might never be broken. Prior to the 2009 season, Vermont dropped its baseball program.
“We found out the week before we left for Vanderbilt to play our first weekend games,” Serafin said. “Our [athletic director] came out, he’s a big hockey and basketball guy, and read
off a piece of paper … It was a very emotional year.”
However, Serafin is still carrying the flag for the program. Drafted in the 37th round of last month’s Major League Baseball Amateur Draft by the Chicago White Sox, he is one of
three players from Vermont’s last team to sign a pro contract.
“You find a lot of good players from a lot of programs,” Hasler said. “Not everybody comes from the Miami’s or Florida State’s. There are a lot of good players from a lot of places.
That doesn’t limit what Joe Serafin is capable of doing, not at all.”
First-year success
When Serafin arrived in Bristol last month, he was just hoping to stand out in a deep pitching staff.
“He was one of the guys, when he was taken in the draft, who had started in college, and we knew he had that background,” Bristol manager Ryan Newman said. “We were just trying to see what we had at the beginning of the year and work and build those guys back up … He’s stepped in and done outstanding for us.”
After two scoreless relief outings, Serafin was moved into the starting rotation and hasn’t disappointed.
Using a wide array of pitches, Serafin prefers a fast pace: Three of his starts have clocked in at under 2½ hours.
Speed runs in his family: His second cousin is NASCAR Sprint Cup star Joey Logano.
“I like to work quick,” Serafin said. “It helps me anyway, just not thinking about what’s going on and just going out there pitch by pitch.”
thayes@bristolnews.com|(276) 645-2570
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