I really like everything that coach Doug Mullins has done with his English baseball team over the past two seasons. Last year’s team, in my eyes, was far better than the eight-win season it ended with. The Bulldogs had experienced arms in the rotation, seasoned veterans in the infield and a solid group of promising up-and-coming underclassmen.
English hung tough with the better teams in the Northeastern Conference but lost five games by one-run margins. The Bulldogs had a knack for playing solid baseball through six innings and putting themselves in positions to win. But high school baseball’s a seven-inning game. When they had to make crucial plays to put the nail in the coffin, they fell short. Sometimes routine plays aren’t routine plays, and sometimes what seems like a win in the making simply isn’t in the cards. Every team, at one point or another, goes through those lumps.
The 2019 season has been a much different story. This year’s team plays like a motivated group. Regardless of the score, English carries a level of enthusiasm that isn’t normally seen from a high school baseball team. The Bulldogs are energetic, resilient, they have fun with one another and they’re a bit more fundamentally sound than they were a year ago.
Mullins has a lot to do with that.
Mullins is a product of great coaching. In his two seasons of varsity baseball for Classical (yes, he played for English’s rival), Mullins played under Jim Tgettis and Derek Dana- both terrific coaches who’ve done well in their careers. Tgettis is one of the pioneers of the Nipper Clancy Tournament whose dedication made the tournament possible. Dana coached St. Mary’s to a Division 3 state championship in 2015. Mullins also learned from former English coach Joe Caponigro, who guided the Bulldogs for 14 seasons. Caponigro is currently in his first season as the head coach at Swampscott and the Big Blue have qualified for the Division 3 North state tournament. Mullins was his assistant prior to taking over in 2017.
When I spoke to Mullins two weeks ago after his team lost its second game to Classical, he said “We’ll learn from this and we’ll get better.” A week later the Bulldogs defeated Classical 5-3 in the opening round of the Clancy Tournament. The next day they pushed St. Mary’s to the brink before losing 6-5 on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh. And that was after English tied the game at 5-5 with Andy Duverge’s RBI double when the Bulldogs were down to their last out.
So what did Mullins say after his team’s loss to the Spartans?
“This weekend will only make us a better baseball team.”
I have no reason to doubt him. If the Bulldogs can close the regular season on a high note (they have two games remaining), there’s a chance they might host a Division 1 North state tournament game at Fraser Field. Regardless of whether or not the Bulldogs earn a home game, this is a team that learns from its mistakes. And I’ve always said that I’ll take a 12-8 team that learns from its losses and tests itself against tough competition over an undefeated team that faced few adverse situations during its season.
If the Bulldogs can continue to learn from their losses and progress as the regular season winds down, a tournament run might be ahead of them. That would be an impressive feat for a second-year head coach and a team that doesn’t carry a single player with state tournament experience on its roster.
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How about the season Christian Vazquez is having? When the Red Sox were down in the bottom of the barrel in the American League East back in April, the fingers were pointed at Vazquez for being responsible for the pitching staff’s struggles. Out went Blake Swihart, in stepped Sandy Leon and Vazquez has flat-out raked at the plate since then. His numbers, thus far, are worthy of all-star consideration. Who saw that coming? Let’s just hope it continues.
