April 26, 2000

by Anthony Wilson
Athletic Communications Intern

In an age when tattoos, loud behavior, and laziness have become the norm, Vince D'Angelis' behavior is definitely shocking.

The sophomore shortstop has his own holy trinity: baseball, family, and school. In that order, that importance, and that's it. These three things are all he cares about, and he says it has to be that way.

"My dad has always told me 'Do what you want to do. If you want to be a baseball player, be a baseball player first and make everything else second'," said D'Angelis. "But when it comes to school, I'm not super-smart, so I have to dedicate myself as much to school as I do to baseball. I can't let things get in my way."

D'Angelis finds ways of preventing 'things getting in his way.' He avoids trouble by always carrying himself in a polite, respectable manner. He arrives early for everything. He doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, doesn't stay up late. He shows up to practice an hour and a half early, and leaves an hour and half after everyone has left. He is constantly analyzing his game for what he can work on, and in his extra time at practice, he works on those things while some of his teammates haven't even thought of practice yet. He makes sure that he utilizes the tools he's worked on in practice in the games.

And when game day comes around, you can count on at least one member of his family being in the stands, usually his father. A vocal fan, Louis D'Angelis' intensity is matched only by his son's on-field intensity. Vince's father stays in the game by keeping the scorebook on a PalmPad, making sure that he stays in the game pitch by pitch. The younger D'Angelis is much the same, focusing his intensity on the game on every pitch. He claims he always tries to keep a positive thought in his head, while analyzing certain counts to determine his positioning in the field, or to guess when a fastball is coming.

In the field, a fan will notice Vince creeping left toward second base when a lefthander is up with an 0-2 count, anticipating an off-speed pitch that a batter is more likely to pull than hit to D'Angelis' right. At bat, you'll notice D'Angelis kick away the back white line of the batters box on a 2-0 count, waiting for the pitcher to lay a batting practice fastball down the pipe. If there's an advantage to be had, D'Angelis is looking for it, even with the supernatural.

Vince is well known for his superstitions. Some aren't all that uncommon, like taking a shower before every game or jumping over the foul line when entering the field. But others may qualify as outlandish, like always carrying five pieces of Bazooka in his back right pocket whenever he's on a baseball field. And it can't just be Bazooka, it must be three regular and two grape flavored. After Lafayette's half inning, D'Angelis giddily runs off the field and drags his hat through the chalk foul line, as if tempting the fate of the other team's baseball gods. He dons his cap again, an array of dirt, chalk and sweat mixed in, and goes about his normal pacing and nervous chatter in the dugout. The superstitions don't end there. If Vince happens to do something during a game and does well that game, it will remain a habit until it no longer works.

D'Angelis attacks his academics the same way he tackles baseball: with reckless abandon. The economics/business major hopes someday to work in his dad's business as an independent money manager.

"I knew I was interested in that when I came to Lafayette," D'Angelis said. "I had offers to play at other schools, but I knew that in order to concentrate on both academics and baseball, Lafayette was the best choice. The great academics here give me a little leeway for the future, if baseball doesn't work out."

As of now, making money in the business world is D'Angelis' backup plan. He feels that if he continues to work hard on his game, he'll have a chance of being drafted after his anticipated June 2002 graduation. His numbers the last two seasons are strong enough to merit the attention of professional scouts. D'Angelis is currently batting .410, slugging .672 and is tied for the team lead in RBI with 23. He is 12-for-13 in stolen bases, and is just two doubles away from teammate Bob Osipower's single season school record, with 13, and is tied for the team lead in home runs, with three. He readily admits, however, that he would gladly sacrifice a steady career in the business field for five years in minor league baseball, even if he knew he would never make it to the majors.

"There's no doubt in my mind that I would play in the minors," D'Angelis said. "I wouldn't give up a chance to continue playing baseball. I'm not going to complain, however, if the business world comes next for me."