Randy
Taveras

8-1-2018: For two years, Randy Taveras has been a rock-solid contributor in the Marist infield, hitting .303/.406/.430 in 2017 and .308/.385/.440 this spring. He established himself as a quality defender in the middle infield and a good bat-handler with a knack for getting on base. But Sunday, he showed off a little sneaky pop, hitting an opposite-field triple off the right-center wall and scoring the first run for the victorious South team, earning him NECBL all-star game MVP honors.

“To be honest, I’m not really a power guy, so I just try to work on approach and focus on hitting the ball hard with line drives, not to do too much,” Taveras said.

The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Taveras peppered the field with hard line drives during batting practice, showing off surprising bat speed in his wristy swing. He has hit seven homers in two seasons at Marist, and he’s batting .333 with three homers and seven doubles in 87 at-bats this summer for Danbury, so he’s more than just a slap hitter. But his calling cards are sound defense at shortstop and his speed, which has helped him steal 31 bases in 38 tries at Marist over the last two years, and swipe 11 more for Danbury this summer.

“It’s definitely a part of my game,” Taveras said of his speed. “Obviously I try to get on base as much as I can, just to do something and score runs and get the W, man. It’s all about the win.”

And even in the all-star game, Taveras was all about the win.

“It was a good game from both teams, obviously. We came out on top so it was really good,” he said. “It’s just an honor to be here. To represent Danbury and Marist, it means a lot. And of course my hometown down in the Bronx.” (A Fitt)