Most people always say “I thought you only played basketball”. My high school Basketball coach, Bill Folsom, had a talk with me before I went to College and said: “Keep your weight down and your attitude positive and you will go far in both sports”. His advice proved to be very beneficial.
“This induction brings me full circle back to Maine. I started in Little League and now finalize and commemorate my baseball career in the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame. I am deeply honored.”
-Mike Mazerall
The Maine Baseball Hall of fame is very proud to induct Mr. Michael Dennis Mazerall into the class of 2016. Mike is the son of the late Beatrice and Francis (Dutchy) Mazerall who always supported Mike and his love of the game. Mike was born and brought up in the proud baseball City of Westbrook. Mike and his wife Deborah reside in Norcross, Georgia where Mike is self-employed as the President of Mike Mazerall & Associates, LLC.
Mike began his baseball career playing ball during recess at St. Mary’s school and as a member of Westbrook Little League. Due to his size and talent, Mike was chosen by the local Rotary team when he was only eight-years-old. Starting as a first baseman in 1954, he quickly converted to a pitcher on the advice of his father after playing catch one day in their backyard. Big Mike learned at an early age that he could throw the ball hard enough, but also realized that command and control were even more important. He practiced for hours a day just throwing a rubber ball against the garage door to master his control.
At Westbrook High School, Mike was a stellar athlete in both Baseball and Basketball. In baseball, Mike was fortunate to learn from a very talented pitching staff. In the early to mid sixties, Westbrook High School was known for its many talented pitchers: Bruce Libby, Billy Walk and Rod Tibbetts along with MBHOF inductees John Cumberland and Ricky Swan gave Westbrook tremendous pitching rotations for a number of years. As a senior in 1964, Mike would go 6-1 and was rated the top pitcher in the Telegram League. During the regular season, Mike would only allow five runs in forty-five innings of work. His personal best was striking out twenty batters in one game. Mike also played five years of American Legion ball for Manchester Post making the transition from little league to American Legion at the age of thirteen.
Mike’s hard work both on the court and on the field led to numerous college scholarships offers. He decided to attend Loyola University of New Orleans on a basketball scholarship. The main reason being that they would allow him to play both basketball and baseball, which is unheard of today. Mike’s dad Francis played an important role in helping him choose Loyola as he believed that his son should continue with his baseball career as well. Mike would go on to play both sports all four years for the Wolfpack. As a starting pitcher all four years, Mike had a total record of ten wins and six losses. In his first college start, Mike recorded twelve strikeouts for the Division one powerhouse. His last two years, his record was seven wins and two losses with an ERA of 1.65.
As a testament to Mike’s athletic abilities, he also played a key role on the Loyola basketball team playing against some of the best players in the country: Elvin Hayes & Don Chaney from Houston, Don May & Henry Finkel from Dayton and Mike Butler from Memphis State. Maz also played against Pistol Pete Maravich twice and boast of helping to hold him down to sixty-one points in one game...
During the summer months while in college Mike would return home to play in the Portland Twilight League for Yudy’s/Haverty Buick. As a starting pitcher for four years, he was a dominant pitcher throwing a no-hitter and two one-hitters.
After college, Mike signed with the Boston Red Sox and would play three years for their organization. In 1968, He played in the Rookie League at Jamestown, New York and posted a record of 3-0. The following year, Mike was promoted to the Sox minor league A team in Greenville SC playing in the Western Caroline League. Again, Mike was very successful as he finished the year with a record of 4-1. In 1970, Mike was invited to Spring Training — AAA and was fortunate to play with Dwight Evans, Rick Miller, Roger Moret, Bill Lee and Mike Nagy. He ended his career playing for the sox in Winston Salem, SC where his team won the league championship. In addition, Mike pitched in the league All-Star game and struck out six of the nine batters he faced. Michael would finish his Red Sox career with an impressive record of 9 wins and 4 losses.
After his playing career, Mike gave back to the community by coaching senior high school boys in church league basketball at the Greenville, SC YMCA for over ten years. In addition, Mike umpired Little League baseball for three years as well.
The most influential person in Mike’s athletic career was his father. He helped Mike convert to a pitcher in Little League and along with his Uncle Harry Beatty, went to every athletic event he ever participated in while playing in Maine. Their support was the driving force in Mike’s success.
From Stats Crew
Michael Mazerall
Michael D. Mazerall
Born: April 20, 1946
Primary Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Height: 6'7"
Weight: 230
Career: 1968-1970
Michael Mazerall compiled a career record of 9 wins and 4 losses in his 89-game pitching career with the Jamestown Falcons, Greenville Red Sox and Winston-Salem Red Sox. He began playing during the 1968 season and last took the field during the 1970 campaign.
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