Michael Spidale graduated from Nazareth Academy 25 years ago, but he certainly hasn’t been forgotten at his old school in La Grange Park.
The former Roadrunners’ baseball star will be honored when Nazareth retires his No. 10 jersey during a ceremony at 4 p.m. April 8 at the R.J. Sanders Field at Nazareth, 1209 Ogden Ave.
It will mark the first baseball jersey retired by the school and the third from any sport as Spidale joins 1991 graduate Sean Person, who wore No. 21 in basketball, and 2016 grad Julian Love, who donned a No. 20 football jersey.
While he is in town for the ceremony, Spidale also will be inducted into the East Suburban Catholic Conference Hall of Fame.
“It has been our hope to retire Michael’s jersey for a while now, but we wanted to find a time when he would be in the area,” said Alena Murguia, Nazareth’s director of communications. “Coordinating this honor with his trip to Chicago for the ESCC Hall of Fame Induction seemed like the perfect fit.”
Spidale said he is very much looking forward to returning to a school where he created fond memories.
“I was extremely honored,” he said. I think it’s a huge achievement to have my number retired.
“I enjoyed playing with my teammates and playing for Coach (Lee) Milano. I still keep in touch with many of my high school teammates. I enjoyed attending Nazareth. I received a great education, and the people at ‘Naz’ take care of their students.”
Milano, Spidale said, helped prepare him for baseball beyond high school.
“Coach Milano helped me out greatly,” Spidale said. “He taught us all how to compete day in and day out. And that’s what I had to do in pro ball.”
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Milano, who became the Nazareth coach in 2000 when Spidale was a senior, had high praise for his former player.
“Besides the obvious baseball talent that Michael showed on a daily basis, his work ethic was elite for a high school student-athlete,” the coach stated in a release from Nazareth. “Michael strived for perfection. He carried that same work ethic into professional baseball, where he was known as a grinder and blue collar player.
“We have had many talented individuals in the program over the last 30 years, none more accomplished during their high school and pro careers than Michael.”
While he never reached Major League Baseball, Spidale achieved quite a bit at the Minor League level after being drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 12th round of the 2000 Major League Baseball draft.
Among his accomplishments:
• 2002: Kannapolis Intimidators (White Sox organization) Player of the Year with a .291 batting average and 35 stolen bases;
• 2004: Chicago White Sox Minor League Player of the Year
• 2006: South Atlantic League batting champion, while playing in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, with a .345 batting average to go along with 29 stolen bases;
• 2008: 18 for 19 in stolen base attempts, career high eight home runs in the Phillies organization, voted by the Reading Phillies’ fans as Best Defensive Play of the Year;
• 2009: Split time between Class AA and Class AAA affiliates for the Phillies, hitting .295, stealing 17 bases and committing only one error while playing all three outfield positions;
• 2010 & 2011: Class AA Philadelphia Phillies Most Valuable Player; top three in the Eastern League with a .326 batting average;
Spidale also is in the Class AA Reading Phillies Hall of Fame and is the team’s affiliate’s all-time hits leader.
While his accomplishments as a Minor League Baseball player are impressive, Spidale’s resume from his days at Nazareth are even more so.
He hit .497 for his high school career, including .548 as a senior; had 13 career triples and 19 career home runs. As a senior, Spidale stole 47 bases and was thrown out only once trying to steal.
While playing shortstop, centerfield and pitching at Nazareth, he was an All-Area, an All-Conference player in 1998, 1999 and 2000; and was named All-State in 2000. Spidale was inducted into the Nazareth Academy Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008.
Speaking about his 13 years in professional baseball, Spidale said he most enjoyed the camaraderie of being on a team.
“I enjoyed being with guys on the buses and the clubhouses, playing practical jokes on each other and things like that,” he said. “I also enjoyed playing in front of big crowds. There’s nothing like it.”
While he never made it to the top level, Spidale said he had a wonderful experience during his time playing pro ball.
“Obviously, the goal when you enter pro ball is to become a Major Leaguer,” he said. “That didn’t work out for me, but it is what it is. I am satisfied though. It’s a tough grind, and I did it for 13 years. I had to compete against the best in the world. I learned many things during these years and learned a lot about myself.”
Spidale was 30 years old when he decided it was time to retire as a professional baseball player and take his life in a new direction.
“I was in AAA with the Phillies,” he said. “I didn’t feel the love and want to continue to work and grind anymore, so I knew it was time.”
But leaving his career as a player wasn’t the end of his involvement in baseball.
“Baseball is what I do,” he said, adding that he operates a travel baseball organization — the Berks County Bulls, named after the Chicago Bulls — in Reading, Pennsylvania, the same town where he lives with his family.
“I love it,” he said. “I get to teach and coach kids the greatest game in the world — baseball. I coach baseball, but even better, I can use baseball in teaching these kids life lessons that they can use their entire lives.”
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Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.