Billy Hartman ’16: Scholium has chosen Anthony Perretti ‘13 as the Boys Athlete of the Month. Anthony is the captain of the Varsity Baseball team and has been refining his skills from a very young age. His love for the game extends back to his roots after his father’s introduced him to baseball at age four. Perretti expressed his passion, saying, “Some of my oldest memories are playing baseball and the game teaches me about life. Errors are going to happen and you’re going to get out in baseball. To succeed, you need to learn how to put things behind you and move forward just like in life.”
Perretti enrolled in Episcopal in 10th grade. At this point in time, he was asked to learn a whole new part of the game, covering the outfield. He said, “The coaches at Episcopal helped my game out a lot, considering I never played outfield before I came to Episcopal. The coaches here dedicated a lot of their time into coaching each player and finding their strengths and weaknesses.” Perretti showed his versatility and flexibility by accepting the challenge immediately. As he stated, “You can’t win the lottery without buying a ticket.”
A dual sport athlete, Perretti’s other claim to fame was his contribution to the undefeated 2012 Varsity football team. He believes that the footwork drills he practiced everyday as a defensive back and receiver gave him an advantage on the baseball field. He elaborated, saying, “Footwork is everything in the outfield because one false step and the ball could be over your head.”
As with most athletes, Perretti’s has two role models that he admires as a baseball player: Willy Mays of the San Francisco Giants and Ken Griffey Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds, two great outfielders. “They were always going 100%,” he assured.
As a captain, Perretti asserts that a he has a slightly different role than the standard player. Baseball has both aspects of a team sport and individual sport, so Perretti finds it challenging at times to weave both of these aspects into his leadership. He has decided to lead by example. “I did not set many personal goals for myself this year other than to just be productive. But as a captain my goals are to just lead the team as best I can vocally and by example. Another goal for this season is to turn the corner for good with the Episcopal Academy program and compete for the championship each year.” He also sees all of the potential in each of his teammates and loves the coaching staff, starting with Coach Aaron Barras, which is why this has been his “favorite year playing baseball for EA.”