Westchester Rockland Wood Bat League

Despite making an improbable run to the WRWBL championship in 2022, the New York Bears had a hefty task of replacing nearly half of their roster in the offseason to follow. Although big change was on the horizon, that did not stop last year’s Manager of the Year, George Zeolla, from rebuilding his team into a title contender again in 2023.

Although the Bears lost key pieces in their lineup from last season, they do return two of the league’s best all-around talents in Matt Nichols and Mancuso. Nichols, a Gold Glove recipient last year, broke out offensively in which he hit a team best .343 with 24 hits. Mancuso also experienced a breakout as well, as his .339 average and 4 home runs helped pace the Bears lineup. After a stellar 2021 All-League campaign, cleanup hitter Rob Beyer had a down year last season and will be looking to put that behind him and return to his normal form in 2023. The Bears also bring in some new bats to their lineup that they hope will provide a boost to a lineup that struggled at times last season. Marc Stockhausen, Eddie Galvao, Jack Margiloff, Parker Gibbons and Ben Raphael are all new offensive additions to watch for this season.

Defensively, the Bears return two gold glove winners in Nichols and Mike Calamari. For Calamari, last season was his 2nd consecutive GG award for his stellar work behind the plate. He will look to continue his dominance this year and keep runners at bay. Newcomer Kyle Eddington has been noted for his plus defense and leadership at short. He will look to play a key role in the Bears infield this summer.

The pitching staff experienced a major overhaul this offseason, as two of the Bears top arms in David Richards and Dan Galef departed. Bear veteran Chris Calamari will once again be tasked with leading the pitching staff this season, although he does have some help from a few key arms. Joe Scarfone and Nick Mulvey return to the Bears to help log some key innings this summer, while newcomers Ryan Boyd, Christian Rossi, Ben Wechsler and Jimmy Murray will also be tasked with also keeping runs off the board.