Somerset Patriots: Chiaravalloti inks deal

One day after the Somerset Patriots lost their first baseman from last season (Josh Pressley) to the Florida Marlins organization, the Patriots replaced Pressley with former Road Warrior Vito Chiaravolloti.
The slugger from Middletown is a graduate of Christian Brothers Academy and a former farmhand for the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles. He had a career year with the 2007 Road Warriors when he hit .296 with 32 doubles, 18 home runs and 91 RBIs. He also had more walks than strikeouts.
Here are some quotes from Chiaravalloti, who I spoke to Tuesday night via telephone:

"I was fortunate that I set myself up well with a good year and there were tons of teams calling."

"I wanted to play for Somerset all along and I was hoping they were going to come in with an offer. Once they expressed interest, all I needed to hear was that I was going to play every day. I felt in independent ball that's the best place to be. It's a beautfiul stadium, great fans and it's 30 minutes from my house. My family was real excited I was going to be close to home."

He said his disappointing stats from his two Double-A seasons, 2005 and 2006, were a case of injuries, namely a pulled oblique muscle and an elbow injury that required surgery

"Last year was important to me come out and I had to prove that, if I was healthy, I could still hit. Every year, I was healthy I've made an All-Star team in what ever league I've played in."

"It was a matter of me getting back on the map. I think Somerset is going to be the perfect place for me to hopefully make a splash."

"I told my agent I don't like playing the game of wait until the last second and scrounge for a team. Number one, I don't think it's fair to the teams to lead them on. Also, for myself, I want to put my mind at ease that this is where I'm going to play this year. I have a place and I'm ready to go

On being with the Road Warriors:
"I really did enjoy that. I learned a lot about myself and what it takes to grind out a season. For me, it was an experience I'm glad I had, but you only want to have once. The majority of the time you're there just there to lose, so it's nice to have some expectations, and try to win a championship."