Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/145833
irish in the pros Irish Rookies Make Quick Adjustment To Pro Baseball Eric Jagielo, who was chosen by the New York Yankees with the 26th overall pick of the 2013 MLB Draft, batted .333 with one home run and eight RBI in his first 15 games with short-season Class A Staten Island. Photo by by Robert M. Pimpsner/courtesy Staten Island Yankees By Dan Murphy E ric Jagielo and Trey Mancini, the heart of Notre Dame's batting order for the past three seasons, continued business as usual during the first full month of professional baseball this summer. Both players were leading their respective teams at the plate after opting to pass up their senior year in South Bend and getting started in the New York-Penn League. Jagielo, the 2013 Big East Player of the Year, was hitting .333 with a home run and eight RBI through 15 games with the Staten Island Yankees. Mancini, a first baseman, was also hitting .333 with one home run and 17 RBI in 30 games for the Aberdeen Ironbirds, a Baltimore Orioles affiliate. "We faced some really tough pitching at Notre Dame this year, so I didn't really try to change my approach going from college to pro ball," Mancini said. "It's like facing the Friday night college guy every single day of the week here, so they're just a little more consistently good." Mancini's decision to turn pro was more difficult than his transition is proving to be. Selected in the eighth round by Baltimore, he said he deliberated for nearly a week before deciding to leave Notre Dame. Many of the Florida native's extended family members live in the Baltimore area, 30 minutes south of Aberdeen. Mancini's late grandfather had season tickets to Orioles games for three decades, and that sense of