WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – Williams College senior hurler and captain Harry Marino (Delbarton School/Westfield, NJ) has signed a free agent contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Eph head baseball coach Bill Barrale noted that there was late interest in Marino from the Diamondbacks, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Cincinnati Reds. All three teams contacted Barrale for information on Marino as the recent Major League Baseball Draft approached.
The Arizona Diamondbacks expressed the most interest in Marino prior to the draft.
Barrale commented, "Harry is a bright kid with a good arm and he's a competitor. Interest in him came late this spring and the Diamondbacks flew him out for a tryout at the end of May."
"In his Diamondbacks' tryout Harry faced six batters, striking out two, allowing one hit and no runs," Barrale said.
"He got their attention when he touched 90 mph on the radar gun in the tryout," Barrale stated.
As soon as the draft ended Diamondbacks' scout Tom Donovan called Marino and offered him the chance to sign a free agent contract. The offer was contingent on Marion passing a physical at the Diamondbacks' spring training facility on June 7th.
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| Harry Marino '12 |
On June 8th Marino signed his Diamondbacks' free agent contract in Phoenix. "I will be here in Phoenix for the next week for post-draft minicamp," said Marino. "Next week they will assign everyone here to one of three short-season rookie teams: one team stays in Phoenix, one is in Missoula, Montana and one is in Yakima, Washington."
"I was extended the opportunity to attend the Arizona Diamondbacks' pre-draft workout last week in Phoenix," Marino stated. "I worked out in front of a couple of other organizations as well, but I always had the best feeling with the Diamondbacks. Judging by everyone I've had a chance to meet here, they are a first class organization from top to bottom. Right when the draft ended I received a call from them offering me the chance to sign a free agent contract and I immediately accepted."
"I feel incredibly blessed to have the chance to play professional baseball," added Marino. "It's something that never would have been possible without the support of many people...most notably my family and my coaches and teammates at Williams. It's really a lifelong dream come true, and I couldn't be more appreciative of the opportunity to keep playing the game I love."
One of the three MLB scouts to contact Barrale about Marino mentioned that they had been watching Marino since seeing him pitch in the prestigious Cape Cod League last summer. Marino was a reliever for the Chatham Anglers in 2011. The scout also mentioned that he had seen Marino's impressive performance in the 7-1 win over Wesleyan when he rang up a career high 11 Cardinals' batters on strikes.
Marino was named Second Team All-NESCAC this spring, finishing with a 4-3 mark. He appeared in 12 games for the Ephs and started a team-high nine times.
This past season Marino posted career-highs in innings pitched (57 2/3), complete games (4) and strikeouts (66) as well as ERA (3.43).
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| Marino had a career high 11 Ks vs Wesleyan |
On April 28, Marino tossed the first Williams no-hitter in at least 23 plus years, defeating Hamilton 8-0, fanning 10 in the seven-inning contest.
Twice this season Marino was named the NESCAC Pitcher of the Week. The first NESCAC honor came after his dominating effort versus Little Three rival Wesleyan when he struck out 11 batters in 7 innings in a 7-1 Eph triumph.
Marino's second 2012 NESCAC honor came after he no-hit and blanked Hamilton.
Opponents hit just .259 off of Marino this season.
Marino pitched 174 innings during his Williams career, appearing in 42 games and starting 25. He finished his career with a 13-9 mark.
Marino is the first Eph to sign with a Major League team since hard-hitting first baseman Jabe Bergeron '04 signed a free agent contract with the New York Mets. Bergeron was assigned to Kingsport (TN) in the Appalachian League. His baseball journey lasted seven seasons and he finished up with New Jersey in the CanAm League in 2010.
The last Eph drafted by a Major League team was pitcher Keith Surkont '99 who was taken by the Oakland A's in the fourth round. After four years in the minors for the A's, and advancing to AA in Midland, Texas, Surkont retired due to arm trouble.
Surkont had become the first Eph baseball player to be drafted since 1976, when the New York Yankees selected first baseman Pete Eshelman.
Marino not only excelled on the mound for the Eph baseball team, he also was a winner of the College's prestigious Frank Deford Award, in recognition of his outstanding service in the Eph Sports Information Office, where he worked on the stat crew for football, men's and women's basketball, and baseball games for three years.
