The Bridgeport Bluefish have placed seven players on the Liberty Division 2008 All-Star team, including three starters.

First baseman Jesse Hoorelbeke, outfielder Branden Florence and infielder Luis Lopez will all be in the starting lineup. Infielder Henry Mateo and outfielder Ryan Bear are reserves for the team while starting pitchers Eric DuBose and Barry Hertzler will both represent the Bluefish.

Hoorelbeke (.254, 15 HRs, 56 RBIs), the 2007 A.L. Co-Player of the Year, made the post-season All-Star team last year and now will be playing in his first mid-season contest. He currently shares the league lead in home runs with Ray Navarrete of Long Island and his RBI total ranks second in the league.

Florence (.328, 4 HRs, 30 RBIs) finished out the first half ranked ninth in the league in hitting. He suffered through some injuries the first couple of weeks of the season but became a staple in the Bluefish outfield once he returned to health with a consistently high level of play. His 12-game hit-streak in May currently stands as the second-longest Bluefish streak of the year.

Lopez (.361, 4 HRs, 48 RBIs) was one of the best hitters throughout the entire first half of the season. He currently ranks fourth in the league in batting (second among active players) with many stints in the top spot. His 91 hits lead the league and his 19 doubles and .454 on-base percentage both rank second. On the defensive side of things his .978 fielding percentage is best amongst everyday third basemen.

Mateo (.315, 2 HRs, 26 RBIs) has solidified the top of the lineup to give hitters behind him like Lopez and Hoorelbeke plenty of RBI opportunities. His 20 doubles and 59 runs scored are both league highs. He also has 27-multi hit performances on the year and a 13-game hitting streak, both team highs.

Bear (.320, 6 HRs, 34 RBIs) has been one of the more versatile yet consistent hitters on the Bluefish in the first half. He has made starts at six different spots in the batting order and played all outfield and corner infield positions defensively. His 77 hits are third highest on the team and his 45 runs rank second.

DuBose (4-2, 3.38 ERA, 77.1 IP) has given nothing but consistency to the Bluefish starting rotation. The southpaw has made ten quality starts in his 13 trips to the hill (12 starts). His ERA ranks third in the league (second among active pitchers) and his .242 opponent batting average is best among Tommy John’s starters.

Hertzler (3-5, 4.63 ERA, 81.2 IP) has made things easy on the Bluefish bullpen all year. The Central Connecticut State alum has pitched at least into the eighth inning in six of his 13 starts. He ranked among the league leaders in ERA for the majority of the first half.

The Atlantic League All-Star Game will be played at Commerce Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, NJ on Wednesday, July 16.

The Bridgeport Regional Business Council named the Bridgeport Bluefish as the 2008 BRBC Business of the Year. Through the BRBC’s partnership with Lamar Outdoor Advertising, the Bluefish receive one year of outdoor advertising.

According to a press release, the Bridgeport Bluefish make every effort to hire locally, purchase goods and services in the region and partner with schools and non-profits to help them in their fundraising or program efforts. Managers, coaches and players read at local libraries, visit hospitals, and attend neighborhood events and parades.

In 2007, the Bluefish enrolled over 27,000 children in its reading program. The team’s fundraising program has raised well over $1,000,000 for regional non-profit agencies, school programs, religious institutions and athletic organizations.

“We are very pleased to have won this award because it shows our commitment to ongoing, outstanding effort in the community,” said Bluefish general manager Todd Marlin said in a statement. “Our community involvement is something we take pride in and I know that we will continue to reach out in our Bridgeport community and the greater Bridgeport region.”

In 2008, the Bluefish have already enrolled thousands of children in this year’s reading program. The team’s fundraising program has raised almost $85,000 over the first month of the season and has quadrupled the amount of community appearances as they work to become an even larger part of the community.

“The Bridgeport region has many businesses that contribute endless hours of community service to our region,” Mary-Jane Foster, CEO of the Bluefish said. “We are proud to be one of the many businesses that give back to the community and especially proud to have been chosen as the recipient of this award because it is a reflection of our mission. “

How important was prom night for the Westhill baseball team? Not as important as a shot at the FCIAC championship, according to one Viking parent. The seniors on the team reportedly left the Friday prom at 10:30 p.m. to get a good night’s sleep before the game against Staples, which began at noon at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard. This was in contrast to the Vikings not getting home until 1 a.m. Thursday after a rain-delayed start to its semifinals win over Norwalk…

David Speer is already a legend for pitching Staples to the FCIAC championship as a sophomore. But he’s not the only 10th-grader to step up for the Wreckers. First baseman Grant Moss delivered a two-out bases-loaded single in the top of the seventh that proved to be the game-winner…

The next batter Westhill senior ace T.J. Hickey faced was Mike Rutski, who walked to make it a 3-1 game. Hickey responded with words for the home plate umpire, and kicked some dirt on the way back to the mound. Certainly he didn’t show the same composure as he had in last-second wins for the Vikings on the football field…

Speaking of Hickey, who likes to have the ball in his hands in big-pressure situations, his costly play in the seventh opened the tide for Staples. Vin Lametta hit a slow-roller towards shortstop and reached out to bare-hand the ball. He dropped the ball, but recovered in time to throw to first-baseman Steve Rivera, who was late getting to the bag and dropped the ball in front of a diving Lametta…

While concession stand prices were a reminder that the FCIAC Championship Game was played in a minor league ballpark, the Bridgeport Bluefish did very little Saturday - if anything - to promote itself in front of hundreds of potential attendees. Let this be a rule of thumb: Parking a Bluefish-wrapped P.T. Cruiser near the entrance and having the team’s URL under the main scoreboard does not guarantee fans coming back to enjoy the main tenant’s product. And with the All-FCIAC teams being honored as well, this was a missed marketing opportunity for the Bluefish, who are struggling at the gate so far this season…

Stamford head coach Bob Augustyn was honored as the FCIAC Coach of the Year on Saturday, just one day after announcing his retirement. He will continue to be a guidance councilor at the school, but said he is looking forward to some of the little things - like April vacation and spring training - that many of us take lightly…

The tributes and honors of the life of Bill Gonillo have flown steadily since the late News12 sports director passed away in September. But his mother, Judith, wondered if her son would some day be forgotten.

The Bridgeport Bluefish made sure that would never happen. May 4 was Bill Gonillo Day at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard, and the team renamed the press box in his honor.

“I know that it means a tremendous amount to our family,” said Christine Gonillo, Bill’s sister. “My mom is very emotional and very gratified. She had even mentioned to me that all these events were happening, but she was afraid that after this year, he wouldn’t be remembered. But you just take a look at that press box and I said ‘Mom, he’s going to be remembered for a very, very long time.’”

The day started with Bluefish CEO Mary-Jane Foster reading a tribute to Gonillo, followed by Vito Gonillo, Bill’s 83-year-old father, throwing out the first pitch, and then the unveiling of signage for the Bill Gonillo Press Box which was shown on the ballpark’s Jumbotron.

As the sports director, Bill Gonillo was a fixture at the ballpark since the Bluefish first took the field in 1998. And Gonillo, whose death at the age of 44 was related to a 20-year battle with diabetes, touched the lives of many players, fans, and press during that time.

Whether he was able to stick around for an inning or a whole game, Gionillo’s presence at the ballpark was one that made people’s outlooks of that day change.

“As soon as he walked in [the press box], it was like a breath of fresh air,” said Rich Elliott, a long-time Bluefish beat writer for the Connecticut Post. “Even on the tough nights when you had a lot of stuff going on and the atmosphere was tense, he’d come in and lighten the mood right away.”

And one of those mood-lighteners was his appetite, and his love for food. But also for Elliott, it was Gonillo’s love of people and love of life.

“The first question he’d ask when he’d walk in that door was what kind of food they had in there,” Elliott said. “But that was Billy, he got away from the game. He’d come in and talk about life, the vacations he was taking, the sports teams we liked. I always looked forward to seeing Bill Gonillo.”

The idea to honor Gonillo came from Stacie Guilfoyle, whose husband [Mike] is a former closer for the Bluefish. In 2006, Guilfoyle, whose family became close with Gonillo, lost her stepfather to diabetes.

And when Gonillo died, Guilfoyle decided to get more involved with raising awareness - and funds to fight - the disease. She organized a team that walked for diabetes in October, helped Bridgeport Sound Tigers organize an event to honor Gonillo in December, and has a bike-a-thon and an Odd Couple-themed event in the works.

“It was like ‘Hey, we’ve got to raise some money for awareness and find a cure before it affects more people,’” Guilfoyle said. “Everything we’re doing we’ve posted is on www.BillGonillo.com. He’s been to our kids’ christenings, and he was a part of our wedding. It’s a big empty hole that’s hard to fill.”

And Guilfoyle thinks Gonillo may have had something to do with the weather suddenly changing for the better. Instead of a rainy Sunday that was predicted, the storm clouds that were in the sky early that morning were replaced with blue skies and sunshine.

“You couldn’t have asked for a better day, it’s like he was looking down on us and bringing us some sunshine,” Guilfoyle said.

But it’s not just the team and the press that will miss Gonillo. The fans are also at a loss, said Sheryl Rosen, a former president of the Bridgeport Bluefish Booster Club.

Though he didn’t have to help the group out, Gonillo always was willing to plug the group’s road trips to games on Long Island and in New Jersey on the air.

Rosen said she’ll also miss making brownies - and the occasional meat loaf sandwich - for Gonillo.

“Bill was the greatest guy in the entire world,” Rosen said. “We never got him to go on a trip with us, hut he gave with all of his heart. If he was in a position to help someone, he would.”

But if Gonillo is looking down from above, Rosen thinks he would have been genuinely shocked at the day’s festivities.

“He would think it was too much,” Rosen said. “Like we’re all making a big deal over nothing. He was very modest, I think he underestimated his value in this world.

- Text by Tim Parry

photo by Sheryl Rosen

Below: Video of Bill Gonillo Day pregame festivities

The Bridgeport Bluefish will celebrate the life of a local legend, Bill Gonillo, when they take the field May 4 against the Somerset Patriots.

Gonillo, who died at the age of 44 on Sept. 23 of natural causes, suffered from diabetes, and proceeds from each ticket sold will be donated to the American Diabetes Association and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International.

Bill was a friend to everyone in the media. The News 12 Connecticut sports director had been with the station for 12 years, and became a YouTube sensation with this crime scene footage after Jose Offerman went crazy at a Bluefish game: http://youtube.com/watch?v=zjAaZd8XhxU.

For more about Bill Gonillo, please go to billgonillo.com.