Published: July 03, 2008 11:51 pm            

Osborne heads list of AAABA Hall of Fame inductees

Dee Dee Osborne’s AAABA resume includes:

n 541 regular-season victories as either a manager or general manager in the local AAABA League.

n 267 regular-season wins as a manager.

n Four AAABA Tournament appearances as a manager and nine tournaments overall as either manager or GM.

n A lengthy list of his players who advanced to the majors, minors or college (Mike Holtz, Michael Ryan, Keith Williams, Joe Vitko, Mike Moore, Mike Sube, Rick Roberts and Tom Walter, to name a few).

Beyond those gaudy numbers, Osborne must be credited as one of the men who altered how the Johnstown Junior League recruited players and built winning franchises.

There were others who were good at the recruiting game in the mid- to late-1980’s. But Osborne had a knack for finding the top competitors, whether he brought in Williams from Bedford or Holtz and Vitko from Ebensburg.

For his accomplishments on and off the field, Osborne will be inducted into the AAABA Hall of Fame during an Aug. 9 banquet at the Pasquerilla Conference Center.

“I am truly honored,” Osborne said. “Anytime you get an award like this, you’re being recognized for doing something extraordinary in your field. I gave my whole life to this league.

“I want to thank all of the players for the success they’ve given me in the AAABA. I want to thank Annie and Ralph Walter for talking me into getting into this. They were the ones who helped get the Pepsi franchise started. Their son, Tommy Walter, was my first recruit. I didn’t think I belonged in the Junior League.”

Osborne worked many seasons with Forrest Mazey, his third base coach with Pepsi-Cola and manager of the Pepsi and Knickerbockers teams with Osborne as the GM.

“The man responsible for me being a success in the Junior League is Forrest Mazey,” Osborne said. “There are two things Forrest Mazey is extremely good at – winning and not losing. Later, I handed my teams over to two young guns, Chris DelSignore and Ross Kott in 1999, and Chris remained with Delweld.”

Osborne managed Pepsi (1985-90), Moxham Bank (1995) and Principle Development (1996-98) to a combined 267-81 record (309 wins including the postseason). He managed AAABA Tournament teams in 1987, ’89, ’90 and ’96, compiling a 4-8 record.

His 1990 Pepsi-Cola team with record home-run hitter Williams, curveball specialist Holtz and ace Sube went 32-2.

Pepsi started 2-0 in the 1990 AAABA Tournament but ran into a few bad breaks and was eliminated in four rounds.

Osborne was GM of tournament teams Pepsi (1991), Knickerbockers (1992-94) and Delweld (1999 and 2003). The 2003 team was a national runner-up.

“The best memories were the Fizz kids, the Pepsi-Cola powerhouse teams,” Osborne said. “I had some fantastic players. Seeing kids getting drafted – Joey Vitko, ‘Smokin’ Joe,’ was my first one. Seeing kids accomplish their higher goals in life was special. Getting those kids into the AAABA Tournament and helping them get into college and get on with their careers was a highlight.

“The tournament was an amazing thing. There were two times chills went up and down my spine. The first time was when we upset Coke to get into our first AAABA Tournament in ’87 and the other was when we won the District 6 championship in high school.”

As Greater Johnstown High School’s coach, Osborne has 197 wins. The Trojans won the 1998 District 6 title by upsetting heavily favored State College.

Osborne also is a longtime associate scout with the Cleveland Indians and works with Cleveland scout Bob Mayer, a Somerset native.

Osborne and his wife, Cathy, have two sons, Keith and Chance.

Former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bob Friend will be the AAABA Hall of Fame banquet’s featured speaker. Friend won 197 career games and was a key part of the Pirates’ 1960 World Series championship. Friend won a league-best 22 games in 1958 and had 18 victories on the Series-winning squad. He was the first pitcher in major league history to lead the league in ERA (2.83) while pitching for a last-place team in 1955.

Joining Osborne in the Class of 2008 are:

n Ruben Amaro Jr., Philadelphia: Amaro played in the 1983 AAABA Tournament, batting .263 with five hits, five runs, a double and two RBIs on a 3-2 team. The shortstop/second baseman went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs in Philadelphia’s 12-7 win over Brooklyn.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Amaro was a batboy for the major league Phillies from 1980-83 when his father, Ruben Sr., coached first base for the club. He played at Stanford, where he was a second-team All-American and part of the 1987 NCAA championship team.

He played in the majors for the California Angels (1991), Phillies (1992-93, 1996-98) and Cleveland (1994-95). Amaro Jr. played for the 1993 NL champion Phillies and the 1995 AL champion Indians. In 1996 he ranked third among NL pinch-hitters with a .387 average.

Amaro Jr. moved into the Phillies front office as an assistant general manager after the 1998 season. This is his 10th season as assistant GM.

n Wayne Pietri, New Orleans: Pietri played in the AAABA Tournament in 1960 and 1961 under AAABA Hall of Fame Manager Lou “Rags” Scheuermann. A pitcher/first baseman, Pietri led undefeated New Orleans to the 1961 title while claiming tournament MVP honors.

He led the tournament with 13 RBIs, 14 hits and three pitching victories in ’61. In 21 innings, he posted a 0.45 ERA.

Pietri batted .500 to lead the 1960 AAABA Tournament. He had six hits and drove in seven runs while playing only three games in ’60.

He played at Loyola University, where he is a member of the hall of fame. Pietri signed with the St. Louis Cardinals and played professionally three years in the Cards’ system.

        

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