Remembering Joe Sorrentino, the Young Athlete Who Inspired the Game

YORKTOWN, N.Y. — The 42nd annual Sorrentino Memorial Baseball Game was played on Friday, May 3, when the Lakeland Hornets took on the Yorktown Huskers to honor, and remember Joseph Sorrentino Jr. who played baseball, football, and basketball for Yorktown High School.

On Dec. 12, 1981, tragedy struck for the Sorrentino family and the Yorktown community when Joseph Jr. passed away just one month shy of his 17th birthday. Joe collapsed unexpectedly because of a heart arrhythmia while at a friend’s house.  Lisa Statler, Joe's sister, and a beloved teacher at Crompond School, explained that, although there was no official diagnosis at the time, today Joe’s diagnosis would be Long QT Syndrome.

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Lisa was only 12 years old when Joe passed and she remembers her big brother as a funny guy with a great sense of humor who had many friends; so much so that his funeral had so many people in attendance it had to be held in the gymnasium of St Patrick’s School. The new church had yet to be erected and the old stone church was much too small for the capacity crowd.

Lisa said she is always deeply moved by the crowd and their reactions at the annual baseball game held in Joe’s honor. She said she is thankful to all those who remember her brother, and their willingness to tell her stories about Joe some four decades later.

By all accounts, Joe was a great kid—an outgoing, positive member of the Yorktown High School community, a wonderful son, and a great brother. He was a mentor, a youth baseball coach, and a leader. Joe's father recently reflected that although 42 years have passed “it feels just like yesterday.”

The game is a tribute to a young man who had the world at his fingertips. A successful athlete and a great person who treated everyone as they should be treated. He was a young man who has left a lasting impression and has had a deep impact on the community that refuses to let his memory slip away.

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At the game, Joe’s good friend Peter Froats threw out the first pitch. Peter was Joe’s catcher on the varsity team. This year’s game was a true pitchers' duel which did not disappoint. The game was scoreless after 12 innings of play. At the top of the 13th inning, Lakeland’s Alex Mautone scored the game’s only run.

God bless you Joe and the entire Sorrentino family.

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