Marc DeLuca is the new head coach of the St. Raymond baseball team, but he’s the first to say that he is in no way replacing legendary Ron Patnosh, who stepped down earlier this month after 45 years in the position.
“It’s like being the next guy to coach Penn State after Joe Paterno after everything Paterno has done for that school besides just coaching,” DeLuca said. “I’m working toward being my own person because you cannot replace his legacy. I’m just looking to build off of it, learn from it and continue it into the future.”
Patnosh, who established the baseball program at The Bronx Catholic school, announced his retirement after the Ravens lost to Xavier in the CHSAA Class A intersectional semifinals on June 8. The 71-year-old Patnosh, who had 1,080 career wins and won a pair of CHSAA titles, suffered from vertigo and said the illness was part of the reason he stepped down.
In fact DeLuca, an assistant at St. Ray’s for six years, handled a lot of the day-to-day duties, including most of the off-the-field work.
“He knows what he’s doing, he knows the game, I like his approach to the game,” Patnosh said of DeLuca. “I gave him a little more leeway this year to make some of the decision figuring he would get the job. I think he’s definitely ready … In high school there’s so much [stuff] that has to be done off the field and he’s just super organized.”
DeLuca was officially named the new head coach on Wednesday morning after being selected by a school search committee.
“It’s bittersweet because now that it’s finally happened I’m happy that I’m taking over, but I’m sad because he’s not going to be there anymore,” he said. “I’m sure he’ll be around, but just not as the head coach, which he’s been for an eternity.”
DeLuca played at Mount St. Michael from 1994-97 and was a standout left fielder at Pace University from 1997-2002, known for his hitting during his injury-plagued collegiate years. He remained in the game after college, coaching the junior varsity team at Archbishop Stepinac immediately after graduating from Pace.
“Everybody’s goal when you play college ball is to play pro ball. Once that dream is over, I liked working with kids, did a bunch of camps,” DeLuca said. “After that first year of coaching at Stepinac, I had so much fun that I knew I wanted to go to the next level and coach at varsity.”
After a year of working with the freshmen at Mount in 2004, DeLuca became the St. Ray’s assistant coach when Tony Iurilli, who Patnosh said was being groomed to eventually become the head coach, had to step down because of illness. Iurilli died in November, 2007 from multiple sclerosis.
“For me to give up the program and know my field is going to be taken care of and the kids are going to be taken care of the right way, I’m delighted,” Patnosh said.
St. Ray’s is coming off a stellar season, winning its first division crown since 1995 and enjoying a deep postseason run and the junior varsity team, coached by Ben Aguirre, who was also a candidate for the varsity position, also had a solid year. With several key players returning, including right fielder Manny Rivera and catcher Jon Crucey, the Ravens are expecting another big season and DeLuca will be there to make sure the transition is seamless.
“If someone else would have taken over, it would have been a huge transition for the kids, a different voice, philosophy and everything else,” DeLuca said. “I think they know what my expectations are of them, how we run practice and preparation for games, how they should handle themselves and represent the school. It should definitely be an easy transition.”
And although Patnosh has retired as head coach, he is still the school’s athletic director and expects to be a regular at Ravens Field.
DeLuca, for one, is happy about that.
“He’ll always be around for me to lean on and ask questions,” DeLuca said. “That’s one brain I’ll pick for a long time.”