John Augello – St. Joseph’s HS-Camden

Umpire

Among the most recognizable South Jersey umpires is Sewell resident John Augello. Today, Augello enters the South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame with six other inductees.

Augello has been calling balls and strikes, fair and foul, safe and out since 1980. He started, like so many umpires, doing Little League games and moved up to the high school level in 1983. From 1998 until 2020, Augello worked college baseball and much more.

Like most veteran officials, Augello has a comprehensive on the field resume. He worked American Legion ball from 1986 to 2021 – umpiring the Mid-Atlantic Regional in 2013 at River Sharks Stadium in Camden. He was included on at least five umpiring crews for the prestigious Bridgeton Invitational Tournament, chosen for college tournaments in Fort Myers, Florida, and did his share of Carpenter Cup games sponsored by the Phillies with the championship games played at Citizens Bank Park. The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association has also chosen him to umpire its State semi-finals and finals.

Add to the list, spending 15 years officiating for the Chesapeake Baseball Umpires Association, serving as president of South Jersey’s Independent Umpires Association (IUA), and cadet trainer and rules interpreter for the Unified Umpires Association of Southern New Jersey. He has also umpired for the Tri-County League, Little and Babe Ruth Leagues, the Garden State League, when it was in its prime, and the 12 and under baseball tournament at Dream Park in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Augello, who played high school baseball at St. Joseph’s in Camden, was the first recipient of the Stuart Leon Umpire Award presented by the IUA. He is an active member of the Hot Stovers Baseball Club of South Jersey, sponsor of today’s Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

John and his wife Sandi have two children. He spent 43 years as a manager for ShopRite stores, the largest food retailer in New Jersey.

Steve Bruno – Gloucester Catholic HS

Infielder

Stephen Bruno is a Gloucester Catholic High School graduate who was drafted twice by major league teams. In 2009, the Yankees took Bruno in the 26th round, but he elected to attend the University of Virginia. In 2012, the Chicago Cubs drafted him in the seventh round citing his .357 college batting average, .411on-base percentage, .536 slugging average and .947 OPS (on-base plus slugging average).

Born in Philadelphia, Bruno grew up in Audubon with the dream of playing in the “Bigs.” Although he never did, his years starting at Boise in “low A” ball and moving up to “Triple A” Iowa, were impressive. Remaining in the Cubs’ organization throughout, Bruno compiled a .282 batting average, a .353 OBP and just under a .400 slugging average.

Defensively, he played second and third base, as well as left field. At Iowa, he tried his arm at pitching – mostly as a starting righthander. Although his mound appearances were limited, he finished with a 3.86 earned run average and a WHIP (walks plus hits per inning) of 2.143.

In high school, at Gloucester Catholic, he was Coach Dennis Barth’s starting shortstop his senior year. In one 11-game stretch, Bruno batted .541 with three home runs and 15 RBIs. He went on to have excellent summer playing for Brooklawn’s American Legion team. He also was selected to play in the prestigious Area Code Games in California. Then, he competed in the World Wooden Bat Association championship in Jupiter, Fla. His Texas Scout Team, which consisted of many players from Texas and Georgia, finished third among 80 teams – again, catching the eyes of college and pro scouts.

After graduating Virginia, Steve went on to become a Cherry Hill police officer and told the Courier-Post’s Celeste Whittaker, “It was really a dream come true. I joked with my family. I said when I got an opportunity to play professional baseball, it was very cool, it was very exciting but when I raised my right arm and took that oath, it was one of the most special moments of my life. I’m excited for this journey and I’m extremely humbled and blessed to be here.”

Kevin Comer – Seneca HS

Pitcher

Hall of Fame inductee Kevin Comer is a Shamong Township native and Seneca High School graduate. The right-handed pitcher, who also bats right, was selected in the first round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft by the Toronto Blue Jays and had to choose between signing or enrolling at Vanderbilt University.

History shows Comer signing with the Jays for a sizable bonus and
soon after, made his professional debut with the Bluefield Blue Jays of the Rookie-level Appalachian League. On August 16, 2012, Toronto traded him to the Houston Astros who assigned him to the Greenville Astros in the Rookie-level Appalachian League. In 49.1 total innings pitched between Bluefield and Greeneville, he was 3–4 with a 4.56 ERA. In 2013, he pitched for the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Single-A New York-Penn League where he was 2–5 with a 4.93 ERA in 15 games (seven starts). In 2014, he played with the Quad Cities River Bandits of the Single-A Midwest League where he compiled a 2-5 record and 4.24 ERA in 21 games – 11 of them as a starter.

Comer spent the 2015 season with Quad Cities and Lancaster Jet Hawks of the High-A California League, transitioning into a relief pitcher during the season. In 30 games – 14 as a starter – he was 7–5 with a 4.46 ERA. After the 2015 season, he played winter baseball for the Adelaide Bite of the Australian Baseball League to gain more experience as a reliever. In 2016 he played for Lancaster and the Corpus Christi Hooks of the Double-A Texas League. In 29 relief appearances between both teams he was 2-2 with a 4.09 ERA. He played for the Fresno Grizzlies of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in 2017, going 5-4 with a 3.68 ERA in 43 relief appearances. He elected free agency following the season.

That took Comer to the Detroit Tigers where he signed a minor league contract. He pitched in 48 games for the Toledo Mud Hens of the Triple-A International League, compiling a 3.86 ERA with 57 strikeouts and four saves in 56 innings of work. Comer, again, elected free agency after the 2018 season. In January 2019, he signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins, but was released just before the 2019 season opener. It did not take long for Kevin to sign on with the Sugar Land (Texas) Skeeters of the Atlantic League – the same league that featured the Camden Riversharks until 2015. He became a free agent following the season.

His 9-year professional statistics show 426 strikeouts, 157 walks 24 wins and 20 saves.

Dan Gakeler – Burlington Township HS

Pitcher

Daniel Gakeler is a former American League pitcher who signed with the Boston Red Sox in 1984 after being a first-round draft pick in the secondary phase. He was previously drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in June 1983.

If Major League Baseball gave an award for
perseverance, Dan would have gotten it. He spent eight
years in the minor leagues before pitching in his first
major league game for the Detroit Tigers on June 9, 1991.
In all, his playing career spanned 12 seasons after graduating from Burlington Township High School and Mercer County College.

Here is a summary of Gakeler’s professional baseball experience and accomplishments:

  • Drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers (31st round) in June 1983.
  • First round draft pick by the Boston Red Sox in the MLB’s secondary phase in January 1984.
  • Played 12 seasons (1984-1995) in the minor and major leagues moving up the ladder from Low A ball to A, High A, Double A and Triple A before joining the Detroit Tigers in the majors in 1991.
  • Served as a pitching coach for a number of teams (Utica N.Y., Lowell, Mass., Battle Creek, Mich., and Savannah, Ga. beginning in 1995 before retiring from baseball in 1998 to spend more time with his family in Greensboro, N.C.

Dan and his wife, Tanya, live in Lexington, North Carolina.

Dan Grovatt – Seneca HS

Outfielder/Pitcher

Former Seneca High School star Daniel Grovatt has quite a story – or two to tell – as he looks back on his baseball career at Seneca High School, the University of Virginia and beyond. In fact, he helped lead Seneca to the state championship his senior year 2007.

This is not Dan’s first recognition from the Hot Stovers Baseball
Club of South Jersey. He was awarded the Hot Stovers’ Player of the Year Scholarship in 2007, but due to NCAA regulations, rather than accept it, decided to establish a scholarship at Seneca in his grandfather Clarence Grovatt’s name. Mr. Grovatt passed away last fall at 107. As Dan notes, his grandfather was a life-long South Jersey resident and a huge baseball fan.

“The scholarship is something my family has grown over the years and the award is given to the player each year who exemplifies leadership both on and off the field,” Dan says.

“I will forever be grateful for the honor the Hot Stovers gave me back in high school, which gave my family the ability to create the scholarship and build a legacy for my grandfather that I hope will be part of South Jersey baseball for generations to come.”

Here are some of Dan’s on the field achievements:

  • Member of the inaugural Seneca High School baseball team (2005)
  • First team All-State 2007
  • First team All-South Jersey 2007
  • South Jersey Player of the Year 2007
  • All-conference (2005, 2006, 2007)
  • Career batting average .479
  • Total career hits 134
  • Career home runs 11
  • Career pitching record 17-2
  • Career ERA 2.35
  • Career innings pitched 128

As a senior (2007) Grovatt batted .588 with seven home runs and a pitching record of 10-1 with an ERA of 2.11 and 97 strike outs in 72 innings pitched. He was an 11th round Pirates’ pick and a South Atlantic League (A-ball) All-star in 2011 and played in the high-A Florida State League in 2012 and 13. His career was cut short by Tommy John surgery in 2014. Dan now resides with his family in the Tampa, FL Area.

Kevin Kelly – Gloucester Catholic HS

Infielder

1998 Gloucester Catholic High School (GCHS) graduate Kevin Kelly – a third round Montreal Expos draft pick – decided to accept a full scholarship from Duke University instead and went on to be a four-year starter graduating in 2002. Along the way, he continued to impress major league baseball scouts enough that the San Francisco Giants made him their fifth-round draft in 2002. He played two minor league seasons with the Giants.

At Duke, Kelly was a 3-time Academic Atlantic Coast Conference Honor Roll selection and on the baseball field he was a career .302 hitter with 256 career hits including 55 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs, 142 RBIs and 150 runs scored. Before heading to the Blue Devils, Kelly was a four-year high school starter playing third base at GCHS his freshman year and then moving over to shortstop. Twice he was named All-State, All-South Jersey, All-Parochial and All-Conference. Kevin helped lead Gloucester Catholic to the state championship in 1996 and three consecutive Diamond Classic titles in ’96, ’97 and ’98. His batting average in those three years was .385, .608 and .475, respectively. Career-wise he drove in 103 runs.

His batting achievements turned heads:

  • 1997 – East Coast Area Code Game Most Valuable Player
  • 1997 – National Amateur Baseball Federation All-Star
  • 1998 – Named to the American Baseball Coaches Association All-American team
  • 1998 – Rated a top high school prospect by Major League Baseball and drafted in the third round by the Montreal Expos (opted to attend Duke University on a full scholarship)
  • Two-time Carpenter Cup participant.
  • Member of the 100 career hit club in high school. Retired Courier-Post and The Philadelphia Inquirer reporter

Phil Anastasia, who nominated Kelly, says, “Without a doubt, very best players in Gloucester Catholic baseball history, which is considering the history of that program.”

Tony Mitchell – St. Joseph’s HS-Camden

Coach/Administrator

1968 St. Joseph’s High School graduate Tony Mitchell enters the South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame after coaching 16 years at Paul VI and compiling a win-loss record of 203-165.
His 1992 and 1995 teams, respectively, won South Jersey Parochial A Championships. His 1995, 1997, 2000 and 2003 teams were Olympic Conference National Division champions. As a coach, Mitchell was named South Jersey Coach of the Year in 1993 and in 2004. In 2004, he was inducted into the South Jersey Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Off the field, he served as assistant state commissioner of Babe Ruth Baseball from 2002 to 2021 and assistant Mid-Atlantic Region Commissioner from 2004 through 2021.

Among the highlights of Mitchell’s coaching came on May 23, 1993 when the Eagles were ranked 17th by USA Today. At the time, they were 20-0 and led by Ron Keck who was batting .528 and Brian Rotchford at .456. They ended the season 22-2.

At the time, Mitchell said, “These kids will have memories of winning 22 games and giving Paul VI its first conference title.” They finished the season ranked second to Washington Township in South Jersey. In 2003, Mitchell was given the challenge of replacing himself after 16 years of coaching when he was appointed his school’s athletic director. He had been a guidance counselor at Paul VI for 24 years.1968 St. Joseph’s High School graduate Tony Mitchell enters the South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame after coaching 16 years at Paul VI and compiling a win-loss record of 203-165. His 1992 and 1995 teams, respectively, won South Jersey Parochial A Championships. His 1995, 1997, 2000 and 2003 teams were Olympic Conference National Division champions. As a coach, Mitchell was named South Jersey Coach of the Year in 1993 and in 2004. In 2004, he was inducted into the South Jersey Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Off the field, he served as assistant state commissioner of Babe Ruth Baseball from 2002 to 2021 and assistant Mid-Atlantic Region Commissioner from 2004 through 2021.

Among the highlights of Mitchell’s coaching came on May 23, 1993 when the Eagles were ranked 17th by USA Today. At the time, they were 20-0 and led by Ron Keck who was batting .528 and Brian Rotchford at .456. They ended the season 22-2. At the time, Mitchell said, “These kids will have memories of winning 22 games and giving Paul VI its first conference title.” They finished the season ranked second to Washington Township in South Jersey.

In 2003, Mitchell was given the challenge of replacing himself after 16 years of coaching when he was appointed his school’s athletic director. He had been a guidance counselor at Paul VI for 24 years.