| I.S.C. From The Ballpark |
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Stars of the ISC – September, 2004 – Sebastian Gervasutti
(A Tribute to the Past, Present, and Emerging Stars of the I.S.C)
SEBASTIAN GERVASUTTI - - - A Star in the Making
A “World-Class” pitcher in the making?
Or a world-class accountant?
How about BOTH!!!!!
That’s a pretty good “take” on SEBASTIAN GERVASUTTI, a 20 year old Argentinian who has raised some important eyebrows with his pitching talent during the 2004 season.
Hurling for The Bull/Townline team of DePere, Wisconsin, young mister Gervasutti has made the most of his first season playing the sport in the U.S. - - a sport which obsesses him to the point that he disavows any other form of hobbies in his life.
He even denies having a girlfriend either in the U.S. or in his hometown of Parana, Argentina. That situation could change in a heartbeat given his movie star good looks, and a smile that should attract toothpaste endorsements.
How does a nine-year-old kid in Parana manage to get involved with the sport of fastball in a country where soccer rules and where relatively few play fastball because of the lack of equipment and the high price of obtaining it (“I have to work about two months to get enough to afford a glove!”)
Simple - - - just have as your close young buddies a pair of brothers whose family happen to be involved with fastball.
By age 11, Sebastian was starting to learn the art of pitching and it wasn’t long until the club team from his community became like another family for him. “Club teams” - - - no sponsors - - are the way the sport tends to exist in Argentina.
And it is to a club team (CPFE#5) that Sebastian returns as he heads back to Argentina after his 2004 ISC World Tournament has ended.
But back home in Argentina more than just fastball awaits young Gervasutti. He will be heading into his third year at the University of Entre Rios, a state university “between the rivers” where he is studying Accounting with a goal of becoming a C.P.A.
A couple of great goals motivate this young man: winning the I.S.C. and becoming a C.P.A.
He has taken some major steps in his quest for ISC laurels. He played for Argentina’s Junior National team in Australia in 2001, played for his country’s Senior National team in Pan-Am competition in Guatemala in 2002, and hurled his team to the championship of the ISC’s 23 and under tourney in 2004.
So how did this talented right-hander, who claims his best pitch to his curveball, get to DePere, Wisconsin, for the 2004 season?
Credit fellow countryman Julio Gamarci for that one. The 30-year-old Gamarci, something of an idol and super mentor to the younger Argentinian players, has played with U.S. teams for nearly a decade. It was Gamarci (who also facilitated my interview with Sebastian by translating Spanish to English and vice versa) who set up the contacts when the DePere team was looking for pitching help. Gamarci has been a key link in bringing younger players from Argentina to the U.S. - - - there were nine from that country, five of them pitchers, in this year’s ISC World Tournament in Fargo.
The addition of strong young arms from Argentina was a great move according to Alex Marino, one of the sponsors of The Bull/Townline team. Marino described his team’s “imports” as “very respectful; just great people; very humble; who will do anything asked of them”. High praise indeed from one who helps pay the bills!
When this interview was conducted, Sebastian had just come from facing the defending ISC World Champs in a game which he had lost and been hit fairly hard. And what did he learn from the experience of facing one of the toughest batting orders in the world?
“I learned that I must keep on improving and work harder.”
Gervasutti counts County Materials and The Farm, along with Broken Bow, as the toughest teams he has faced.
Asked to name the pitcher he most respects and would want to be like, he pauses, flashes the dynamite smile, and says “Dino” (Dean Holoein of the Farm Tavern team).
While referring to his experience pitching in the ISC World Tournament as “a dream come true”, he also mentions among his best experiences making the Argentina Senior National team.
And the future - - - home to his accounting studies, his club team, his favorite foods (pasta and other Italian dishes), and just possibly to contemplate some very tempting offers to throw for U.S. or Canadian teams in 2005.
A neat assortment of achievements behind him at age 20, a bright future ahead of him, possessor of the “tools of success” that’s SEBASTIAN GERVASUTTI, our September, 2004 “STAR OF THE I.S.C.”
(Note: Sebastian can be reached at sebastiangervasutti@hotmail.com )
By: Gordon Wise - - - - ISC Information Officer
sgwise@woh.rr.com
http://www.iscfastpitch.com/