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Boston Renegades Player and Coach Biographies



The Renegades are built of a team of blind players and sighted volunteers. One thing that makes beepball somewhat unique is the fact the coaching staff acts as both coaches and part of the team. Our sighted help teaches strategy, implements game plans and teaches fundamentals. The sighted help also contributes on the field. Offensively sighted coaches pitch and a catch, acting as a team to help the player hit the ball. Defensively, we have sighted help on the field to help position players and call zones when the ball is put into play, these people are called spotters. The Renegades view the players and coaches as one team.

The Players:

Picture of player Darren Black

#19 Darren Black

Garbage Man (Short Fielder), 3rd Base. Mid-Fielder

Black was the captain of the team till 2005 and we named a position after him. Darren put the G in Garbage as he plays the short man position in our defense. Black is the all-time leader in putouts for the Renegades with 275 put-outs from 2002 to 2007. He won awards for his defensive prowess in the Bolingbrook tournaments from 2004-2007, won the defensive MVP at the 2006 Long Island Classic and made the World Series Defensive All-stars in 2004 and 2006.  Black wants to be known as more than a defensive player and he set a career high of 11 runs scored in the 2007 season.

Picture of player Joey Buizon 

#15 Joey Buizon

3rd Base, 1st Base, Rover

Wrong Way Buizon has one of the biggest swings in the NBBA.  Buizon is third all-time in career batting average at .332 for the Renegades.  His best tournament statistically was in the 2006 World Series where he hit .519.  Defensively, he improved his skills and made the play of the year in 2007 on a 160 foot smash to center field by Indianapolis Thunder, Steve Michaels.  He graduated from Bridgewater State College in May, 2005 with a degree in Social Work and is currently working at the Massachusetts Commission for the blind.

Tony Flinn

#36 Tony Flinn

Designated Hitter, 1st Base

Tony Flinn has dove into the game head first and embraced it with all that he has.  Tony has made improvements by leaps and bounds every time he practices.  In his first at-bat against Long Island in the 2008 Long Island Classic, he put the ball into play in.  As he retreated to the bench after being put-out both Long Island and his teammates gave him an ovation for his great efforts and accomplishment.  This is just the beginning for this promising Rookie.
Picture not available

#35 Chris Genikos

Designated Hitter

Genikos joined the Renegades late in the 2008 season to join Tony Flinn as rookies on the squad.  His first look at the game was during a charity game against Chen PR.  Chen signed Genikos to a one game contract and placed him in the line-up.  In batting practice Genikos was launching balls over 100 feet in the air on his first few swings ever.  In his first at-bat he hit the ball hard in the game but found himself running to the wrong base as his baseball instincts took him to first base instead of third which was buzzing.  A common mistake by most people who play the game for the first time.  This is a mistake he will not forget and you can expect him to be scoring runs for the Renegades in the near future.
Larry Haile

#81 Larry Haile

Rover, 3rd Base

"All Hail...Larry Haile" screams his teammates as Larry steps into the batters box and finds his chi.  His second year as a Renegade is in the books and he improved every step of the way.  His improved skills were a big part in helping the Renegades to their first ever winning season.  Larry has found confidence in his game which has allowed him to put the ball into play.  He had a career game against the Stockton Stingrays by scoring 3 times in that 2007 World Series match-up.

Steve Houston

#2 Steve Houston

Designated Hitter, 1st Base

Houston came to the squad late in the 2005 season.  Houston has more baseball experience than the entire Renegade team combined as he played collegiate baseball at Salem State and also played in the Boston Park League.  He scored his first ever run against the Chicago Comets in the 2007 Bolingbrook tournament.

Melissa Hoyt
 

#3 Melissa Hoyt

1st Base, Rover

Hoyt picked up a bat in spring, 2007 and became the second female player in Renegade history to play in tournament  competition.  As a child, she played soccer and basketball until her vision loss seemed to put an end to her participation in team sports.  “As a kid I was an avid sports fan, following football, basketball and baseball, wishing at times I could be on a team again.”  That wish is now reality, as Hoyt brings her desire and her positive attitude to a team sport that allows her to develop her skills and her abilities.

Picture of player Sengil Inkiala

#17 Sengil Inkiala

Rover, 1st Base, Shorty

A rare combination of speed and age is what this African born player brings to the Renegades. Inky was born in the Congo many, many years ago. He is the oldest member of the team and arguably is the fastest player as well.  In the 2005 Bolingbrook tournament, Inkiala came an at-bat shy of making the all-offense team as he hit .571.   Inky has won championships in blind sailing and fencing, and looks to add Beepball to the list of his achievements.  After taking the 2007 season off, Inky returned in 2008 and scored the tying run in Boston's amazing 5 run come from behind walk off victory against the Chicago Comet B team to clinch the first ever tournament championship for the Boston Renegades

Picture of player Luis Marquez

#24 Luis Marquez

3rd Base, Mid-Fielder, Rover

He wears #24, he plays left field, he is Hispanic and he has crazy hair. In many ways Marquez is like Manny Ramirez. He makes occasional spectacular defensive plays and at times we kid with him because he seems asleep on the field.  Like Manny he has quickly become a fan favorite for his offensive power, defensive skills and the way he just has fun playing the game.  Luis picked up offensive MVP honors by placing on the all-offensive teams in Bolingbrook and the World Series in 2007 by hitting .600 in both events.  Luis is the all-time leader in runs scored (82), batting average (.402) and second in defensive put-outs (63)

Picture of player Joe O'Neil

#23 Joe O'Neill

Designated Hitter, Rover

O'Neill has been playing beepball longer than anyone on the team in the boson area. He got his start playing recreationally for the Lowell Association of the Blind in the 1990's. He saw his first competition in tournament play in 2004 at the Bolingbrook tournament. Despite his tourney inexperience, he managed to get the bat on the ball as he was the only player not to strike out in the 2004 season.  O'Neill has put 75% of his at-bats into play in his career and had a career high of 6 plate appearances in the 2007 season.

Picture of player Joe Quintanilla 

#14 Joe Quintanilla

Rover, 1st Base

Q was Captain of the Renegades from 2005 to 2007. Q may be one of the quieter guys on the team, but his bat is one of the loudest. He has been the offensive leader of the team since the inception of the franchise. Q is the all-time team leader in At-bats (248) and second in runs scored (75).  He was named the Offensive MVP of the 2007 Long Island Classic with his .600 batting average.  In 2007, Q made huge strides in his defense.  He made 17 stops in 2007 which surpassed the 16 he had made in the previous 5 seasons combined.  

 Picture of player Evan Silver

#29 Evan Silver

Midfielder, Rover

HI HO SILVER!  You will hear that call every time Evan steps to the plate or makes a defensive put-out.  Silver has been a pampered athlete on the Renegades in the past because he was one of the first players to have his own personal pitcher.   He thrived on the pitching of Rob Weissman in the 2004 season.  Since then, Weissman has not pitched often and Silver has struggled at the plate.  That struggle ended in the 2008 Long Island Classic as Evan Silver was named co-offensive MVP (with Luis Marquez) for his five runs scored and his .500 batting average.  Silver's bat  represented 26% of the offensive output for Boston in their Long Island Classic championship.  

Picture of player Dino Vasile

#13 Dino Vasile

1st Base, 3rd Base, Garbage Man (Short Fielder)

Vasile is one of the oldest players on the team but may have become the most improved player over the past few years.  Dino has been big on both sides of the ball.   Offensively, he is second all time in batting average at .353.  He is just one of two players to score 5 times in a game as both he and Buizon performed that feat against Columbus in the 2006 World Series.  Defensively, Vasile had a break-out year in 2007 as he was 4th on the team in stops with 18 which surpassed his previous 3 year total of just 10.  His best defensive game was against Long Island where he made 4 stops in their first ever win over the Bombers.

Tom Walsh

#22 Tom Walsh

Rover

For NBBA enthusiasts, Tom Walsh has been mistaken by many to look like Jeff Dell (who is considered one of the better players in the game).  Walsh busted onto the scene making an instant impact as a rookie.  He scored the second highest total of runs for a Renegade rookie (9) in 2006 and set a rookie record for lowest Strike-out percentage (19%).  Walsh did this despite missing time to injuries and taking time off to attend guide dog school in the middle of the season.

Picture of player JJ Ward

#10 JJ Ward

1st Base, 3rd Base, Rover, Shorty

Ward fell in love with hitting.  He spent the entire off season working on his swing in the batting cages on his own.  That work paid off in 2007 as he had his best season ever.  JJ scored 17 times in 2007 which almost equaled the 20 runs he had scored in the previous 4 seasons of play.  He was also second on the team in 2007 in putting balls in play at 88%.  His best game of the year was against the Indy Thunder where he plated 3 of the teams 6 runs to lead their offense to victory.

Guy Zuccarello

#9 Guy Zuccarello

Midfielder, 1st Base, Rover, Shorty

Guy was one of the original players from the 2002 squad.  He left the team to have a baby after the first season of play.  As his child has grown, he was coaxed back to the sport of beepball and has made an instant impact making the starting line-up.  In just 3 seasons of play Guy has made his mark on both sides of the ball.  He is third all-time in defensive put-outs (55).  His career high was 6 stops against the Indy Thunder in the 2007 World Series win.  Offensively, Guy was third on the team in batting average in the 2007 World Series hitting .357.

The Coaches and Staff:

Picture of John Oliveira

John Oliveira

The Owner

John is the man behind the Renegades. You may not see him on the field or hear him in team meetings, but his influence is everywhere. John met Coach Weissman in 2000 and the two had a vision to create a competitive beepball league in the Boston area. That vision may have been tweaked over time, but the Association of Blind Citizens found a way to fund the Boston Renegades Beepball program. John helped get the team started in 2000 and coached them in their first World Series in 2002. In 2003, he moved "upstairs" and left the coaching duties to new coach Rob Weissman. Oliveira's passion to promote programs for visually impaired people has been the number one reason the Boston Renegades exist as a team.

 Picture of Head Coach Rob Weissman

#62 Rob Weissman

Head Coach & Catcher/Pitcher

Weissman helped start Beepball as a competitive sport in the Boston area. He got his start as the head coach of the Lowell LAB Retrievers in 2000. In 2003, he returned to the coaching ranks as the head coach of the Boston Renegades. He brings a unique style to the team where he is heavily involved in every aspect of the game as a hands on vocal coach. Those vocal chords get a work out during the season as he is known to lose his voice during tournaments yelling words of encouragement and barking out strategy. He may be the only head coach who catches during the game, which helps him keep a unique perspective.

 Picture of Coach Nick Bebas

#42 Nick Bebas

Hitting Coach & Spotter