Question Lingers for Scot Fans, But Sforzo Moved On To Other Successes

The question is still asked today by followers of the College of Wooster baseball program.

How is it possible that Rick Sforzo went undrafted and unnoticed by Major League Baseball?

And no one can come up with an answer.

ÒI wish I knew,Ó said long-time Wooster mentor Tim Pettorini, who has coached six Wooster players that have been either drafted or signed professional contracts. ÒIf I did, I would have gotten it fixed. I really wonder what he could have done, had they taken him.Ó

Sforzo, who came to Wooster in 1983 from Holy Name High School in Parma Heights, Ohio, where he remains the only Ò10Ó varsity letterman in school history, began his career modestly. He batted .309 with four homers and 21 runs batted in, while starting in the outfield and at first base on a team that went 20-19.

After hitting a humble .279 on the spring trip of his sophomore season, Sforzo’s game heated up and it never cooled down for the rest of his career. That year, he finished with a .446 average, four more home runs, and 46 RBI en route to running away with the first of his three-straight North Coast Athletic Conference Player-of-the-Year awards and receiving third-team All-American honors at third base.

Sforzo followed that up with even more impressive numbers his final two springs, blasting his way to a mind-boggling .468 average, 16 round-trippers, and 77 RBI as a junior, and a .403 average, 16 more homers, and 54 RBI during his senior campaign, while being placed on the All-America First Team each season.

Overall, Sforzo, who moved to shortstop as a senior to help better the Scots’ chances at their goal of a trip to the Small College World Series, remains as their only three-time All-American. He graduated with seven single-season records and nine career records and still maintains Wooster-bests for a career in hits (263), doubles (66), RBI (198), and total bases (461).

ÒBaseball is a numbers-oriented kind of game and Rick’s statistics speak for themselves,Ó Pettorini explained. ÒIn the 20 years that I’ve been here, Rick is the best player I’ve coached and the best I’ve seen at the Division III level. He is the measuring stick of this program.Ó

Despite those numbers and that kind of praise, the star infielder never got the opportunity to play baseball following graduation.

Instead of moping about it, though, Sforzo refocused and used his bachelor’s degree from Wooster in business economics to start a successful career in the competitive corporate world.

For the past decade and one-half, he has worked his way up the ladder and was recently promoted to assistant vice president of the Lancer Insurance Company, becoming an officer of the firm that is the nation’s largest specialty insurer of passenger transportation vehicles.

Sforzo’s only remaining connection with baseball is in coaching his three children ´ Paige (11), Zachary (8), and Madison (5). He and his wife, Suzanne, also help out with their other sporting interests ´ football, soccer, and track ´ and are involved in raising funds for their school and church.