The Mohawks have announced the Hall of Fame Class for the 16th Annual Hot Stove and Hall of Fame Dinner to be held January 17th
Amsterdam Hall of Fame
MIKE DEAMER:
A 2007 graduate of Amsterdam High School, Mike Deamer was one of the Rams’ most decorated baseball players. He hit .477 his senior year with a 19-game hitting streak and reached base safely in all 21games. On the mound he went 5-1 with a 0.78 ERA and 34 strikeouts to just 4 walks. He led the team in hits, runs, doubles, RBIs, stolen bases, average, OPB and slugging. Mike was named Big Ten MVP, Times Union First Team All-Star, NYSSWA All-Star 6th Team for Class AA, AHS Team MVP and Team Captain in 2007. In addition he was named a Big Ten Second Team All-Star and AHS Team Cy Young his sophomore year and Big Ten First Team All-Star his junior year. Mike went on to play at SCCC and received a scholarship to play baseball at the University of Bridgeport (Division 2). He also continued to be a part of the AHS program as an assistant baseball coach from 2008-2015. Mike currently lives in Virginia with his wife and daughter and works as a director of finance for a healthcare system.
JACK TRACY:
During his forty-year career with the Amsterdam public school system this son of a downtown Amsterdam shoe store proprietor coached all three major sports and served as the Director of Physical Education to boot. He left his biggest coaching mark on the sport of baseball, serving as head coach of the AHS Varsity nine for 38 years beginning in 1925. His players included future big-leaguers Roger Bowman and Mac Kuczek plus a busload of outstanding student athletes who made it to the minor leagues. His AHS varsity baseball team had a 40-game winning streak in the early 1940s. He revived the AHS football program after a long absence and coached AHS Varsity Football for four years in the late 1920s and early 30s and compiled a 22-10 record.
Mohawks Hall of Fame
BARRY ROUSE:
If you’ve attended a Mohawks game at any point in the past 20 years, by the end of the night you would be guaranteed to have two lasting impressions, good baseball and Barry Rouse. Barry has been a vital part of the Mohawks since 2007, assisting in every aspect of the organization from marketing to corporate sales. In 2008, he took over as Master of Ceremonies at the games and there has never been a dull moment at Shuttleworth Park ever since. From welcoming everyone into the stadium, to kicking off the pregame festivities and then keeping the party going between innings with countless games and activities, Barry makes sure to keep everyone in attendance engaged and involved throughout the game. While the Mohawks pride themselves in putting together a talented team every year, there is an equal dedication to making sure the fans aren’t just coming to see a game, but to witness an event. It doesn’t matter if the team wins or loses, or if you’re a baseball fan or not, the fun atmosphere that has the fans leaving happy every night and eager to return for the next game comes from the hard work and dedication Barry has given to the Mohawks.
Norbert Sherbunt Volunteer and Community Service Award
PAULA HAWKINS:
Paula is the long time host family coordinator for the Mohawks. She is an invaluable part of the Mohawks organization. Paula spends countless hours screening potential families, communicating with the incoming players for months to find out their personal housing needs, fitting the puzzle pieces together of where the players live, and ultimately coordinating their arrivals into Amsterdam.
Keynote Speaker Mark Leiter, Jr.
Mark Leiter, Jr. came to the Mohawks in the summer of 2011 from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He was the ace of the Mohawks staff and struck out 74 batters, which still stands as our record for most strikeout in a season.
In 2012, Mark began the summer in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, but after a few weeks it was clear to him that Amsterdam was the best place for his development and returned to the Mohawks in late June. From there he would go on to establish the Mohawks strikeout record at 127 and had a 9-3 record over his 2 summers. His final start for the Mohawks would be the most impressive. In Game 3 of the East Division Finals, Mark dominated the Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs with 13 strikeouts in a complete game two-hitter as Amsterdam won the deciding game of the playoff series 4-2. Leiter retired the last 11 straight, including strikeouts of 7 of the final 9 batters. The 13 strikeout mark has still not been surpassed by a Mohawks pitcher in a game. Amsterdam would go on to win the PGCBL title and finished the year ranked as the third best summer team in the nation.
The following spring at NJIT the strikeouts didn’t stop as Mark recorded a 20 strikeout game and would go on to be selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2013 MLB Draft, the same team his father pitched for.
On April 28, 2017, Leiter made his Major League debut for the Phillies. From there he would bounce around between the majors and minors for several clubs until signing with the Chicago Cubs in 2022.
Half way through the 2022 season the Cubs moved Leiter to the bullpen and from then on he became one of the most effective set-up men in baseball.
This past season he started the year with the Cubs and was the best reliver in baseball in the early season. He went a full month before giving up an earned run and had an ERA under 1.00 until the final week of May, which was a stretch of 20 straight appearances in games at their most pivotal moments.
The Yankees traded for Mark at the deadline and was added to the Postseason roster during the ALCS. He was the winning pitcher in Game 4 as the Yankees would go on to win the American League Pennant. Then in the World Series Mark made 3 scoreless appearances, including a strikeout of Shohei Ohtani when he represented the tying run in the seventh inning of Game 4.
Tonight we welcome back 2013 Mohawks Hall of Fame Inductee and current New York Yankee, Mark Leiter, Jr.
**Former Mohawks pitcher and current Yankees World Series star Mark Leiter, Jr.**
Come listen to Mark speak about playing in the 2024 World Series, striking out Shohei Ohtani, being teammates with Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, and his thoughts for the upcoming 2025 Yankees season.
Mark played for the Mohawks in both 2011 and 2012. This past year, he was having a sensational season for the Cubs before being traded to the Yankees for their stretch run. Mark pitched in Games 4 and 5 of the ALCS, and also in 4 of the 5 Yankees World Series games. He pitched shut out baseball in 5 of those 6 games, only yielding a single run in Game 4 of the ALCS against the Guardians.
Buy tickets here: https://amsterdammohawks.com/tickets.aspx
More News Articles