By Michael Wojtychiw
The sport of baseball has meant a lot to those who have walked the halls of Taft High School.
A number of talented players have gone through the Northwest Side school, most recently and notably Jack Suwinski, who made it to the Major Leagues in 2022 with the Piartes and has played in 397 MLB games since then. He is currently in the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league system.
However, the one thing that has evaded the Eagles for years has been a city championship.
Sixty-two years to be exact.
Taft, which last won a city baseball title in 1064, was looking to end that drought when it took on Whitney Young in the city championship game May 21 at Wrigley Field.
And thanks to a magnificent start by pitcher Carlos Gonzalez, the Eagles brought home a championship as they took down the Dolphins 5-1 to bring the championship plaque back to Taft and equal what the girls softball team had done a mere week-and-a-half prior.
Gonzalez, who moved to the United States from Venezuela three years ago, pitched a four-hitter and struck out eight Young batters en route to the win.
“The adrenaline that you feel when you pitch in a game like that, all the people in the stands supporting me…I know my parents were there, I know my friends were there supporting me,” he said. “So that gave me the energy to pitch today.
“I always pitch with my heart, always that energy.
“This is the best experience of my life.”
While any championship game, especially one at a location like the iconic Friendly Confines, is a big one, this one meant something extra for Taft and manager Matt Malarski,
Malarski is a Taft graduate, who played for the Eagles under legendary Chicago Public League baseball manager Rick Pildes, and knew how big of a moment this was not only for him and his program, but the school as a whole.
“That’s my mentor, coach Pildes,” Malarski said. “I owe everything to coach Pildes. He was with our school for 38 years and I’m just sorry he never got one of these. But this means everything.
“All the dedication, all the hard work.”
“Our community, it deserves this,” Gonzalez said.
The season was one of ups-and-downs for Taft.
After struggling out of the gate, losing its first five games of the season, all non-conference games, the Eagles hit their stride when the conference season started.
The team would go 11-4 in the tough Jackie Robinson North, including splitting with Young in the regular season.
But once Taft got to conference play, it started putting up 11, 14, 12 runs in some games and six or more in some others.
And then when the playoffs started, the offense exploded, especially in the quarterfinals and semifinals, when it put up 13 and 10 runs against Brooks and Jones, respectively.
“We started to hit,” Malarski said. “And when you hit, you’re in games. Our pitching did well. Besides Carlos, we have kids who can throw and they did.
“We started hitting just as we got to the city playoffs.”
The Eagles’ roster is full of juniors and sophomores. In fact, 16 of the 30 players on this year’s squad should return for next year’s team.
One of those players is sophomore Ethan Acosta.
Acosta provided all of the Eagles’ run support, punching a two-run single in the first inning and adding a three-run double in the third inning.
“When I’m stepping into the box, my number one idea is to drive in runs and make hard contact,” he said. “Bases loaded, that’s a great opportunity you can’t pass up. If it’s in my grasp, I’m going to take it.”
“It’s surreal,” Acosta said about playing at Wrigley.. “This is a place that you dream of coming to when you’re younger. You always think Wrigley Field, the Friendly Confines. … So when you’re really stepping into the stadium, it just brings me back to my childhood memories.”
Photos by Jim Vincent/OSA
Photos by Andrew Rosenthal/OSA
