Navigators announce Delani as new GM

From Summer Ball News Source
The North Shore Navigators, Lynn's entry in the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL), announced the hiring of Peter Delani as their General Manager effective Jan. 1. Delani is a native of Wakefield. He is presently the vice-principal of Masconomet Regional High School in Topsfield.

Delani's baseball credentials include 13 years as varsity baseball coach at Masconomet, where he led his team to one state championship; five Cape Ann League Championships, one EMass championship and two Div. 2 North championships. Delani was the 1995 Boston Globe Coach of the Year; the 2000 Eagle-Tribune Coach of the Year; and a 3-time CAL Coach of the Year. In addition, Delani was a 1999 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year nominee. Delani also spent eight years scouting pro prospects in eastern Massachusetts for the Colorado Rockies and Cincinnati Reds.

Delani's activities will include community development efforts in the North Shore to help build awareness among the baseball community.

"I am really looking forward to making the Navigators the premier team in the NECBL," he said. "I spent many years watching the Cape Cod League develop players for college and professional teams. I know that we can do that here. The NECBL College Baseball League is a product where you can see the future stars of baseball when they are still chasing their dreams. That's why I am here."

In Delani's years at Masconomet, he helped develop over 45 future collegiate players, as well as three players who went into professional baseball. Delani also had a strong track record of developing future head coaches, including Lynn Classical varsity baseball coach Mike Zukowski.

Zukowski and Delani will renew their baseball relationship with the establishment of the Navigators Summer Clinics this season.

Delani's career branched out when he authored the book "A Walk with Damien," a guide to adolescent development. This work has drawn Delani into a career of public speaking on the subject.

"If I can help kids see their own life through my experiences, then I have helped someone along the way," he said. "This is about preparation meeting opportunity."

"When (team owner Philip) Rosenfield presented his idea for the Navigators, the timing was right and the opportunity fit what I was looking for," Delani said. "These players are in their way up; the future stars, playing here today."

The North Shore Navigators of Lynn's Fraser Field will enter their second year in Lynn. They finished 2008 with the second-best record in the league. Their 2009 season opens June 4. They play 21 home dates and three exhibition games against Team USA, the US Olympic team, and a traveling Dominican team. Collegiate players from colleges throughout the country come to the Navigators. Last season, two Navs players, Sean McNaughton and Jonathan Griffin, weere drafted in the MLB draft.