By The TimesLedger
Danny Rosenbluth, all 6-foot-3 of him, looks like a senior, acts like a senior and sure pitches like a senior. The problem for Cardozo’s opponents next year is that Rosenbluth, the TimesLedger Queens PSAL Baseball Player of the Year, is only a junior.
While opposing coaches may be cursing and muttering about that, Cardozo coach Pete Douglas couldn’t be happier to have his ace back for another year.
“When he came on the team last year, he proved he was the No. 1 pitcher then,” Douglas said. “He did a spectacular job and showed that he was one of the leaders and definitely acted as a senior on the team.”
Rosenbluth was 7-2 with a 0.90 earned run average this year. He struck out 73 in 53 innings and tossed two no-hitters with a fastball that topped out at 87-mph.
And when not on the mound, Rosenbluth played a solid first base and was one of the best hitters in the city, batting .594 with six home runs and 36 RBIs.
“He’s an outstanding athlete,” Douglas said. “He likes to play first base when he doesn’t pitch because he wants to contribute any way he can.”
In case there was any doubt during the year that Rosenbluth wasn’t the best PSAL player in the borough, he proved it time and again.
He handcuffed a powerful Grand Street Campus team in a 6-1 victory, came in and pitched a perfect eighth inning in the Judges’ come-from-behind 2-1 win at John Adams.
During the playoffs he gave up the game-tying home run in a second round game against George Washington, but rebounded the next inning and belted the game-winning home run.
Against top-seeded Lehman — the city runner-up — in Cardozo’s first quarterfinal appearance since 1993, Rosenbluth had two hits, struck out nine and gave up one earned run on four hits in the Judges tough 2-1 loss.
“His entire focus is on doing whatever he can do to contribute,” Douglas said. “He has great poise and dedication.”
To improve on an outstanding junior year, Rosenbluth, who got a personal trainer during the winter, hired a pitching coach during the summer and is also keeping sharp by playing for the Long Island Cardinals summer-league team.
You can almost hear the grumbling from opposing coaches getting louder and louder.
