Former Pro / Owner
Stan Switala started his professional baseball career as a pitcher in the minor leagues with the Massachusetts Mad Dogs of the Northern League, where he was managed by George “Boomer” Scott, the slugging first baseman for the American League champion Boston Red Sox in 1967 who was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame. His professional baseball career continued when he was signed by the Amarillo Dillas of the United League, where he was managed by former Kansas City Royal and Marin great, Buddy Biancalana. Switala also signed a professional contract with the Calgary Vipers of the Northern League, but was unable to play out his contract due to an injury.
Prior to professional baseball, Switala accepted a Full Athletic Scholarship to play Division One college baseball at Eastern Michigan University, where he was a starting pitcher for two years. At Eastern Michigan, Switala started 19 of his 27 appearances on the mound for the Eagles. Switala’s most impressive outing of his career was against Northern Illinois, where he pitched a complete game shutout winning the game 3-0. Switala ranked third on the squad in strikeouts and was the hardest thrower on the team, with a consistant fastball in the low 90′s.
Prior to Eastern Michigan, Switala played at Farmingdale College, where he was selected as one the top recruited junior college pitchers in the Northeast. He was offered approximately 20 baseball scholarships to Division One programs throughout the country. Some of the colleges that had offered Switala a scholarship were: University of Delaware, Tulane, Appalachian State, UNC Asheville, Kent State, University of Louisiana-Monroe and Eastern Michigan University. While at Farmingdale College Switala was selected as the team MVP, on the strength of him leading the team in pitching (1.64 ERA) and in hitting (.333 Batting Average). Switala ended the season by being ranked #2 in the Nation in Strikeouts, and is also currently listed #2 as the all time single season strikeout leader in Farmingdale History.
Switala played his high school baseball at St. John the Baptist, located in West Islip, New York, where he was named “player to be watched”, by New York Newsday. In Switala’s senior year of High School he was offered full athletic scholarships to play Division One college baseball from Northeastern University and St. Johns University.
Switala’s coaching career, started at the college level as the head assistant baseball coach of Farmingdale University. Switala moved on to become the head varsity baseball coach for San Rafael High School for a total of four seasons until stepping down to concentrate more on the, Top Speed Baseball program. Currently, Switala is the head coach and owner of the Top Speed Collegiate Summer team and has been a Professional Scout for the New York Mets since 2008.
