It’s a good thing Cole Palmeri is not majoring in psychiatry.
“If you told me four years ago I would break the Colby (College) home run record,” Palmeri said, “I would tell you you’re insane.”
Actually, whoever told him that would not only be perfectly sane, but also a psychic.
On Apr. 13, the Hamilton resident broke the school’s 44-year-old record by blasting his 26th career home run. For good measure, one week later he eclipsed Colby’s single-season record with his 11th round-tripper of the year. As of April 23, Palmeri had 28 for his career.
This from a guy who hit exactly one home run in high school – and that was his JV season at Hun.
Who said nothing positive came out of the Covid 19 shutdown?
“It was Covid that changed me,” Palmeri said. “Everything was shut down in the world, so that gave me a good chance to reflect on what I was as a baseball player. During Covid, me and a bunch of my buddies would work out together, and those were some of the toughest workouts I’ve ever done.
“I got really strong and in shape over that period. I think that was probably what caused it; getting a lot stronger. Also I think after my freshman year, seeing that pitching, seeing what it was like. I got better in baseball and stronger from what I built in Covid.”
Palmeri was a freshman in 2021 when schools were playing abbreviated schedules and, in essence, there was not a lot on the line other than getting games played. He had already added strength and was able to see collegiate pitching in lower-pressure situations. He hit .265 with no homers.
Then came the explosion.
Palmeri hit .302 with nine homers and 44 RBI as a sophomore and .312 with eight homers and 32 RBI last year.
This season, the slugger is off the charts. Through the Mules 23-6 start, the Nottingham Little League/Babe Ruth alum lead the team in average (.443), hits (47), homers (11), RBI (38), doubles (15), walks (19), slugging percentage (.934), on-base percentage (.531) and OPS (1.465). For good measure he was second in stolen bases, pilfering eight without getting caught. He only struck out 15 times in 125 plate appearances, which is low for a power hitter.
What is going on with this guy?
“It’s a combination of taking the success he had, putting a plan together and getting it executed,” Mules coach Jesse Woods said. “He is very diligent in all of his work. He eats right, sleeps right, gets all his extra work in. He works so hard and he’s never satisfied.”
And he understands things much better than his freshman year.
“Being a good hitter, he just had to learn what he could do at the plate,” Woods said. “His sophomore year he hit a bunch of home runs and started to really figure out what he could do with different pitches and he had a more educated plan at the plate for the type of hitter he could be.”
The coach agreed with his catcher that the strength he developed has helped immensely, saying “what he lacks in height (5-foot-9) he makes up for in muscle. He’s a physically strong kid and with his bat speed, when he hits it, it goes a long way.”
Palmeri has been a winner everywhere he has played. His Nottingham 12-year-old All Stars won the District 12 title, and Hun won the NJSIAA Prep A championship his sophomore and junior campaigns. In his first three collegiate seasons Colby went 63-35, and this spring they led the New England Small College Athletic Conference heading into the season’s final week.
During all those stops, he has been a catcher seemingly forever.
“When I was a little kid at Nottingham I was just so excited to get behind the dish,” he said. “It’s always been my first love. Obviously there’s some times where it stinks, but for the most part it’s a great position. You get to see every play and be involved in every pitch so it’s always been my position.”
And he plays it well.
“I would say he’s as good as it gets,” Woods said. “He was Defensive Player of the Year two years ago and hasn’t taken a step back. Cole gets everything out of our pitchers because he doesn’t accept anything less. Those guys know that if they’re throwing to him, that the effort and focus better be there because he won’t let it slide. They know they’re in good hands with where the ball’s going with Cole behind the plate.”
Like most catchers, Palmeri was a diamond rat. He played basketball and soccer in his youth, but baseball was always his first love as he and his dad would watch Yankee games and go out to practice together.
“Nothing could compare to it,” he said.
When it came to college ball, Palmeri felt prepared to make the jump. He credited coach Tom Monfiletto for the program he runs at Hun and the strong competition the Raiders play.
“In that sense we had that mentality of coming every day, being locked in and bringing your best,” he said. “That definitely prepared me for what was to come in college. And there was the culture coach created there. It’s the same as Colby, a very family type relationship on the team. That makes winning and playing so much more fun. You build memories you’d never forget. I don’t think I’d be at Colby without Hun.”
Located in Waterville, Maine, Colby beat out several other NESCAC schools for Palmeri’s services. He felt welcome from the start and called Woods “one of the best coaches I’ve had.”
Cole got a small sample size of college pitching as a freshman with 48 at-bats. He had 13 hits and no homers, but was taking notes.
“I can’t even put a number on the value of that to prepare me for the next three years,” he said.
Palmeri felt that the biggest adjustment to college pitching is that hurlers have the ability to throw multiple pitches for strikes and the top guys have higher velocity than high school.
“Being able to time that fastball and hit the off-speed stuff was definitely an adjustment,” Palmeri said. “With a lot of reps it got easier but those guys are all still good. You gotta be on all the time.”
Palmeri felt confident behind the plate immediately, but admitted it took time to learn everything.
“In college you just gotta stay confident and trust your abilities,” he said. “Every pitch that comes in you do your best to either frame it, block it or throw the guy out. As long as you have that belief in yourself you’ll be just fine.”
As for hitting during his freshman year, Palmeri remembers often taking two strikes before he started hacking.
“I had to be more aggressive, trust the work I put in and just be really confident in myself,” he said.
Palmeri credits his teammates for pushing him to workout and build his body, and for accompanying him to the batting cage for constant reps. “I’m not gonna do it without those guys,” he said.
Cole will graduate this spring with a degree in economics with a concentration in financial markets. Because he gets an extra year of playing time due to Covid, he will play at the University of Richmond next year and pursue a certificate in data analytics.
As for pursuing a pro career, Palmeri says “As of now, I’ve kind of come to terms that it’s probably gonna be a difficult path if I were to choose it. I haven’t completely blocked it but I’m thinking about other things for the time being. But that’s the dream. I love this sport.”
He hopes to make it his career, possibly working in the front office for an organization. Wherever he ends up, Woods feels Palmeri’s employer will be getting someone who’s even better as a person than a ballplayer.
“Cole Palmeri is the type of kid who, when you open the door one day and your daughter says ‘Dad this is my boyfriend,’ you’re just really happy,” the coach said. “He’s just an unbelievable high character person that cares for others and cares for his teammates. He is very focused on what he wants to do and what type of success he wants to have and doesn’t let anything stand in the way.”
Just don’t ask him to psychoanalyze anybody.
Hun School graduate Cole Palmeri has 28 career home runs for Colby College.,
