John John, Hampden Hill win one for J.J. Nicastro

Steve Maniaci

July 15, 2007 11:25 pm

— John John Nicastro closed the trunk of his car, cradled his softball bag and made a slow walk from Burnham Street onto Tommy Moses Diamond. With brothers Mark and David by his side, Nicastro went over to the Hampden Hill bench on the first base side and sat down.
He put on his cleats and got ready for the final of the 27th annual John K. Arnold One-Pitch Tournament as fellow softball players and fans paid their condolences to Nicastro for the loss of his son John Jordan, who died from a heart virus Thursday night at Boston Children’s Hospital.
John John’s immediate family, his wife Angie, his father John, his other brothers Matthew and Andrew and his aunts, uncles and cousins blended in with his teammates, who were waiting to take the field.
“We are going to win this one for J.J. and my brother,” Mark Nicastro said. “We have to.”
For the next hour, Hampden Hill put on a softball clinic against Carrigan’s. They hit home runs, played sound defense and ran the bases hard. But they did so with heavy hearts and constant reminders of J.J.
Many of John John’s teammates wore new jerseys with the letters J.J. on the back. Many of the fans wore white shirts with J.J.’s illustration on the front. Others wore buttons with J.J.’s picture on it. A sign hung from the home of teammate Mike Favazza’s house that read “J.J. Always in our hearts.”
John John also paid respect to his son by wearing a Gloucester Pirates baseball cap, the Little League team his son played for this summer. While John John appeared to be tired and a few pounds lighter, he lived up to his reputation of being one of the better softball players in town, ripping a few base hits and making some solid plays around the first base bag, helping his team win its fourth one-pitch title.
John John was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player for his effort. But there was no celebrating or smiles. Each Hampden Hill player gave John John a hug. Many Carrigan’s players did the same.
Before reaching the dugout, John John asked that his team huddle around him. They said a Hail Mary and hugged as a group once more as more than 200 onlookers stood and applauded the admirable efforts of one man and his team.
A few minutes later, John John accepted the championship trophy and gave an emotional speech that brought many to tears. He also donated the prize money to Carrigan’s and Uncle Moe’s, which placed third in the tournament.
John John also exchanged a hug with Uncle Moe’s captain Mark Provost. It was one year ago that John John supported Provost and the men from Moe’s who went through the same emotional pain of losing their leader and Mark’s uncle, Tommy Moses, who died in a tragic car accident. Now Provost was the one comforting Nicastro.
After a few more hugs, Nicastro got back in his car with his brothers and drove away, while many of his teammates tried to put the weekend into perspective.
Hampden Hill outfielder Dan Muise said winning the title was for John John and his family.
“Me and John are best friends,” Muise said. “My son Danny and J.J. are best friends. Everyone was emotional. We all felt it. We wanted to be with John John and help him take his mind off of things, even if it was just for 20 minutes or so.
“We knew it was going to be an emotional ride and there wasn’t one of us who said we were going to lose. It’s that simple. J.J. was with us all the time, and we took care of business for him, John and all the family.”
Hampden Hill pitcher John Tello said that he was unsure if the team was even going to participate in the two-day tournament. It wasn’t until he saw Mark Nicastro take batting practice on Saturday morning that he knew they would play. John John didn’t play on Saturday, but played in each of the Hillies games yesterday.
“This was the most emotional time we’ve ever spent on a softball field,” Tello said. “I’ve played softball for 20 years and it was worth playing all those years just to play in this tournament. To have the honor to play for J.J. and John John and that entire family. We were fighting back tears the whole weekend.
“When you know the Nicastros, they bring you into their family and you feel like a part of them. We felt what John John was going through, so I’m glad we came through for him.”
Steve Maniaci is sports editor for The Gloucester Times. E-mail him at smaniaci@ecnnews.com.

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