Brothers take different paths to Maine

Barry Hertzler had a tough choice to make as a high school senior in 1998.

Should he go north to the University of Maine and play for one of the pre-eminent baseball programs in the northeast or south to Old Dominion University and much warmer climes.

He opted to head south to Virginia and play for the Monarchs. A school transfer (to Central Connecticut State University), four years of college, and four seasons of minor league baseball later, Hertzler is finally playing for a Maine baseball team.

And eight years later, the Portland Sea Dogs middle relief pitcher still wonders how things might have differed if he had signed with the Black Bears.

“I took a trip up there out of high school to check out Maine. Paul Kostacopoulos was the coach and I had a great experience up there,” said the Providence, R.I., native. “Looking back, I think Maine would have given me a better opportunity. I was a northern guy and they like the northern guys and I just think I would have fit in better. I think it might have helped me visibility-wise, too.”

Well, younger brother Brad will be able to test Barry’s theory firsthand this coming fall after signing a letter of intent to play for UMaine.

“It was a pretty tough decision. My other finalist was Central Connecticut State,” said Brad Hertzler, a 6-foot, 210-pound righthander. “It’s great to have it all decided, though. I went up there and thought the coaching staff was awesome. The place is really nice, everybody’s a big supporter, and they have an unbelievable schedule with Miami and Arizona State.”

Seems the Pine Tree State has some kind of magnetic pull on the Swansea, Mass.-based Hertzler family.

“It’s going to be exciting because I haven’t seen my brother pitch since he was in high school,” said Barry Hertzler, Boston’s 11th-round pick in the 2003 amateur draft. “He’s come up to watch me throw a couple times, but I haven’t seen him play in three years.”

Despite the five-year age gap, Brad and Barry are very close and both credit baseball for that.

“We talk all the time. He’ll call me every couple days and we’ll talk baseball,” said Barry Hertzler. “It’s funny because I’ll call him, too. If he has a bad day, he’ll call me and take positives from advice I give him, and I’ll do the same and get the same thing back from him.”

Brad says it’s like having an older brother, advisor, agent, and coach all in one.

“I love it when he comes to watch me play. I like training, and he’ll tell me the little things that I don’t pick up on,” said the younger Hertzler. “It makes it easier because he tells me things he’s been through that he doesn’t want me to have to experience.”

One thing they’ve both experienced is being drafted. Brad was Boston’s 32nd-round pick in 2004, but he chose not to sign.

“I didn’t think I was as mature as I am now, baseball-wise and as a person, and it would have been a little too early for me to sign,” he said. “To get a degree also is very important.”

Since joining the Sea Dogs last fall, Barry Hertzler has made steady progress in his ongoing transformation from starter to reliever.

The 6-2, 215-pound righthander is 0-0 with four saves in 12 games and has a minuscule 0.86 ERA with 14 strikeouts and 10 walks in 21 innings.

“It was a big adjustment and this is the first year where I’ve felt like I understand my role and the things I need to do a lot better,” said Barry Hertzler, who married wife Sarah last October. “I think middle relief is the quickest way to the major leagues.”

In the meantime, parents Wayne (a lifelong baseball fan who didn’t play beyond American Legion ball) and Kathy will have little difficulty watching their sons play ball as both play for teams who play a majority of their games against teams in New England.

Pressley added to Cards’ deck

Just three days after being released by the Boston Red Sox organization, Bangor native Josh Pressley was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals and assigned to play for the Springfield (Mo.) Cardinals, their Double A affiliate in the Texas League.

The former Zone 1 American Legion player of the year and Bangor Comrades standout has two hits, a walk and three strikeouts in his first 12 at-bats with Springfield after joining the team May 7.

Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600 or at aneff@bangordailynews.net