Once More, Taking his Game to Another Level

Hoping for pros, Bercume savors the competition

By Marvin Pave, Globe Correspondent  |  August 9, 2009

 

Jeff Bercume has come a long way since his days as a role player on the baseball team at St. John’s High in Shrewsbury, and then as a walk-on at Merrimack College.

This summer, he is tearing up the Intercity League for the Medford-based Andre Chiefs, after wrapping up a record-setting career at Merrimack.

Now 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds, thanks to a growth spurt in high school and weight training at the college in North Andover, Bercume makes the most of his strength and bat speed.

Two weekends ago, in a doubleheader against the Mooney Dental Tanners, the speedy outfielder from Leicester went 4 for 7 with two home runs, including a grand slam, and eight runs batted in. He followed that up two days later with another grand slam and five RBIs against the Testa Corp. Bombers, and shared the league’s Player of the Week honors.

Through Tuesday night’s games, Bercume was batting .325 for the second-place Chiefs and led the team with 3 homers, 22 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 15 attempts. He had struck out just 5 times in 80 at-bats.

As a senior captain on the Division 2 squad this spring, Bercume broke the Warriors’ record for career hits (230) while batting .385, and was selected to the All-Northeast-10 Conference, All-East and All-Region teams.

“Jeff and my son, Mike, were captains at Merrimack this year, and we have a few other Merrimack players on our roster,’’ said Chuck Andre, now in his 19th season managing the Chiefs. “I first saw him play as a Merrimack freshman and immediately liked what I saw.

“I was disappointed that Jeff wasn’t taken in the major-league draft, because he did about everything as a player at Merrimack. He’s a gap hitter with a plus-arm and plus-speed. He bats third and plays the majority of our games in center field, and was a starter in our all-star game against the Boston Park League.’’

Bercume said he had been cautiously optimistic about being drafted in June, “but the reality is it’s an uphill battle and it’s incredibly competitive to get to the next level as a positional player from a D-2 school. Baseball is one of those games where you can go 5-for-8 or 0-for-8, but I never feel I’m overmatched. It’s all about confidence and how you carry yourself.’’

Bercume wrestled at 112 pounds as a high school junior and 135 his senior season. On the diamond at St. John’s, he played for George Reidy, now head coach at Assumption College.

He chose Merrimack as his college immediately after attending an open house there.

“Jeff came to us as an infielder, we moved him to outfield, and he developed a nice swing early on, improved his speed and just kept getting better and better,’’ said Merrimack’s head coach, Joe Sarno. “The scouts were definitely aware of him, and I feel Jeff has the ability to turn pro. He’s the best player I’ve coached at Merrimack in terms of both leadership and ability.’’

Bercume returned to his hometown to play for the American Legion Post 205 squad after his freshman year of college, and then switched to the Chiefs the following summer, when he batted .315.

Last summer, facing Division 1 pitchers in the wooden-bat New York Collegiate Baseball League, he hit a team-best .373 in 39 games for the Bennington (Vt.) Bombers.

“That was a great experience,’’ he said. “My host family was incredible, and the competition was the best I’ve seen so far in my career. I got to play a couple of times before crowds of over 5,000.’’

In his final season at Merrimack, he finished fourth in the NE-10 (which also uses wooden, rather than aluminum, bats) in hitting, led the conference with 23 steals, and was Merrimack’s top producer with five homers, 46 RBIs, and a .447 on-base percentage. He was a two-time captain, and was named to the NE-10’s all-conference first team three times.

And while he hasn’t reached his goal of turning pro despite attending tryouts this year, Bercume is happy to be back with the Chiefs, who play in an amateur league.

“I drive about an hour, sometimes more, to play for them, so that tells you how awesome this is for me,’’ said Bercume, whose teammates include three players from Arlington - backup catchers Eddie McDonald (Assumption) and Kevin McKenzie (Wentworth), and pitcher Connor Bishop (Bridgewater State) - as well as pitcher Chris Foundas (Bryant) of Needham.

“I’m learning from veterans around the league, and the level of competition is pretty exceptional,’’ he added. “I’m passionate about baseball. It’s what I love, and I’m not about to give up hope of getting a shot at the pros, especially with Chuck Andre and Coach Sarno as my biggest advocates.’’

Marvin Pave can be reached at marvin.pave@rcn.com