By: Alec Dopp | Mallards Public Relations

He’s easy enough to recognize.

Long, ruffled hair tucked beneath the brim of a San Francisco Giants ball-cap, facial hair that would make even a young Grizzly Adams jealous and a grin as wide as the summer sky above Madison, he strolls through Warner Park’s front gates some seven hours before first pitch. He’s the first of his teammates to enter the Madison Mallards clubhouse. And that’s precisely the way he likes it.

Hastily changing into his green batting practice shirt and shorts, complete with faded batting gloves and a necklace swaying from side to side, his metal cleats are the first to echo through the Duck Pond concourse as he gravitates toward the hitting cages under the main grandstand. He’s the first of his teammates to partake in pre-batting-practice cuts. That, too, is just the way he likes it.

As minutes fade to hours, his eagerness shows little sign of relent. He prepares Donnie Scott’s batting practice equipment at home plate. He shags balls in the outfield with child-like energy and intensity for his teammates. And as he trots into the batter’s box for a few on-field cuts of his own, the ‘crack’ of the ball leaving his white Rawlings barrel produces a sound – and trajectory – incomparable to much else.

If you hadn’t recognized him, perhaps his pre-game antics would do the trick. One by one, as player names are announced prior to first pitch, he sprints toward his teammates to raise their hands in front of the Mallards faithful; brimming with excitement all the while. Some shy away from the lime-light that comes with playing in front of 6,000-strong each night. But he wholly embraces it.

His name is Anthony Gonsolin, and he’s not afraid to display his baseball-junkie-attitude day in and day out, regardless of who’s watching. “Sometimes this game can get serious, but at the end of the day you have to remind yourself that this is a game and it’s fun – especially playing in front of these fans this year,” said Gonsolin. “For me, I just want to be a baseball player. Whether it’s pitching, whether it’s hitting, doesn’t really matter.”

Gonsolin’s passion has manifested in jaw-dropping production for the Mallards.

Going yard twice in Madison’s key 8-2 victory in Willmar on Tuesday, the 6-foot-2 outfielder has bludgeoned opponents to the beat of a team-best nine home runs and 28 runs batted in across 138 at-bats, including a .336 batting average that ties for a squad-best mark, to go alongside 11 stolen bases. In the meantime, he’s crafted a 2.84 ERA with four strikeouts in 6.1 innings on the bump, showcasing versatility unlike many playing with or against him.

Perhaps more impressive has been Gonsolin’s status among his Northwoods League counterparts – particularly at the plate. With nine dingers, he finds himself tied for most in the league. With 28 RBI, he finds himself in fourth place among qualifying hitters. And his .336 average? That, too, is fourth-best. No player in league history has ever achieved the Triple Crown, but at this rate, he could have a puncher’s chance to do the previously unthinkable with a hot streak to end the season.

"You can't really say enough about this kid," said Mallards field manager Donnie Scott. "He's been incredible at the top of the lineup all year. He knows the strike zone and puts a great swing on everything. I think the thing that stands out with him is the work ethic. He's always one of the first guys in here and last out. I think that says a lot about him.”

Gonsolin’s scintillating summer campaign comes on the heels of a dominant spring one. After hitting a team-best .308 with 19 extra-base hits and contributing with 58.1 innings on the mound as a sophomore for the St. Mary’s Gaels collegiate program in 2014, Gonsolin was named to the John Olerud Award watch list – given to the best two-way player in Division I college baseball – toward the end of his 2015 season with the Gaels. 

And while he wasn’t able to win the coveted Olerud award as a junior, he still produced on par with most any two-way player in Division I college baseball, hitting .316 and nabbing 12 stolen bases with the lumber while posting a 3.14 ERA to go alongside 46 strikeouts (in 48.2 innings, impressively) on the mound. “My mom is usually the one who tells me about those kinds of things,” Gonsolin admitted, “but it’s definitely an honor to be nominated for that kind of stuff."

Born and raised in Vacaville, Calif., a suburban town sandwiched between Sacramento and San Francisco called home by 95,000, it was plain to see Gonsolin had a bright future in baseball ahead of him. In fact, some might call his early gravitation to the sport somewhat uncanny.

“The first word Tony said after mama and dada was ‘ball’”, said Joanne Gonsolin, Anthony’s mother. “I think we kind of knew right there he was going to play.”

She was right. As the years passed and his motor skills developed, Gonsolin began to look and act the part of a ballplayer. On her way to work, Joanne would often drop Anthony off at her mother’s house in Napa, Calif. for a few hours. It quickly became a home away from home for Gonsolin, who played catch with his grandmother, Marj, often until daylight turned to a darkness. Still, despite his inhibited sight, the restless Gonsolin didn’t want to stop. He wanted to play more.

“She would throw me whiffle balls in her backyard and I’d try to hit them, but I don’t know how successful I was at it,” Gonsolin said. “That was a while ago and it’s kind of hard to remember; I was too young. So my mom would always tell me stories like, ‘Yeah, your grandma would always play catch with you in the backyard and you’d have the little whiffle-ball bat and you’d try to hit it. Sometimes you would and sometimes you wouldn’t.”

The process of trial and error worked. As Gonsolin grew physically, mentally and intellectually within baseball and life, he succeeded in tee-ball and early on in little league. It would have been easy for Gonsolin to stay content with his accomplishments, but just as he did in the backyard with his grandmother, he wanted more. So just like any younger brother, he turned to his older brother, Andrew, for guidance – and as a source of healthy competition.

“He always wanted to play with Andrew and the bigger kids,” Gonsolin’s mother said, “and Andrew’s coach at the time said, ‘Sure, we’ll let him play with the big kids.’ Tony wasn’t old enough to play tee-ball at that point, but he was always competitive with Andrew – and not in a bad way. They played catch together, they swung the bat together. I think being able to play on the same team as his brother was big for Tony looking back.”

Perhaps Gonsolin’s role models influenced his early eagerness. Though he grew up cheering for the San Francisco Giants, his grandmother’s favorite team, Gonsolin took after New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter as the type of player he wanted to become someday. There was something about the way Jeter commanded the infield that spoke to him; something about the way he scratched and clawed for everything that inspired him.

"I loved how he played and went about his business," said Gonsolin of Jeter. "He was definitely a hard worker. He didn't seem like one of the most talented people out there, but he just got it done and did things the right way. He carried himself well."

By the time Gonsolin finished his tenure at Vacaville High School, he’d left a Jeter-esque imprint on the program. His senior season encompassed a 4-1 record, 2.60 ERA and 33 strikeouts across 29.2 innings on the mound while also slugging his way to a .370 batting average with 12 stolen bases at the dish. The scintillating, two-way effort earned him inclusion into the All Monticello Empire League team, after which he won MVP honors for the Optimist Sacramento Area All-Star game for the South.

Gonsolin was afforded the opportunity to choose where he would play college ball after high school graduation, though it wouldn’t take long for him to settle on St. Mary’s. “I went and played on a scout-ball team with the Rockies in Sacramento, and after I tried out and made the team, that’s when the initial (St. Mary’s) coaches contacted me. We got a whole new set of coaches after my freshman year, and I really clicked with them. I kind of had to start all over again, but I’m glad I stayed."

Now, with three productive college seasons behind him and an unprecedented run at Northwoods League history in front of him, Gonsolin can’t help but look back at his mileage. The journey began with a single word, after all. It continued in the backyard of grandma’s house, playing catch and competing with his brother and watching Derek Jeter do what he did best.

“He loves baseball and he’s worked very hard to get where he’s at,” said Gonsolin’s mother. “I’ve always taught him to be positive and I’ve tried to be a positive role model for him when things aren’t going his way. If he had a bad day at the plate, we’ll talk on the phone and I’ll tell him to find the positive in it. I think it’s worked for the most part.”

Gonsolin agrees.

“Honestly, I just want to play baseball.”