Division catcher Joe Yovino wins Diamond Award as Nassau's best position player
Joe Yovino, catcher for Division, poses for a portrait after winning the Nassau Diamond Award for position players at the Long Island Marriott in Uniondale on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. Credit: James Escher
Some would call it “fear.” Others would call it “respect.” Everyone would call it smart.
Division’s Joe Yovino can never be taken lightly and that is why Nassau Class A champion Calhoun made the rare maneuver of intentionally walking him six times – even with the bases empty – when it needed to win the last two games in the best-of-three county semifinals, Giving the Dragons’ junior catcher the Barry Bonds treatment proved a key to the Colts capturing the series.
“You just don’t see a hitter treated with that kind of respect very often,” Dragons 14th-year coach Tom Tuttle said. “Then again you don’t see a player like [Yovino] come along very often. He’s a generational player who can impact a game in the batter’s box, behind the plate or on the bases.”
That respect and fear carried over even when Division was in the field. Yovino picked off four baserunners this season and only two dared attempt to steal against him.
The Nassau County Baseball Coaches Association held its annual awards dinner on Wednesday evening at the Marriott in Uniondale, where Yovino received the 2022 Diamond Award as the Position Player of the Year. He also won the Ryan Caufield Award as Nassau’s most outstanding catcher.
Yovino is the 10th player in Division’s illustrious baseball history to win a Diamond Award and the first since outfielder Anthony Papa in 2015.
“Everything comes together with Joe,” Tuttle said. “His baseball IQ is off the charts, but then he combines it with two great qualities. He has the kind of work ethic where he always wants to do more drills and becomes a leader in the weight room. And he is coachable – he wants to learn as much as he can, try new things and become the best player he can be.”
In 26 games for Division (19-7), Yovino batted .467 with seven home runs, 30 RBIs and a 1.337 OPS. Swift on the bases as well, he had 15 steals and scored 27 runs.
Yovino took ownership for handling the Dragons’ pitching staff this season. He began catching bullpen sessions in January, where he both got to know each pitcher's arsenal and counseled each about how to best deploy it. And in the season, he was the rare high school catcher who called every pitch.
“There was a time when I called all the pitches from the dugout,” Tuttle said. I don’t do that anymore. I trust him completely with that responsibility.”
After he graduates next year, Yovino will play Division I baseball at Elon and, Tuttle said, “they are getting someone special, the kind of player I’ve not had in a long time.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
