Rhode Island MSBL Veteran Mike Squatrito Publishes Baseball Memoir ‘Love Winning’
By Steve LaMontia, Director of Communications
Mike Squatrito is a ‘50 something’ knuckleball pitcher who plays for the Rhode Island Sea Dogs in the Rhode Island MSBL. OK, so what? He is also an author, having recently completed the ‘Overlords’ fantasy book series. That’s nice. But what’s the big deal? Here’s where it gets interesting.
A couple of months ago Mike penned an MSBL World Series-based book titled ‘Love Winning’, outlining the on-field successes of his Rhode Island Brewers in Arizona over the last decade or so as well as all of the hijinks in between rings throughout the years.
I read the book cover to cover and loved revisiting the Arizona desert landscape through the eyes of a fellow ball player hooked on the whole MSBL World Series experience. The immaculate fields, the desert communities, and of course the bars! This bunch of merry warriors is as expert at finding where the good times can be had after hours as they are in showing you some first-class hardnosed baseball. You don’t want to see these guys in the other dugout!
The jacket cover better explains what is waiting inside:
“Mike Squatrito is the greatest knuckleball pitcher never to pitch in the Major Leagues. However, not making it to The Show did not stop his baseball career. Being an undersized athlete his whole life, Mike honed his skills and perfected one of the trickiest pitches to master. Facing hitters twice his size, Mike rose through the ranks of youth sports and organized leagues, leaving a trail of championships in his wake.
However, he could not do this all on his own. Mike’s journey brought him to the Rhode Island Brewers, a group of loveable, hard-playing, beer-guzzling, former ballplayers who had the same desire to win. And, win they did. The stories of state and national titles speak for themselves but the mini-adventures that occurred along the way uniquely identified this team. The players so revered the game that they created a ‘Constitution’ to fine those who broke team rules and it became part of their team’s folklore.
Join Mike and his teammates on a wild and inspirational ride across the country in their quest to continue playing America’s Greatest Pastime and to just keep winning.
Mike has been writing The Overlords Fantasy Book series for over twenty years. Currently, he lives in Tiverton, Rhode Island with his wife Lea, and their children, Devin and Samantha. Mike speaks at elementary, middle, and high schools, colleges, local libraries, and writer’s groups where his sincere hope is to inspire everyone he meets to be creative and follow their dreams. He also is the President of the Association of Rhode Island Authors (ARIA).
When not working on the Overlords series, Mike is very active in fitness and sports. He continues to play baseball where he is a knuckleball pitcher for the Rhode Island Brewers that won the 2008 and 2014 MSBL National Championships in Phoenix, Arizona. He also runs 4 to 5 miles on a regular basis, does interval weight and cardio training, and takes Vinyasa yoga classes twice a week. Did we mention that he’s an engineer working on Homeland Defense projects, too?”
Mike started his MSBL pitching career in Rhode Island in 1999 and went to his first MSBL World Series in 2005. He has attended for 13 years.
“I usually throw between 80 and 100 innings per year. Since I am a knuckle-baller I have routinely thrown both ends of a double-header in Arizona.
Basically, I started playing in 1999 in Rhode Island with these knuckleheads and we developed a core group that always went to Arizona. We adopted many traditions while I kept writing a few pages at a time and when we couldn’t do much because of the pandemic in 2020, I put everything together and in order. They always said ‘love winning’ after games so there was the title.”
I asked Mike what the inspiration was behind the writing of the book.
“The story is about my journey as a knuckleball pitcher playing throughout Rhode Island and the country during my life, winning state and national championships along the way. Many of my stories take place during my time in Arizona, specifically playing in MSBL national tournaments. I mention playing against teams such as Lakeland, Florida, Vegas World Dirtbags, Denver Kokopelli’s, Arizona Smoke, and the Scottsdale Scorpions, just to name a few. I know that the players on those teams, as well as any World Series participants, would relate to my journey.”
Mike plans on attending this year’s MSBL World Series during the first week to promote his book and talk baseball. We will keep you informed as to where you can meet Mike and get to know what makes a knuckleball pitcher/author tick.
You can order your copy of ‘Love Winning’ through Amazon right HERE. You can also contact Mike directly at [email protected]