Yawkey Baseball League

Chris Deane has been one of the Yawkey Baseball League’s top hitters for more than two decades. Last year, in his first year with the South End Astros, he won the 2013 YBL Silver Slugger Award (DH), but more importantly, also won the YBL’s Comeback Player of the Year after fighting his way through cancer treatments to bat .381 (37-97) with a .903 OPS and 17 RBI. As a capstone to this amazing season in which he also won a MABL championship with Ben’s Dream White Sox and the Cape Cod Thunder Bat Classic with the Framingham Orioles, he then played all 100 innings of the 100 Innings of Baseball Spectacular, and the story of his battle with cancer was the subject of a New England Baseball Journal feature by Brett Rudy. Look for Deano to keep mashing in the YBL for several more years, because he shows no signs of slowing down.

Nickname: Deano
Bats/Throws: R/R
Position(s): DH now, but I fill in anywhere as needed.

Club(s) Played for in YBL?
21 years in the league this season. Started with Savin Hill, spent 14 years with McKay Club, and also played for Malden and Southie, but now I am an Astro.

Where did you grow up?
Southie

Where do you live now?
Plainville, but moving back to Quincy by the summer.

If you served in the military, where?
USMC

When is your birthday?
10-19-1975

What do you do for a living?
Local 7 Union ironworker

If you played pro ball, what was the most interesting city you called home?
Osceola County in Florida (Osceola Astros, Houston A ball affiliate)

What baseball awards / honors have you won in your life?
I have won a few, but most recently I won Comeback Player of the Year in the YBL…..really meant a lot to me!

Been part of any championship teams prior to / outside of the YBL?
Outside of the YBL I have won two with the Scituate Tides and one with Ben’s Dream White Sox

What years have you been an All-Star in the YBL?
14 times, but cant remember the years.

Favorite MLB position player of all time?
Ted Williams

Favorite MLB pitcher of all time?
Nolan Ryan

Who is the most underrated player on the Astros?
Rommel Richardson Peguero

Who have you most looked up to in the YBL?
Marc DesRoches

Who is the toughest pitcher to face in the YBL?
Derek Bates

Who is the toughest hitter to face in the YBL?
Too many to list

What was the most exciting moment you’ve had in the YBL?
My first time at Fenway

What are your hobbies/passions outside of baseball?
Snowboarding

What was the greatest accomplishment in your life?
My daughter, Callan.

Do you have any pets?
I have a dog named Maddie.

How does your significant other handle your baseball habit?
My girlfriend has been more than amazing considering how much ball I play. We share a passion for snowboarding, so we always have the winters.

What drives you to keep playing ball every summer?
I have played every summer for the last 32 years, so I don’t think I would know what to do if I didn’t play.

Over four seasons in the Yawkey Baseball League, Chris Foundas has posted a 24-7 mark in the regular season, and even more impressively, has gone 10-2 with a 1.10 ERA in playoff action. The Alibrandis have won the championship all four years that he has been with the team. In 2013, he tied for the league lead in wins (8), was 2nd in K/IP (1.33), and was 4th overall in strikeouts (61).  Chris throws one of the hardest, meanest fastballs in the YBL, but he is also one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet.

Nickname: Foundy

Position(s): Pitcher & 4th String Catcher just waiting for my opportunity

Bats/Throws: R/R

Club(s) Played for in YBL: Somerville Alibrandis (2010-Present)

Where did you grow up?
Needham, MA

Where do you live now?
Framingham, MA

Where do/did you go to college?
Bryant University

When is your birthday?
April 2nd, 1987

What baseball awards / honors have you won in your life?
Bryant’s 10th Player Award 2009, NSPBA Second Team All-American 2011

How many YBL championships have you won?
4, Consecutive

What years have you been an All-Star in the YBL?
2011, 2012

Favorite MLB player of all time?
Nolan Ryan, cause he could probably tell people what was coming and they still couldn’t hit it, hence the 7 No Hitters.

Who is the most underrated player on the Alibrandis?
Bobby Barrett, has come up in the clutch many of times and doesn’t always get recognized

Who else on the Alibrandis would make for an interesting interview?
Teddy Dziuba. He always has something to say!

Who have you most looked up to in the YBL?
I may be biased, but this decision is easy, Marc DesRoches. The guy just loves the game of baseball and has respected it more than anyone I know.

Who is the toughest pitcher to face in the YBL?
Jon Klein, I don’t know him personally, but the guy just knows how to deal, keeps batters off balance and just goes out and competes his butt off.

Who is the toughest hitter to face in the YBL?
Lefties, especially Tom Englehardt (hopefully returning this summer) & Teddy Dziuba, they are so disciplined and compete every single pitch, not giving a single at bat up, it’s as if they are one step ahead of every pitcher trying to get them out.

What was the most exciting moment you’ve had in the YBL?
As a team achieving 30 wins in the regular season, and then going on to win our 4th straight championship.

Who is the most influential person(s) in your life?
My family as a whole. My Parents and two older brothers raised, guided, and supported me in everything I have done, and have always been there for me no matter what.

What drives you to keep playing ball every summer?
“Isn’t it obvious? For the girls.” In all seriousness, the moment you think you have this game figured out, it has no problem putting you right back into your place. This game is built around failure, and the player/team that overcomes these failures are the ones that are going to succeed, and there is no better feeling than accomplishing that ultimate goal: WIN. One last quote, “Its supposed to be hard; if it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great!”

Chris Foundas (right) with teammate Teddy Dziuba