School: William Tennent
Football, Baseball
Favorite athlete: Chase Utley
Favorite team: Philadelphia Phillies
Favorite memory: “Getting to play at Citizen’s Bank Park twice in last year’s Carpenter Cup.”
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: “Last year we were playing at a field that had orange construction fencing for the home run fence. A ball was hit deep, but I knew the fence wasn’t going to hurt the leftfielder if he ran into it, so I just let him run right through it. He fell and was a little mad, but everyone, including myself, found it humorous.”
Music on iPod: Jack’s Mannequin and Miley Cyrus
Future plans: “Attend Johns Hopkins University and figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life from there.”
Words to live by: “A life is not important, except in the impact that it has on other lives.”
One goal before turning 30: “To be done with school entirely.”
One thing people don’t know about me: “I think I’ve seen close to every episode of ‘Hannah Montana.’”
Chris Marchok has a simple way of qualifying the people who cross his path.
“Would I want them to live next to me, in the neighborhood or nowhere close at all,” William Tennent’s baseball coach said. “Pat (Traczykiewicz) is the type of kid you would want living next to you.
“He’s the type of kid who would help a little old lady across the street. He’s the kid on your ballclub, he’s the kid in your neighborhood, and he’s the kid in the classroom who’s going to lead.”
Listening to Marchok talk about his senior star, it doesn’t take long to figure out that Traczykiewicz is one very special student-athlete.
“The kid is just perfection in terms of being mature and never doing something he shouldn’t,” Marchok said.
He’s something pretty special on the baseball diamond as well. Last year he hit .442, boasted a dazzling 2.30 ERA on the mound and competed in the Carpenter Cup. This year he picked up where he left off, and next year, he will be playing baseball for Division III powerhouse Johns Hopkins University.
“The kid is a good solid ballplayer,” Marchok said. “There are kids that are stronger, there are kids that are faster, there are kids with stronger arms, but the bottom line is this kid puts together all the tools and works harder than anyone.”
It’s the same story in the classroom where Traczykiewicz is ranked 13th out of 544 Tennent seniors. He carries a 5.1 GPA and takes all honors and AP classes.
“We get swamped with work, but through high school, I have really learned how to manage my time,” he said. “I know when I get home from baseball how much down time I have, but there have been some nights when I have been up pretty late.
“Academics always come first.”
While that may be true, it is baseball that is undeniably Traczykiewicz’s passion.
“When I got into middle school, that’s when I really started falling in love with it, and once I got to high school, it was my favorite thing to do,” he said. “I would always be sitting the last two periods just staring at the clock, waiting to get out to practice.
“When I got to high school, everyone started to share that love for it, and that just made it a lot more fun. I have so much fun with all of my team at practice every day. I enjoy going out and playing ball, and my teammates sharing the same passion makes it a lot of fun.”
The gifted lefty is blessed with a strong arm that also made him a natural choice to play quarterback for the football team when he was a sophomore.
“They noticed I had a pretty good arm, so I started throwing, and one thing led to another,” Traczykiewicz said. “I’m not the fastest person, but I was able to throw it further than some of the other kids.”
In the third game of his senior season, Traczykiewicz broke his collarbone while running the option play and was lost for the season. That same night the Vikings snapped a 16-game losing streak that extended back to his freshmen year.
“Even though we were losing games, we still had fun because we were all out there together,” Traczykiewicz said. “It was tough because people were being so negative about it, but I learned to tune it out.
“They weren’t out there. They really didn’t know what it’s like. We would hear stuff, but we all learned to ignore it and just play and have fun.”
Traczykiewicz has been playing organized baseball since he was five years old. He played soccer up until middle school when he opted to give it up in favor of football.
Last year, he had a hit in 18 of 19 games and struck out just once in 53 official at-bats. The only game he did not collect a hit was in a Saturday contest – the day after his grandfather had passed away. It also coincided with the only time he was ever late for practice.
“The kid showed up late for the bus,” Marchok said. “He says, ‘Sorry I’m late, coach. Let’s go.’
“We get to the field and were warming up, and someone else told me his grandfather died.”
For Traczykiewicz, baseball has been a place to get away from it all, especially during the difficult days preceding and after the loss of his grandfather.
“I kind of used baseball as my way out of it,” he said. “It was two hours I didn’t have it on my mind. It’s my escape for two hours a day.
“When I’m on the field, that’s all I focus on because that’s the way I like to play the game.”
Last week, Traczykiewicz required stitches in his knee after falling on the turf field during practice. Although he was sidelined, he continued to show up for practice.
“He wanted to come out so he could continue to work with a freshman we have starting in the outfield,” Marchok said. “So this guy with six stitches pulling his knee together is out there the next day.
“He knew he couldn’t do anything physically, but he’s out there so he can coach.”
Traczykiewicz, it seems, hasn’t forgotten what it was like when he was a freshman and sophomore.
“I remember how much I looked up to the seniors,” he said. “When I got hurt, there was a freshman outfielder that I think has a lot of potential, so I tried to take him under my wing.
“I was in their spot. I know how they feel. I kind of like to be a good teammate to everyone and help out because I know what’s going on. I’ve been around it.
“Everyone this year is on the same page. It’s not like I’m the only one doing it – everyone is doing it. We have a really good bond. Everyone is friends with everyone. We like to help each other out.”
That’s another trait that stands out about Traczykiewicz.
When Marchok took over the helm of the Tennent program last year, he tried to instill a sense of pride in the players for their program. That began with their care of the field. Traczykiewicz and another teammate were assigned the task of manicuring the mound after practice.
“He’s meticulously on his hands and knees and manicures the mound to make sure it’s done perfectly,” Marchok said. “He’s the kid on the team who has the highest batting average, he’s hitting number three, playing center field and pitching. He doesn’t have to work the hardest out there, but he does.”
The Panthers’ second-year coach recounts the story of a recent game where some of his players were complaining about playing time.
“I just think to myself – the best player on my team, and he’s the one who works the hardest,” Marchok said. “The other guys who are lesser players sit and complain when they don’t work and they don’t have that same commitment.
“He and our number four hitter were the ones doing the extra work in the offseason, doing the running, doing the individual training. That’s just who Pat is. He doesn’t take anything for granted.”
On the diamond, Traczykiewicz leads by example, and the Panthers’ coach laughs when he recalls a photo taken by Traczykiewicz’s mother of the coach and player ‘getting into it.’
“I wanted him to be a more vocal leader, and he just wouldn’t do it,” Marchok said. “What I have come to realize is he leads with his intensity, and he leads in a quiet fashion, but he definitely leads just by who he is.
“His work ethic is second to none, and he’s a tremendous influence on the other kids.”
Although he is focused on the season at hand, Traczykiewicz is looking forward to playing at the next level for Johns Hopkins.
“I follow their web site and read all about their games,” he said. “I cannot wait to go down there and play.
“They’re really good with academics, and they’re really good with baseball.”
It sounds like a perfect match since it’s basically the same thing people who know Traczykiewicz best say about him.
“When you talk to his guidance counselor, when you talk to his teachers, you can’t find anyone who talks negatively how he is in the classroom and how he is with other people,” Marchok said. “He’s a great kid.”
