Sudol Selected To Honor Sonny Nictakis With No. 8
February 01, 2011 | Baseball
Feb. 1, 2011
Boston College Baseball Head Coach Mike Gambino has started a new tradition at The Heights. Each season, a player who has battled adversity and represents the best qualities of BC Baseball will wear No. 8 in honor of former player Peter "Sonny" Nictakis.
Sonny was a two-time captain for the Eagles in 1998-99 and lost his courageous battle with Hodgkin's disease in the summer of 2000.
His No. 8 has not been worn since the 1999 season and Gambino tabbed OF Mike Sudol to be the first to don the number during the 2011 campaign.
"Bringing Sonny's No. 8 back is something that is very important to me and one of the first things I wanted to do as head coach," Gambino said. "Wearing his number will be the biggest honor a player can receive in our program. It will be given to one player each year - the one that best shows the qualities that made Sonny such a great teammate, great leader and great friend.
"When we think about what we want in this program and the type of kids we want to represent BC baseball, Sonny was the embodiment of all those qualities: hard worker, great teammate, leader, unselfish, committed to being great at everything he did." Gamnbino added. "He handled adversity, never complained and held himself and everyone around him to an incredibly high standard. Sonny didn't care whether or not anyone liked him. He had true confidence in himself because of the morals and values instilled in him by his family and he had the integrity to always do the right thing. And that's part of why everyone loved him."
Sonny was a two-time captain for the Eagles in 1998 and 1999. He played in 29 games and had one start, batting .321 in 28 plate appearances. But it was his intangibles off the field that garnered so much love, respect and admiration.
His two-year captaincy proved what a leader he was. He earned the 1998 Jeff Keith Athletic Leadership Award and the 1996-97 baseball team leadership award. Sonny also served as the president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.
Sonny graduated from BC in 1999 with a double major in English and theology. After graduation, he took a job with the Boston Red Sox.
In the summer of 2000, Sonny lost his courageous seven-and-a-half year battle with Hodgkin's disease.
"To truly understand what Sonny meant to the team, you would have to see the reaction of the dugout," Gambino said back in 2000. "When, after a week in the hospital, he singled up the middle against the Red Sox and the whole team came out of the dugout and gave him a standing ovation when he returned to the bench. Or to see his teammates mob him when he came off the field after getting a single in his last college at-bat. You'll never find a better friend, a better teammate or better captain."
His spirit lives on in the BC baseball community with the Sonny Nictakis Fall World Series that is played every year.
And now his beloved No. 8 will return to the field.
Sudol is a fifth-year senior who has faced a litany of injuries during his time at The Heights. The Franklin, N.J. product has endured four knee surgeries, a micro fracture, a bone graft and complete reconstruction of his meniscus. Sudol missed his freshman season and his second year was cut short.
He has been an important contributor the last two seasons despite playing through pain most of the time. He has played in 94 games with 69 starts and is batting .286 with 40 runs, 55 RBI, 23 doubles and 11 home runs.
"Knowing how much this means to Coach Gambino and the BC baseball family, I am honored to wear the No. 8," Sudol said. "I spoke with Coach Maloney and to Sonny's brother, Bill, and I understand what a great person Sonny was and how much he still means to everybody who knew him. It is truly a great honor and I will wear the number proudly."
"Mike Sudol is a kid who has handled adversity throughout his career," Gambino said. "Despite all of that, the first thing he said to me in our first conversation was, `Coach, I don't care what I have to do. I just want the opportunity to be a part of this program for one more spring and do whatever I can to help this club win.' Since then he has backed up those words. He's one of the hardest workers I've been around as well as one of the most unselfish teammates I've seen. That is why his teammates respect him the way they do. And that is why he'll wear No. 8 this year."
