Bobby “The Grip” Garippo

A perfect nickname, for Bob because he owned one of the best pair of hands that ever played this game. Before gloves were used, he played as though he had mitts on both hands; spearing line drives righty or lefty. With Bob at third, smart pitchers would jump as far as they could toward the third base foul line to deliver an inside pitch to give Bob as much action as possible.  In his mid-teens; he would be seen playing with the “Older Greats” such as. Lewa Yacilla, Moose Vamillo, and Missy Miceli, who recruited Bob for money games. He was also recruited by the New York Mets. With a lifetime batting average well over .600, clutch hitting was definitely his forte. If you check the record, he was usually second behind Jake Jacobi in batting average most seasons in league play; as a member of Stompers, Rouges and most of all Bobcats. In 1969 he was a nationals MVP and earned 3 All-American Honors as he played on 6 ASA championship teams. He averaged 150-200 games a year. Bob is married and has 2 children. His land development business and golf take up much of his time today He owes his success to his dad.  He passed away in 2010.