The 2002 Archbishop Molloy Stanners were one of the best high school teams in the country: They beat Moore Catholic at Shea Stadium to win the city title, and were ranked No. 3 in the East region by USA Today, behind schools in Maryland in Pennsylvania. Molloy that year was led by stand-out shortshop Mike Baxter, who, of course, is now an outfielder for his hometown Mets.
But one of Baxter’s teammates has been in the news lately, too, though it’s not because of baseball. From a 2002 article in the Times Newsweekly, a local paper in Queens:
The key player in the infield is shortstop Mike Baxter, a veteran of three years at the position. Rich Romeo will be at second against the Brooklyn nine and at the corners are third baseman Gilberto Valle and first sacker John Shipman, who also takes a turn on the mound. Lefty Matt Risotti also plays first.
Emphasis ours. Valle, as you may have heard, is an NYPD cop who’s accused of plotting to kidnap and cook as many as 100 women. But back in 2002, the Times Ledger, another Queens paper, called Valle one of the “key cogs” in Molloy’s success.
Via the Post this weekend, Valle is being held without bail on a charge of conspiring to kidnap.