By Steve Svetovich
Some ball players never want to take the uniform off. Take Marc Perry, for instance.
Perry was in the Dunmore High School baseball program for four years as a pitcher and then went on to pitch three more seasons for Wilkes University, and he’s not done yet.
That’s because Perry considers himself a baseball lifer.
“I love the game of baseball and want to play as long as I can.”
And that he has been doing. The hard throwing right hander pitched for the past three years in the summer Dunmore Freedom League at Sherwood Park. He also pitches for the Electric City Bootleggers in the Pocono Valley League.
In a recent game with the Bootleggers, he had a no hitter going until it was broken up with two outs in the fifth inning. He ended up giving up only two hits in six innings. It was a strong effort despite a loss.
Son of Ron and Stephanie Perry, Dunmore, Marc, 24, graduated from Dunmore High School in 2011. He played two seasons of junior varsity and two years of varsity baseball at Dunmore. His varsity baseball coach was Mark Finan.
Perry, who has a quiet confidence, went on to Wilkes University where he graduated in 2015 with a B.S. in Marketing. He pitched for Wilkes in his freshman, sophomore and junior years. He was coached by Matthew Hollod in his final two seasons.
Perry said he was highly impressed by a pitching coach, Tyler Shepple, he had in his sophomore year at Wilkes. Shepple was once drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers. “He taught me a lot about pitching mechanics and motion. He helped to improve my velocity. I was able to throw harder and be much more competitive. He was also better at calling my pitches than any coach I ever had. I have to give him a lot of credit for teaching me a lot about pitching.”
Perry, hard working and humble, also gave credit to Mike Guy, his coach for the Scranton Miners travel team. Perry is also a graduate of the Dunmore American Legion baseball program.
Perry currently works for Maximum Federal Services in Pittston. He processes health insurance appeals for the Affordable Health Care Act.
The baseball lifer said he owes a lot to his parents. “My parents taught me to be humble and respectful. They taught me to respect the game of baseball. They taught me to be a good person. They really taught me everything I know.”
The Dunmore graduate talked about his future.
“Right now, I enjoy my work. I would eventually like to move to Philadelphia and be with a company where I can grow and advance my career.
“I enjoy playing baseball and love to compete. I will continue playing baseball in the summer for as long as I can. Right now, I play in the two summer leagues. I love it too much to ever quit. I can’t imagine not playing. I’ll go as long as I can. I just love the game.”