So last week, when the team received its championship trophies and awards, they were greeted by one of their own who now has a special distinction with the top team in major league baseball.
Koby "Koz" Perez, who was a three-sport standout at North Bergen High School during his playing days and was the recipient of the 1997-98 Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Year, was the guest speaker at the dinner held at Martino's on Bergenline Avenue.
Perez, who played football, wrestled, and played baseball at North Bergen High, went on to become a professional baseball player, playing with the Tigers and Red Sox organizations before becoming the Northeast scout for the St. Louis Cardinals, who won the World Series last October.
Which means one thing: One day very soon, Koz Perez will be wearing a gaudy World Series ring, just like Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds.
"I got fitted for it already," Perez said. "I'll get it sometime after the players get theirs."
It's amazing how a kid from North Bergen can go from being considered an average athlete to scouting for a World Series winner, especially since baseball was the one sport out of the three Perez played in high school that he was least efficient in.
"I was a pretty good wrestler," said Perez, who was a two-time District 16 champion and participant in the state tournament as a senior. "I was even better as a football player. Baseball was definitely my third sport and my worst."
It was football that brought the bulky Perez, a standout two-way All-Group IV lineman to college. He went to Elizabeth City University in North Carolina out of North Bergen on a football scholarship, but he always wanted to play baseball as well.
"One of the reasons why I went to Elizabeth City was because the football coach was going to let me play baseball," said Perez, now 27. "My first year at Elizabeth City, I had a real good year in baseball."
Future in baseball
A scout told Perez that he had a future in baseball, so Perez quickly dropped 40 pounds and transferred to Lake Sumter Community College in Florida strictly to play baseball and perhaps get a shot at being drafted.
"I always had a good attitude about baseball," Perez said. "I always liked it. I just never thought I was good enough to play it."
In 2001, Perez was drafted by the Detroit Tigers and signed with them. After getting his release from the Tigers, he signed on as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox and spent two years with them, playing first base and catcher for the Class A franchise in Clearwater.
At the end of the 2003, Perez was signed by the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League and was going to begin the 2004 season with the club, but then had a change of heart.
"I didn't want to be a backup catcher for an independent team, so I asked the Red Sox if I could coach for them somewhere," Perez said. "I always did well helping out the Latin kids that came up, because I was bilingual. I figured I had a chance to help them again. That opened up the door for me."
In 2005, Perez returned home to North Bergen as a part-time scout for the Red Sox. It was under Perez's recommendation that the Red Sox selected former St. Peter's Prep catcher Nick Criaris in the 18th round that year.
Last year, Perez was rewarded for his hard work by earning a full-time scouting job with the Cardinals as the Northeast scout, covering from Washington, D.C. to the coast of Maine. The Cardinals relied on Perez's keen eye for talent to select Adam Ottavino of Northeastern University in the first round and also allowed Perez' recommendation to take St. Peter's Prep shortstop Gabe Torres in the later rounds.
Cardinals' Scouting Director Martese Robinson, a product of Seton Hall Prep, gave Perez the job.
"I was very fortunate to get the job," Perez said. "It's a great life. I loved playing baseball and didn't have the chance to go further. Now, I have a job in baseball. Maybe I can recommend a player who will get the chance to go on to the big leagues. It's outstanding."
While Perez was playing baseball, he didn't have much of a chance to return to North Bergen. He lost touch with a lot of local friends and colleagues, but now, he's back home, married and staying.
"I told the kids that I was a decent athlete, but I was never the best on my team," said Perez, one of two North Bergen athletes to ever earn Athlete of the Year honors by this newspaper chain. "But I was motivated to work hard and improve. You never know what kind of chance you will get. I'm a North Bergen kid just like them."
Perez told the young men that he was headed to Florida to scout all the college players that go to play in warmer climate later this week.
"They're going to chase the dream and I'm going to chase them," Perez said.
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