1. Welcome to the Hot Seat Dan DiIorio. Tell us a little about yourself off the field. What do you do for a living? What are your hobbies? Etc.
First off, thank you for having me. As for what I do off the field I am a HVAC Technician by day and when restaurants open 100% a bartender by night. Hobbies are plain and simple man, just sports! Whether it is softball, hockey or golf I am usually doing one of those 3 if I am not working. Luckily, I have a very supportive girlfriend who tolerates my sports addiction.
2. You are a big Hockey guy. Who’s your favorite team? How long have you been playing? And how did you become such a big hockey fan/player?
I bleed blue all day every day for the New York Rangers. I personally have been playing for about 26 years, my mom signed me up early at like 5 years old to keep me out of trouble and i never looked back. It’s just such a fast pace and physical game not to mention hockey players are the nicest guys on the planet in my opinion, well at least off the ice.
3. Growing up, who were your role models in sports and why? Who do you model your game after in both sports?
Mariano Rivera hands down this guy came in every game knew what he had to do and did it day in and day out. played the game the right way.
I like to model my game in baseball/softball to Mike Trout. He is a big guy with power that plays great defense and runs that bases with speed too and in hockey, I would say Alex Ovechkin because you always have to be aware of where he is on the ice. Just like teams have to worry about where I am in the lineup at all times.
4. When did you start in SASL and how did you hear about SASL? How has your experience been so far in the past few years?
I don’t remember the exact year it all started but I was recruited by Asad Hamdani. He told me that he and his cousins had a team that needed some extra firepower. So I agreed to join Layth and here we are today. Honestly man, I love the league and how its run; never really been a part of a league that is this interactive. I look forward every week to see what kind of drama gets stirred up by Power Rankings and Predictions but hearing other players stories too is a pretty awesome idea. In my honest opinion though, I like the concept of the cap and rating system but nothing is perfect and I feel that it should be tweaked just a little bit but something tells me we might get more in depth about that later on.
5. You are regarded as the best power hitter in SASL history. But people generally overlook your defense as well. How often do you work at your defense? What are the tips for someone looking to get their throwing arm as strong as you and any tips on fielding ground balls?
Wow man I mean I appreciate that compliment being that the league has been around for 16 years and to already be in that tier with all the great hitters that I have come up against in my short time here is truly an honor but realistically I just do what I gotta do when I gotta do it thats all. Yea I hit homeruns but I am capable of more than that. I just try and take over as many aspects of the game as possible, whatever gives my team the best chance to win. Tips for getting better defensively is just to know the situation that you are in. By doing that it helps you in knowing where to play certain batters and having that knowledge and knowing where to go with the ball won’t make you hesitate when the ball is hit to you because you already know where you are going with the ball when you get it. As far as arm strength you either have it or you don’t but I guess to get better all you have to do is repeat the same release point over and over, repetition will make it like clockwork when you throw.
6. You have the single season home run record and at your pace the all time home run record in SASL soon. You also won every SASL All Star Game Home Run derby by quite a wide margin. What is your game plan when you get in the batters box?
At some point records are meant to be broken I will break it soon and then who knows when another talent could come along and break my potential record. What I really want to know is what is the record for most intentional walks in SASL history? Cause I might have broken that in a single season but I will let you confirm that for me. Game plan going into the box is just have confidence in yourself when I step in the box I go into it knowing I am better than the pitch that is coming in, its a 1 on 1 battle between me and the pitcher and if its between me and him who wins, its going to be me. That goes for every at bat. If you have a bad at bat leave that in the past this game is just as mental as it is physical.
7. You took part in both SASL World Cups with Team USA. How was your experience? Talk to us about the Finals in 2018 against Ireland that you guys barely lost in extra innings.
Well unfortunately its hard for me to actually describe the outcome of this game being that I wasn’t able to play in this world cup believe it or not I had a wedding that happened to fall on this day. But I do believe that if I played then that game doesn’t make it to extra innings and we would have hoisted that trophy.
8. You made your debut with Layth. That team perennially had no protection in the lineup for you. How frustrating was it for you to be walked every at bat in a playoff series?
I would be lying to you if I said it wasn’t frustrating, I mean when you pay to play, you want to be a part of the game on both sides and knowing your bat could be the deciding factor and thats taken away from you time and time again because teams are scared to pitch to you. I mean I get it from a strategy perspective but then why did you make the playoffs in the first place if you didn’t want to play top tier talent. There were times when Layth turned to me and said what should we do with certain big bats on other teams and my response was to pitch to them because I knew how it felt and I didn’t want them to experience what I had to go through game after game. It honestly made me not want to drive almost an hour away and ruin my Sunday mornings. We are not making millions here let people hit if you lose then it was meant to be. Win or lose though I can still respect that more than getting walked every at bat.
9. You have won two titles so far (‘17 Fall Ball with Suicide Squad) and (‘18 Fall Ball with Nature Boys) in some epic Finals games. Take us thru both teams. What made them championship teams?
What made them championship teams was that we kept the same core guys for the most part and had the mindset that anything less than a championship was a failure because we knew we had the talent to go all the way. Suicide Squad, I feel like was the easiest of the championship because nobody knew what to expect from us they knew we had the talent but would it all come together, and for us it did. Nature Boys was a little more difficult because teams were gunning for us knowing what they were up against and teams brought it to us. All of our playoff wins were comeback victories which goes to show our mental focus and not letting us being down make us implode. We were able to pull out back to back championships and I couldn’t have been more proud of our guys.
10. In 2018, after Layth disbanded, you moved on to Scorers. And for Fall Ball ‘19, you played for Nature Boys. In both teams, there were rumors you quit halfway. What happened there?
You know what I am happy you brought this up man because I can finally get certain things off my chest with these types of questions. I wanna go on the record and say that I didn’t quit in either situation. There is a major difference between quitting and knowing your value. First with Scorers the season wasn’t going the way we wanted it to and that caused frustration somebody decided to get wise and run their mouth in our group chat almost like they didn’t need me on the team so I granted there wish I know where I am not wanted. Last year in Fall Ball I brought my brother onto the team because he had some available Sundays to play for us unfortunately I wasn’t running this team and they decided after week 2 when my brother couldn’t make a game that they were going to drop him to add more players that could make it every week. Well my loyalty will always be with my brother so I said if you are going to drop him then you better drop me too and we all know how both those seasons ended so no need to go any further with that.
11. Some call the 2019 HeavyHittaz team that featured you in the middle of the lineup as one of the best if not the best lineup in SASL history. How was it to be part of that team?
Oh man I would put that lineup against anyone in SASL history and I wouldn’t even think twice. There was not one weak position on that team and everyone could rake. Just bomb after bomb it was so hard to stay below the homrun limit every game we played. I enjoyed every second playing on this team; dude we had fun the whole season. Tip my cap to Ali, man he put together a squad. It’s a shame it couldn’t happen again, but who knows what the future holds. Maybe a little foreshadowing who knows.
12. However, your team lost in Finals against Savages in 3 legendary games with you missing. Why did you miss the Finals and do you regret it? Do you think HH wins the chip if you were there?
12 questions in I guess it was time to bring up my worst memory. Well I was in my best friends wedding party and it was his bachelor party weekend in Mexico, so how could I have turned that down when it was booked before the season even started. Do I regret not being there with my team? Of course I do man. You know how hard it was to see our team on a live stream instead of in person battling with them. To see my boy Asad hit a walk off homerun in game 2 in my hotel room knowing that if I am there we don’t go to game 3 (no offense dude). But what are you going to do you play the hand you are dealt, can’t go back now I mean they did the best they could and I am proud of the guys but they made one mistake and that was leaving Asad on the bench game 3 when he brought you there. Moral of my softball story 2 weddings have cost me 2 championships (World Cup, Summer Championship).
13. Over the offseason, the League went to one division with a low cap. You were rated as the only 13 rated player in the league. The highest rating the committee ever gave. What are your thoughts on that and did that effect teams recruiting you?
Where do I start, like I said before the rating and cap system needs to be fine tuned its not perfect. I mean if you increase ratings past a 10 well then then the cap needs to be adjusted higher not by a crazy amount maybe a 60 or so. By doing that it gives the average rating a team can take per 12 players is a 5 rating. but at the current cap space the average rating a team can take is a 4.6 per 12 players which is basically a 5 anyway because i haven’t seen many 4.6 rated players in the league. Now if a team decides to take me with one of their picks that already drops them down to 43 in cap space which then means the average player they can take is a 3.9. I am just about 25% of a teams cap space. This practically forces me out of the league or play on a team where I have the potential to just be walked every at bat just to avoid me like when I started in the league. so I guess to answer your question yes it has a major effect on teams trying to recruit me.
14. You finally landed on a team that this week with Black Mambas making the necessary moves to add you. How do you like your chances there? Talk to us about how you came to join them.
These guys have come a long way man and I am excited to get to playing with the guys and working hard to try and deliver a championship. But again I am an honest person and this question ties into the question above the Mambas were not my first choice it was actually the Troopers. Sunil approached me and said that he was willing to part ways with some guys in order to bring me in for the season everything looked good and then I got a call saying that I couldn’t play because the league was enforcing a mandatory 12 person on a roster rule and by adding me they would only have 11 players so my rating came to hurt me in this instance cause they didn’t even have room for a 1 rated player. After all this the Mambas were willing to add me to their team so now its time for me to tap into that Mamba mentality and bring home a championship. RIP KOBE
15. With one division, and 12 teams due to Covid issues, the league has 9-10 real contenders as per the experts. Your team is one of them. Who do you expect to be your biggest competitions?
Glad we are in the mix of teams but the biggest competition is going to be ourselves honestly we need to come together and know our roles on the team and not try to do too much. I know my mentality going into this season is going to be to take down anyone in my way some weeks I will and some weeks maybe not but that is my goal. I have a huge chip on my shoulder after this past week and its time for me to bring my game to the next level.
16. You have been in the SASL for a good number of years. Give us a few SASL players you really enjoy playing against/watching and why.
Lets make a list:
Hashim- 5 tool player. Man this guy is a tough out in any situation even a ground ball isn’t a sure out with him running. Would love to share the infield on the same side for once at some point before all is said and done. Glad to see him back on the field after his injury.
Charley- got to play on team USA with him and he is a great player and leader so much respect for him man. Power bat and great softball instincts.
Denen- this guy has the power to hit it out but reacts to the situation he is in and can put the ball anywhere on the field whenever he wants. guy will swing and miss just to make the pitcher feel better about himself just so he gets the pitcher to think he has his number. Love it.
TK- I mean what do you say about a guy that has been in the league what 1 year and is already rated a 12. Great outfielder and another guy with amazing power. Probably the greatest hockey hair in the league amazing flow.
I could keep going man but you get the point all of these guys bring out the best in you if you are a true competitor and I have nothing but respect for all of them and I can just hope that I have theirs and I do the same for them.
17. What makes SASL different than any other league you played in or play for? What would be one change you would make if you could in the SASL?
This is easy especially cause I already mentioned the cap system i don’t have to talk about that but one another thing I would change is making intentional walks an automatic double this makes teams think twice before just giving you a free pass. Example would be lets say bottom 7 my team is down 5-4 I’m leading off the inning the team is probably going to walk me in a normal circumstance but if I go to second instead of first maybe that makes the team pitch to me in hopes of getting me to pop up which then keeps the bat in my hand and is more fun to watch to see what happens. Makes the game more interesting.
18. How have you kept busy during the quarantine? What did you miss most not being able to do?
Golf was huge at getting me through quarantine because the courses really didn’t close so I was able to play a lot. I missed just the freedom to do what I want when I want. You learned to appreciate the little things like going out to eat.
19. Three words or less: Describe these players:
- Asad Hamdani: Monster
- Masoom Siddiqui: SASL Lengend
- Chris DiIorio: The Winter Soldier
- Charley Robinson: Natural Leader
- Ahmad Halimi: El Guapo
- Ramy Abdelhamid: Pedialyte
- Craig Cymerman: White Griffey
- Denen Olson: Sniper
- John Sans: True Competitor
- Ali Ghumman: GOAT at Pitching
20. Rapid Fire Round:
- Best SASL memory: when I win a summer championship
- Worst SASL memory: losing in the finals while in another country
- Most Talented SASL team ever: Heavy Hittaz
- Funnest SASL team you been part of: Heavy hittaz
- Favorite teammate ever: Asad Hamdani
- Worst SASL jerseys ever: my orange shirt i wore for layth
- Team you love facing the most: Savages
- Most overrated player in SASL: Me (i’m not good) lower my rating
- Most underrated player in SASL: Ahmad Halimi
- Best ASA bat ever: its not the wand its the magician
- Favorite Nassau softball field: Cantiague A
- 3 words to describe you: always works hard
- Most swaggy player: Yoba
- Your favorite vacation you been to: Turks and Caicos
- Next vacation destination: anywhere out of the United States
- Favorite TV Show: Chicago PD/ Sportscenter
- Best beard in SASL: Asad Hamdani
Thank you very much for joining us Dan! You are officially off the Hot Seat! Good luck rest of the season!
