In the 1960's and 1970's, Head Coach Dom Rosselli had the Penguin baseball program on a roll. His teams won 20 games or more nine seasons in row (1969-77) and a pitcher named Mike Glinatsis from nearby Boardman High School helped Rosselli's nine to a 63-34 mark, including a 22-6 overall ledger in 1974, his freshman season.
Arguably the hardest and fastest pitcher ever to lace up the spikes for the Penguins, Glinatsis' athleticism on the mound has left many an observer gasping for breath when watching his 92-plus mile per hour fastball travel to home plate.
A native of Poland, Ohio, the Glantisis family moved to Boardman when Mark was entering junior high school, and it was for the Spartans that Rosselli and his scouts took notice. He entertained all offers to play collegiate baseball elsewhere, but the hometown in him won out and he opted to play for the Penguins.
As a freshman, Rosselli saw exactly what tools Glantisis had, calling upon the rookie pitcher eight times as he started five games, posted a 3-2 mound mark in 35.1 innings of work. He struck out 30 batters and posted a 3.06 earned-run average.
As a sophomore in 1975, he was 4-3 in eight games, the team posting a 20-15 ledger with Glantsis working 49.2 innings, striking out 40 and posting a stingy 1.09 ERA as he allowed six earned runs all season.
Little did he know then that his junior campaign would be his last, for all he did was help the Penguins to a 20-14 mark, posting a 4-3 record in 42.1 innings of work, while striking out 44. He had a 3.19 ERA in nine games, starting just four while working the other five in relief.
His three-year career shows an 11-8 overall mark and in 127.1 innings of work, he gave up just 97 hits, 55 runs (33 earned), walked 52, struck out 114 and finished with 11 complete games.
His desire to succeed and competitiveness on the mound caught the eye of then-Giants scout Mike Trbovich and Glinatsis was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 1976 June Amateur Draft. He would go as high as Double A with the Giants and appeared on the 40-man spring training roster on two separate occasions before heading to the rival Los Angeles Dodgers farm system. He closed out his professional baseball career with the Class A Miami Marlins (a co-op of several major league teams) and actually played in the now defunct Senior Professional Baseball League that was started in Florida in the late 1980's and early '90's. His professional highlight was a no-hit effort for the Shreveport Captains, then a farm team for the Giants.
While his education was put on hold, he completed his course work and obtained a BA in Geography in 1983 with a minor in History. He is single and resides in Boardman.
