ALL-STAR PITCHER MIKE MACDOUGAL TO HEAD J. P. MASCARO & SONS "PERSEVERANCE AND HARD WORK PROGRAM"

Mike MacDougal, a successful Major League Baseball pitcher and the son-in-law of J. P. Mascaro & Sons' company President, Pat Mascaro, will head Mascaro's newly-initiated "Perseverance and Hard Work Program," to be offered to all ages at the company's corporate headquarters in Audubon, Pennsylvania.  The program will be interactive and interesting and will center around Mike's journey in baseball as a child, in high school and college, and ultimately in the big leagues.  Mike will share his insight into what it took to become and succeed as a Major League Baseball pitcher.

Mike was born in Nevada and raised in Arizona by his father, Tom MacDougal, who played Minor League professional baseball, and by his mother, Dorothy MacDougal, an elementary school teacher.  After high school, Mike attended Wake Forest University on a baseball scholarship, where he was named as a First Team All-American Starting Pitcher in his junior year, with an 11 and 2 record, including a no-hitter, and where he was later inducted into the Wake Forest University Baseball Hall of Fame.  In 1999, Mike was drafted in the first round by the Kansas City Royals as a starting pitcher.

Arriving at Kansas City with high expectations, Mike experienced a serious setback.  Because of this injury and because he was determined to "make it" in the big leagues, Mike converted from a starting pitcher to a reliever, and through hard work, perseverance and dedication, he enjoyed a successful 12-year Major League career with Kansas City, the Chicago White Sox, the Washington Nationals, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

 

Blessed with a 97 to 99 MPH fastball and a "wicked slider," Mike earned the respect of some of baseball's all-time great hitters, including Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Frank Thomas.  As a closer, Mike was named to the American League All-Star Team in 2003, when he had 27 saves for Kansas City; he had an exceptional 1.55 ERA and a 2.12 ERA for the Chicago White Sox in 2006 and 2008; he had fantastic success as a closer for the Washington Nationals in 2009, recording 20 saves in 21 game opportunities; and in 2011, for the Los Angeles Dodgers, he made 69 game appearances and had a 2.05 ERA, which was in the top 10% of the 130 Major League Baseball relievers with 50 or more innings pitched.

 

Being very familiar with the concepts of perseverance, hard work and dedication as it relates to his own career, the program that Mike will head is replacing the long-running Mascaro "RESPECT Program," in which more than 500,000 area elementary school students participated over a 10-year period.  The newly-initiated "Perseverance and Hard Work Program" is being offered at no charge, as part of J. P. Mascaro & Sons' commitment to being "Your Friend in the Community."

Company President, Pat Mascaro, said, "I am really excited to have Mike MacDougal head this new program.  Young children and athletes will learn from Mike, as he learned for himself in his baseball career, that there is no substitute for perseverance and hard work in whatever you may be trying to accomplish or in whatever your goals may be.