Hall of Fame
And to think, he was originally listed as an outfielder. Mick Kocinski, who was a walk-on in the program back in 1983, changed all that after just one fall season at his more familiar stomping grounds known as first base. Kocinski eventually made the varsity roster during his inaugural season seeing spot duty. But, by the time the next spring rolled around, he had worked his way into the starting lineup, a position he would rarely relinquish over his final three seasons of competition, except for an occasional platoon role. It was no wonder, either, as detailed by a career .301 batting average with 122 runs batted in on the offensive side of the ledger and no more than five errors in any one season on defense. During that time, the Saints made back-to-back World Series appearances for the first time in school history in 1985 and 1986 highlighted by a third-place finish in the former. In 1987, Kocinski closed his storybook career by batting both a team and personal-best .384, which still stands as the ninth-best single-season hitting clip in school history. He also led the club in runs batted in with 57 and belted out nine home runs (or two more than his first three seasons combined) that year to assure himself a spot on both the all-district and all-area squads. Kocinski, who resides with his wife, Donna, in Orland Park, earned his bachelor's degree in Marketing back in 1987. He currently serves as a bank examiner for the state of Illinois and still plays first base in the Roy Hobbs League, a league for players 30 years of age and older.
