The Legacy of Coach Cocco
As part of a generous endowment, the late Seton Hall Pirates legend Mike Cocco lives on in a newly-named baseball bullpen.
One day after the close of the 1987 Major League Baseball season, the Seton Hall Pirates got word that a legend was en route to their subterranean batting cages: 18-time New York Yankees All-Star and 10-time World Series champ Yogi Berra, who lived up the road in Montclair.
At the time, Berra was bench coach of the Houston Astros, who had recently drafted star Pirates catcher Craig Biggio '87, a future MLB Hall of Fame inductee with a celebrated professional career in store. Longtime Pirates coach Mike "Shep" Sheppard, who was friendly with Berra, knew Berra and Biggio hadn't met in person. That gave Sheppard an idea for a practical joke. He told the Pirates' husky assistant coach, Mike Cocco '86, to squeeze his 250-pound, 5-foot-7 frame into an Astros shirt and start catching balls.
When Berra arrived with Astros third base coach Matt Galante and laid eyes on the heavy-set young man he'd been tricked into believing was his first-round draft pick, he looked puzzled. He told Galante, who'd been furtively let in on the shenanigans, "We'll make a player out of him."
Mike Cocco and Coach Sheppard, Sr.
Sheppard motioned Cocco over. "When Yogi came in," Cocco fondly recalled in David Siroty's 2002 book, The Hit Men and the Kid Who Batted Ninth, "Shep introduced Yogi to 'Craig Biggio,' but it was me. Yogi looked at me, looked at Matt Galante, and [said], as only Yogi could say, 'He must be some phenom!'"
Cocco, who died of a heart attack in April 2024, was himself a legend among the Seton Hall community. And the Yogi Berra prank was just one of the many stories about him that former teammates, players and loved ones keep in their hearts.
“He was a true blue Seton Hall Pirate,” says Biggio. “Back in the day, I would always travel with Mike and the equipment in his red van. When you spend a lot of time together driving all over New Jersey you really get to know someone. Mike’s legacy for Seton Hall will never be forgotten.”
Mike's dedication touched countless lives. It's an honor to play a part in reserving his legacy." - Steve Waldis '89
That legacy includes degrees from Seton Hall Prep and Seton Hall University, where Cocco served the Pirates for four years as a student manager, and for another five as a graduate assistant and then an assistant coach. His tenure included two NCAA Baseball Regionals and the 1987 Big East tournament, which the Pirates won. After moving on from the baseball program, Cocco maintained a presence at Pirates games and in the dugout, continuing to live the team’s signature mantra: “Never Lose Your Hustle.” According to former Pirates teammate John Morris, who went on to play for the Kansas City Royals, “He represents everything that is good and right about Seton Hall.”
As of this spring, Cocco's legacy has literally been set in stone with the naming of the Pirates bullpen in his memory: "Cocco's Corner." The titular tribute dovetails with a seven-figure gift from Seton Hall alumni Stephen and Stacey Waldis, whose Stacey '90 and Stephen '89 Waldis Baseball Coach Endowment will help finance coaching salaries and operational costs.
As Cocco’s wife, Beth Cocco, tells IMPACT, “Seton Hall baseball was so important to him. He was always such a champion and advocate for the program. The fact that they’ve done this is just amazing. He would be so happy. It’s an absolutely tremendous honor for him and for our family.”
A native of Orange, New Jersey, where he grew up the youngest of five children, Michael Anthony Cocco attended Catholic school from the age of six and became involved with organized sports at Seton Hall Prep, where he managed the football, wrestling and baseball teams. He earned a scholarship to Seton Hall University as a student team manager.
“His gift was coaching and managing,” says Beth. “Baseball was always his favorite sport.”
He was a true blue Seton Hall Pirate... Mike's legacy for Seton Hall will never be forgotten." - Craig Biggio '87
After stepping down from his assistant coaching position with the Pirates, Cocco embarked on a career in security operations, first at St. Barnabas, where he was introduced to Beth by a mutual colleague in 1998. Two years later, they got married at Seton Hall’s Chapel of the Immaculate Conception. Exiting the chapel, they walked beneath a canopy of baseball bats held aloft by members of Seton Hall’s high school and university teams.
Cocco maintained close ties to Seton Hall not only by attending games, but also by assisting with baseball camps and coaching Prep players during the summer. He trained future Major Leaguers like Eric Duncan, who was drafted by the Yankees straight out of Prep, and Rick Porcello, who pitched in the Majors for 12 years and won a Cy Young Award with the Boston Red Sox. Cocco also coached youth baseball and softball in Florham Park, New Jersey, where he and Beth raised their children. Both Mikey (22) and Molly (20) coach and are following in their father’s footsteps.
“My dad enjoyed being able to make a difference in the lives of his players no matter the level he was coaching,” says Mikey. “A lot of my friends would refer to him as ‘Pops,’ ‘Dad’ and ‘Coach’ on and off the field.” Adds Molly, “I grew up surrounded by Seton Hall baseball. Dad never missed a chance to catch up with a former player. The Steve and Stacey Waldis Endowment just proves how much of a family this program is.”
Cocco's Corner with Cocco, Steve Waldis (Far Right) and Fellow Pirates
On the evening of Sunday, April 21, 2024, Cocco had just enjoyed what his family now refers to as the “perfect Cocco weekend.” He golfed with a former coaching pal, enjoyed a Friday-night meal at his favorite Florham Park Italian joint, watched Molly play on her school softball team at Stockton University, conducted a pitching lesson, and spent Sunday afternoon watching a Pirates game at Seton Hall. Afterward, the Coccos and some friends drove to Mike’s childhood stomping ground for an early dinner at Libretti’s in Orange. Then they went home, where Mikey, himself a baseball coach, shared the news with his dad that his team had just won its first tournament. At some point not long after that, as Cocco relaxed on the couch watching golf on T.V., his heart stopped beating. “The one thing we take comfort in is that he didn’t suffer,” says Beth.
Six days later, mourners filled Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in Florham Park. Beth began her eulogy with a joke: “I promise to keep my remarks short, unlike Mike’s Seton Hall Prep Hall of Fame induction speech.”
She continued, “Mike believed life is a lot like baseball. You think a fastball is coming, but then you’re thrown a curve.”
It was a metaphor that perfectly captured Cocco’s spirit. Thanks to the naming of the Pirates bullpen in his honor, that spirit will live on with the team.