Edwin Myoshi had a tremendous workload during his last semester at SUNY New Paltz in 1981. It’s difficult enough for a college student to survive just with classes and homework, but add being a student- athlete and a job into the mix, and things can get hectic.
In his last semester, Myoshi, a history major with a minor in creative writing, took 22 credits, 18 of them being upper division. He worked 30 hours a week at McDonalds on Main Street, and helped lead the 1981 New Paltz Hawks to its first baseball conference championship in program history. The 1981 Hawks achieved an 18-5 record and won the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference championship over Dowling College. Myoshi batted .375 with six doubles, three triples, and three home runs in his senior season which lead to him being named the team’s Most Valuable Player.
For Miyoshi, New Paltz has been in his blood since he was a young boy. His mother went to New Paltz and graduated in 1971. His sister also went to New Paltz. His mother would bring him to campus and Miyoshi has fond memories of the campus and his first experiences here.
“When I was growing up they were still building the dorms, Deyo, Dubois, Crispell, and more,” Miyoshi says. “They were also finishing building the tunnels that connected the library and lecture center. I remember my mother bringing my sister and me to campus and we would run around those tunnels. I always knew I would come to New Paltz. It was definitely a family place.”
Miyoshi cherishes his time playing for the New Paltz baseball program. He came into the program as a freshman and made the team as a pitcher. He then proved his offensive prowess and made his way into the lineup. He tallied a .289 batting average in 32 at bats and led the team in RBI with 16 as a freshman. The team went 5–13 that year. His sophomore year the team improved under new head coach, Joe Owens. The team continued to improve his junior year and earned a 10-8 record.
Miyoshi’s senior season was a season to remember as the Hawks won the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference championship. The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) featured teams from both the Division II and Division III levels. Schools that New Paltz competed with were Western Connecticut, Bloomfield College, Kings College, St. Thomas Aquinas College, Dowling College, Ramapo College, and Nyack College.
“Bloomfield was one of our big rivals,” Miyoshi explains. “They had a total of nine guys on scholarships that year. They had two pitchers, one from the left side one from the right, who were both throwing harder than 90 miles per hour. I think I prevented them from going pro myself. They pitched against us when there were a couple Detroit Tigers scouts in the stands. I did extremely well off of them and I don’t think they ever heard anything from those scouts.”
His most memorable moment at New Paltz was winning the conference title in 1981 in a doubleheader sweep over Dowling College. “We swept Dowling in a doubleheader to win the championship.,” Miyoski explains. “The whole team went out to celebrate, but I had work from 8 to midnight that night so I had to meet them after.”
Miyoshi took his work ethic and dedication he developed at New Paltz into the real world. He now works for IBM Global Services and has been for the last 32 years. He also served the East Fishkill youth sports organizations for over 10 years.
From 1995 to 2006 he coached youth baseball, youth basketball, and youth soccer. His attitude towards coaching youth sports was to be as fair as possible and let everyone play. “There’s a right way to win and a wrong way. Something New Paltz taught me was that I shouldn’t have to win at all costs. That is the kind of attitude I took from New Paltz and put into coaching youth sports. I have been told by parents that sometimes I am too fair when it comes to letting everyone play.”
