Brust and Palermo Headline Section V Baseball Hall of Fame Inductions

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – A pair of Monroe Community College Tribunes were among the inductees as Section V Baseball honored its 2023 Hall of Fame class prior to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Rochester Red Wings game at Innovative Field earlier this summer. Dave Brust (1987) and Peter Palermo (1983) were part of a four-member class honored in the pre-game ceremony.

Brust, a 2009 MCC Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, earned All-Greater Rochester Honors in baseball under the late Ed Nietopski at Cardinal Mooney High School (1983-85). After high school, Brust garnered third team NJCAA All-American honors on the diamond while playing for H. David Chamberlain at MCC. He went on to Ball State University where he was a team captain and MVP for two years as well as an All-Mid-American Conference selection in 1989 when he hit .342 with 14 home runs and 36 RBI.

Brust played three years in the Atlanta Braves' organization including two under former Boston Red Sox skipper Grady Little. Currently the head coach at MCC, Brust has guided the Tribunes to three (2016, '18 and '19) NJCAA World Series appearances in his 10 years at the helm and has been named East District Division II Coach of the Year on three separate occasions. Brust started his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Rochester Royals of the New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL). He later assumed the position as skipper of the Webster Yankees and guided the organization to the 2011 NYCBL Championship Series, the organization's lone championship appearance. Brust was named 2011 NYCBL Manager of the Year.

A team MVP in 1980 and 1981, Palermo logged an 18-3 record on the mound while hitting .391 for McQuaid. He went on to pitch a year at Eckerd College before transferring to MCC and then Jacksonville University where he was an All-Sun Belt Conference selection in 1985. A 7th-round selection of the San Francisco Giants in 1983, Palermo signed with Baltimore in 1985 and spent four years in the Orioles' organization.

Palermo logged a career-high 105 innings pitched in 1987 while playing for for Hagerstown of the then-Class-A Carolina League. He finished with a 7-1 record and an ERA of 3.26. He eventually pitched at the Double-A level with Charlotte of the Southern League. The right-hander eventually pitched for Bravos Leon of the Mexican League. Palermo returned to his alma mater and served as a volunteer assistant coach with McQuaid from 2010-2015. He currently is a successful Real Estate Agent in the Rochester area.

Brust and Palermo joined Rich Gill (Andover High School and the late Ed LaRock (Sodus High School) as inductees of the 2023 class.

Other MCC Tribunes in the Section V Baseball Hall of Fame include Peter Agostinelli (1987), Ralph Clapp (1970), Peter Dawes (1978), Scott Delgatti (1974), Alan Dreschler (1972), Paul Goeggleman (1977), Steve Nichols (1970) and Tim Redding (1997).

Photo attached: Dave Brust (left) and Peter Palermo (right) throw out first pitches as part of the 2023 Section V Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Innovative Field. (Photos: Joe Territo/Rochester Red Wings)