As the crisp October air becomes chilly, York College right handed pitcher
Eric Chaney walks onto the mound. He steps back to pitch and begins his windup.
He gives up a single, a common occurrence in the sport of baseball. However, this single was different. It wasn't hit by your everyday opponent. It was the work of a York alumnus who graduated not so long ago, Robert Chaney, his older brother.
The Chaney brothers weren't the first pair of brothers to play back-to-back with the Spartans. That would be Drew and Randy Frankenfield, who played from 2012-2013 and 2014-2017. However, these two battled through adversity to become key players for the team of the past and the team of the present.
"The thing about the Cheney brothers is that you know they're going to work," said Spartan head coach
Mike Scappa, who has seen both of them grow as people and players."
Neither brother entered York as a day one starter, but left as successful players and are honored to be represented by the green and white.
Robert's journey didn't start at York. He originally spent his first three semesters 131 miles east at TCNJ. However, a series of unfortunate events led to him considering transferring away from the school.
"I sprained my UCL my freshman year," recalled Robert. "It was just an overuse injury, overworked, trying to get ready…was at that school in the fall of my sophomore year and they didn't take me on the team again"
During his high school recruiting, he spoke with Scappa. While nothing transpired at the time, that eventually led to him deciding to transfer to York.
Robert's first two years representing the green and white weren't sunshine and rainbows. In his first season, he appeared in just 7 games and posted an ERA of 9.75. His second season didn't start so hot either, with him throwing only one and two-third innings, while allowing four runs.
A bad start, but nothing that can't be resolved with better performances down the line.
Unfortunately, that never happened since the season ended up getting canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With gyms closed and almost nowhere to practice, Robert was in a standstill. The season was coming up, and he needed to practice to prove to everyone that his past was a fluke. Over the winter, he proved the narrative wrong.
"Robert dedicated himself to being a great pitcher," said Scappa. "I don't think I've ever seen one, any individual pitcher work as hard as he did and make a huge improvement."
Robert lived with a few of his teammates his senior year, they would throw consistently together, keeping them warm. This led to Robert breaking off his senior season with a 3.57 ERA, 55 strikeouts and a 6-2 record, including a dominating outing against Eastern where he threw 6.2 innings, striking out 7 and allowing no runs.
When Robert wasn't throwing on campus, he was throwing at the park. Not with one of his teammates, but his younger brother Eric.
Eric learned a lot of things from his brother, particularly when it came to competitiveness. While sometimes it was too much -- like the time in high school when he got ejected from a hockey game – it has helped him throughout his career, especially when facing a bad starting hand.
Dealing with a similar career path, Eric dedicated himself to becoming the best pitcher he possibly could, that didn't impact his 4.0 GPA. While not a starter, his improvement has been rewarded with being a solid bullpen arm for the Spartans
"I think I'm just more mature, more physically capable now," said Eric. "And I think I've set myself up with my training and put myself in a position to succeed.
His training has paid off, Eric is currently pitching a 3.75 ERA in 12 innings and he picked up his first career win against Misericordia, pitching 2.1 innings and only allowing one hit in the outing. His rise has some comparing him to his brother, but he looks to usurp him by ending with a sub 3.5 ERA, although that might be tricky given the extra pressure from the stands this year.
"I live in York now," said Robert. "I'll probably watch him the most this year of any year."
