Now they’re speaking
his language

By Joe Mason
For the Times

Jeff Bru is usually as steady as can be.
Bru, a senior on the Frankford High School baseball team, is a part-time outfielder, part-time infielder, full-time contributor and is known for his solid play on the diamond.
But in the Public League semifinals, Bru suffered through a pair of miscues, both of which occurred in the first inning as GAMP jumped out to an 8-0 lead after a half inning of play.
To make matters worse, the loyal Bru has had a great relationship with Frankford coach Bob Peffle, who is retiring at the end of the season.
"The first error was bad, but after the second one, I honestly thought about crying," Bru said. "In this kind of game, you can’t make errors like that, you can’t cost people games. I didn’t want to see coach lose like that. I didn’t want to be known as the guy who made him retire before going to the championship."
No worries, Jeff.
Frankford ace Esteban "Shortie" Meletoche held GAMP’s bats in check and the Pioneers scored 10 unanswered runs to prolong Peffle’s career and help Bru lose the goat horns for the day.
The first inning may not have been among Bru’s finest moments, but over the past two years, he has accomplished plenty to be proud of.
Bru moved to Philadelphia from Colombia prior to his junior year. When he arrived in Oxford Circle, he didn’t speak much English and his baseball skills weren’t refined. He immediately began work to improve both areas.
"In Colombia, it was different, the weather was a lot warmer all year long, so I played baseball all the time," he said. "But when I got here and I found coach Peffle, he did so much for me."
That explains the baseball part.
The language barrier was a little more difficult to overcome.
"When I got here I didn’t know how to speak, and even now my English isn’t perfect," Bru said. "That really made me nervous, because when you go to school and you can’t speak to anyone, it’s hard. But I picked it up, little by little.
"After the school year, I had good grades, but I signed up for summer school so I could learn more," he said. "I didn’t go to mess around or waste time, I really wanted to learn so I could talk to everyone. The people at Frankford have been really cool about helping me, and now I really don’t need any help. I’m not perfect, but I’m pretty good."
Bru’s thirst for knowledge, both in and out of the classroom, has impressed just about everyone at his school. And Peffle is certainly glad that his family decided to come north.
"It’s nice to have him as a player, but just look at the kid," Peffle said. "He’s an extremely nice young man, he’s a hard worker. I mean, look, he went to summer school, all on his own, to improve. Not many people are going to do that, but he did."
But Bru knows his hard work must continue.
Next year, Bru will head to Penn State Abington. He’ll study education with hopes of some day teaching high school history, possibly at his alma mater.
"I see how much coach Peffle and coach (Juan) Namnun have helped me, and I’ll always owe them so much," Bru said. "They both teach me baseball, but coach Peffle has been there for me every way. And coach Namnun, he’s Latino too, so he’s been a big help with helping me adjust to America."
Bru is also proud of his achievements.
Last year, though they failed to hang a championship banner, Frankford finished runner-up to Central. Those two teams met again this year in the title tilt, but the game occurred after the Times went to press. But either way, Bru will always speak fondly of his days as a Frankford Pioneer.
"It was great, I never played with a team like this," Bru said. "These past two years have helped me so much and given me so much confidence. I can’t wait to start playing next year and see if I can keep getting better."
But that will have to wait.
The Pioneers clinched a spot in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Class AAAA playoffs by virtue of their victory in the Public League semifinals.
"I’ll tell you, we’ve had some big wins, but I’ve never seen anything like that," Peffle said of his team’s win over GAMP. "You have big wins, something like that in the Public League, but not in the playoffs. This was win or go home, and we go down 8-0. That’s just great to come back from something like that."
Especially for a guy who made a pair of boo-boos in the first frame.
"I think we’re all happy, but I’m as happy as anyone," Bru said. "We weren’t ready to see coach retire yet." ••
Joe Mason can be reached at joemason70@hotmail.com