Prep baseball history: 1999 Phillips Exeter team was ‘special’

The 1999 Phillips Exeter team went 16-2 and won a CNEPSBL championship. (Courtesy photo)

History has always played a role throughout baseball from youth leagues on up to the Major Leagues. Over the upcoming weeks, New England Baseball Journal will delve into some of the history of New England prep school baseball. The focus will be on individual programs and that one magical season that no one on the team can forget.

Our first feature spotlights the 1999 Phillips Exeter Academy Big Red program. Regarded as being one of the best teams in New England prep school history, the 1999 Big Red were led by former Major Leaguer and Stanford University standout Sam Fuld. 

Sam Fuld, one of the greatest baseball players ever to come out of New England, recalls the 1998 Phillips Exeter baseball season as being one of utter disappointment.  A sophomore at the time, Fuld says the Big Red struggled that year, failing to reach Central New England Prep School Baseball League (CNEPSBL) tournament.

Fast-forward to a year later, and everything changed dramatically. With the additions of two talented players in Brian Shapiro and Allie Skelley, Fuld started to get a different vibe entering the 1999 season.