Wherever boys varsity baseball coach Joe Campagna goes, be it a restaurant in western Massachusetts or down in Cape Cod, it seems like he knows everybody there, as the locals greet him with a big smile and share a story and a laugh. Senior Jack Levine, a member of the boys varsity baseball team, said Campagna is widely considered the face of Brookline baseball.

To an outsider though, he might not seem so friendly. During games, he tenses up at every play and shouts across the field if a batter lets a strike pass by or swings at a bad pitch. His gruff way of speaking can be intimidating, especially to those who do not know him well.

But Campagna stands out from other coaches because of more than his intensity or popularity. His consistent dedication and passion for baseball has led to his induction into the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place on Jan. 24.

Campagna said that 23 years ago, when he started coaching boys varsity baseball at the high school, he said the team was poorly equipped and entrenched in a losing mentality.

“When I first took over it was like, ‘What’s going to happen today? What inning is the roof going to fall on our heads?’” Campagna said. “And that’s a hard thing to break.”

Slowly but surely, Campagna built the program. He worked to get a batting cage and pitching machines. He introduced an annual game against Needham in Cooperstown, NY, site of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He made sure his players had good uniforms and wore them right. The effect is a sense of pride in being a part of the team, according to Assistant Athletic Director Kyle Williams.

“It’s all very professional and very traditional, and I think that does help to build a feeling of ‘oh wow, I’m on varsity, I’m part of something that’s pretty cool,’” Williams said.

Campagna also said he put effort into learning how to be a better coach and how to teach the idiosyncrasies and tricks of the game effectively. However, he said the key to a successful team is motivating the players to always be at their best regardless of the outcome or circumstances. Campagna himself lives by this principle: Out of all of his years at the high school, he has only been out sick four days, and despite mellowing over the years, he said he is still as committed as ever as a coach.

“I can accept it if they only win eight games if that’s all they’re capable of doing, but I want to squeeze every bit out of them,” Campagna said. “And sometimes it’s a little bit of tough love from me, and I think they know that, but I also think the kids know that I have their best interests in my heart, and tough love is okay as long as it’s doled out with some compassion, and with some humor, and fairness.”

According to Joe Siciliano, the boys varsity baseball coach at Newton North High School who nominated Campagna for the Hall of Fame, Campagna’s teams always overachieve regardless of the quality of the team itself. Despite being coaches of rival teams, Siciliano said the two have become close, and call each other once a week during the season to discuss the teams and exchange tips.

“He’s a guy who really typifies what a good high school coach is all about,” Siciliano said.

Social studies teacher Michael Normant, who coached alongside Campagna for several years, said he admires Campagna’s unwillingness to turn his back on players who do not reach his expectations. Senior Tyler Patterson agreed.

“No matter how well you do something or no matter how poorly you do something, he’ll always have pointers for you and advise as to some way to get better at what you’re doing,” Patterson said. “Whether you’re the best player on the team or the worst, he’s always looking to help kids improve and become better baseball players and better people.”

Senior Jack Levine said he feels like he can always go to Campagna for anything he needs, and that Campagna goes the extra mile for his players.

“He’s kind of like a rock in that sense,” Levine said. “He’s always there.”

One place where Campagna reveals how much he cares about his players is during the annual banquet at Cooperstown. During the banquet, Campagna always makes a speech commemorating the seniors and takes special care to bring up specific memories of every senior on the team.

“I’ve seen parents of those kids crying at the things that he says,” Normant said. “I’ve almost had tears in my eyes just because he’s a very sensitive guy and that shows in those moments.”

According to senior David Krane, Campagna said in one of his speeches that he would rather die on the field than retire from coaching.

Campagna is the first Brookline coach to enter the Hall of Fame since Thomas Fitzgerald in 1969, the year the Hall of Fame was created.

“It is a humbling experience when you look at the names on the plaque, who are basically history in Massachusetts baseball, and really realize you’re part of it,” Campagna said.

He said that although the induction is an incredible honor under his name, it is not for him alone.

“I think I share this with my players,” Campagna said. “They’re as responsible as I am or more because as I always say, I never threw a pitch, I never hit a ball. The kids did all that work, they had to get up there and win.”

According to Levine, as soon as Normant told the team about Campagna’s induction, everyone immediately responded that they were going to attend the ceremony.

According to Williams, Campagna’s induction is more than well deserved.

“Coach Campagna was responsible for a significant, significant amount of work towards both creating and maintaining the Hall of Fame ceremony and making sure that people in the past in the tradition in Brookline Athletics got recognized,” Williams said. “I think it’s incredibly fitting that he would get recognized himself within his baseball coaching community.

Sofia Tong can be contacted at [email protected].