Bellmore JFK twins Derek and Ryan Yormack having a blast
The competitive bond between Bellmore JFK sophomore baseball stars and identical twins Derek and Ryan Yormack is as healthy as ever.
A prime example: Ryan, a first baseman, believes he can hit a home run off Derek, a righthanded pitcher and shortstop.
Well, can he?
“No,” Derek said. “It won’t happen.”
Said coach Mike Gattus: “That's incredible. Early in the year, they wanted to have live at-bats against each other, and we kind of — we shied away from it. I have no comments on that. I'm not picking sides on that one.”
The 6-3 twins, Duke commits in their third varsity season, have helped transform a Bellmore JFK program in search of its first county title. The Cougars (15-2, 12-0) have already clinched their second consecutive outright Nassau Conference AA-III title, and the Yormacks have been at the forefront of the success.
Derek Yormack. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
“It’s something I really don't take for granted at any moment,” Gattus said. “They're generational kids. To have the both of them, it's hard to put into words sometimes. It's very special, and I don't take a second of it for granted. On top of the talent and how hard they work and the success and the numbers, they're phenomenal kids.”
The numbers are staggering.
Ryan owns a .577/.636/1.173 slash line in 52 at-bats and 66 plate appearances. He has eight homers, five doubles, a triple, 33 RBIs and 24 runs scored.
Derek is slashing .528/.606/.962 in 53 at-bats and 66 plate appearances. He has five home runs, six doubles, a triple, 23 RBIs and 24 runs scored.
On the mound, Derek is 5-0 with 45 strikeouts and has allowed zero earned runs in 25 2/3 innings (six starts). He has a 0.584 WHIP and batters hit 0.049 against him. He painted a masterpiece on April 24: a 17-strikeout no-hitter in a 6-0 win over Long Beach.
“It was really surreal,” Derek said. “It kind of happened so fast. You just get through innings quickly. I felt like I was in the sixth inning, and everyone was talking about it. I was just trying to block it all out and just finish the job.”
Ryan Yormack. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Ryan had a perfect view from first base.
“Amazing,” Ryan said. “I just sit back. I watch. I relax, and then I know — he’s got me. So, no biggie.”
In 2023, Derek batted .420 with a .547 OBP, 25 RBIs and had two wins, 32 strikeouts and a 2.15 ERA. Ryan, who also pitched, batted .402 with a .542 OBP, 28 RBIs and four homers and had one win, two saves and 18 strikeouts.
Last year, it was more of the same. Derek hit .384 with a 1.025 OPS and 28 RBIs, and he had three wins and struck out 67 in 35 innings. Ryan batted .456 with a 1.506 OPS and had 15 extra-base hits, six home runs and 28 RBIs.
Scouts have started flocking to Cougars games, including Derek’s recent no-no. Derek has a low-90s mph fastball, a low-to-mid-80s changeup, a curveball that tops out at 80 and a slider that sits just over 80.
“There's starting to become a little presence of people coming down to watch them, and that's been a really great thing, the exposure,” Gattus said. “I said at our end-of-the-season dinner last year, they've changed the trajectory of our program because they brought such great exposure to everything that we have going on here, and they've elevated the level of play. They make everyone else around them better, and people are now starting to take notice.”
The increased attention comes with inherent pressure. But the maturity and ability to handle it has impressed Gattus and many others.
“I’ve played with [Derek] since I was 12 years old,” junior catcher Derek Fong said. “I caught him for a while. He's really grown. He’s very mature and really handles his business well.”
The Cougars fell short in the Nassau Class AA title last year, losing the first two games of a best-of-three championship series against Division. They have their sights on huge goals this spring.
“We just pick each other up,” Ryan said. “We're all trying to make the next step. We want the — we don't even want the county championship. We want the New York State championship. So we just keep going up and up and up.”
The brothers still have the rest of this season and two more to solidify their legacy. Ryan is already the program’s all-time home runs leader with 18. Derek’s strikeout number, now at 144, will be tremendous.
“The numbers that they're going to leave and the impact on the field is phenomenal,” Gattus said. “But I think the legacy that they're going to leave is going to be two great student-athletes and two phenomenal kids that have elevated the level of our program through their hard work and commitment. For them to be here for now three years has been phenomenal for our program entirely, kind of changed the face of our program.
“The legacy that they leave is going to be for years to come.”
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
