Kyle Vazquez didn’t just play on Berlin High School’s Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference championship baseball and basketball teams; he shined in the preeminent contests of those seasons.

He went 2 for 3, including singling in the winning run, in the 2-1 Class L 2005 baseball title victory over Wethersfield. Nine months later his three-pointer broke a 43-43 tie in the Division III state basketball final. BHS never relinquished its lead and defeated Wilby-Waterbury 58-53. “Reliable, clutch shooter, who always played hard,” said Dave Bosso, Berlin’s coach 2000-07.

Vazquez, a starting guard/forward, had seven points and five rebounds against Wilby. He was co-captain with Kyle Zarotney that memorable season when the Redcoats won their first state title.

“He [Vazquez] could have played college basketball,” Bosso said. “But baseball was his first love.”

Vazquez had baseball pedigree. His father Carl was an outfielder/pitcher and a 1980 Pittsburgh Pirates’ draft pick, who played in the minors. “As soon as I could walk, I knew it was baseball,” Kyle said.

At BHS he batted .315 and was 9-2 with a 2.88 ERA as an outfielder/pitcher. He earned All-State honors as a senior in 2006. “He had the talent and all the intangibles of a really good player,” coach Leo Veleas said.

Vazquez’ competitiveness and skills developed more at Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, N.H. Some of his achievements were being 16-3 overall with a 2.52 ERA; having a1.93 ERA, which ranked 11th in Division II, a career-high 15 strikeouts in a three-hit 10-inning shutout against UMass-Lowell and being named the Northeast-10 Conference pitcher of the year and to the Daktronics All-American second team as a junior; and leading his team to two College World Series appearances.

“I had relied on my athleticism, but in college I learned how to be pitch,” he said.

In 2009 he was the San Francisco Giants’ 15th-round draft pick. He pitched in the minors and independent leagues for seven years. He showed abundant determination to advance professionally, despite shoulder surgery in his second year. “Pro ball was a great experience; I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” he said.

Vazquez has similar emotions about his HOF tribute. “It means a lot,” said Vazquez, whose sister Alexys was inducted last year. “To be recognized with all the great people in the hall is an honor.”