Tag Archives: Derek Jeter

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Youth Athlete of the Year

Oliver’s coaches nominated him for athlete of the year:

“Oliver plays with heart bigger than any trophy. He cares more about teammates than himself, reminding us why we fell in love with sports.”

What do they love most about playing their sport(s)?

What inspires him most isn’t wins or stats—it’s the love he has for the game and the people in it. He’s the first at practice, the last to leave, and hugs every coach and teammate like family. Oliver was asked by coaches to play up with much older athletes for tackle football and is one of the youngest on the state travel baseball team— but it’s his heart, not his age or talent, that makes him unforgettable.

Who inspires them—on or off the field—and why?

I asked Oliver this question specifically: His response, “I love playing catch with you dad. You always tell us about playing catch with Pop (my grandfather). Playing catch with you makes me feel like I get to play catch with your Pop even though I never got to meet him. I love when you tell me about Rickey Henderson & Ken Griffey, Jr. Thanks for telling me about Pop, I love him for making us both love baseball!”

What’s one moment in their athletic journey that makes you proudest?

This basketball season, with time running out, Ollie had a clear opportunity to score again. As he got to the hoop, he saw a teammate who hadn’t scored all season. Without hesitating, he passed the ball so his teammate could score at the buzzer. After, I asked him about it, he said, ‘We win as a team and I love helping everyone.’ That selfless act, prioritizing team & uplifting a teammate, shows the kind of athlete and person he’s becoming. To me his leadership and character makes me most proud.

Ollie would love your vote… it’s super easy just click here: https://athleteoftheyear.org/2025/oliver-b446

UPDATES:

8.29.25: OK… TOP 5!?????… and currently he’s in second place! Maybe, just maybe this is a thing? The best part though is knowing that the votes that Oliver is getting are in turn supporting cancer research.

8.21.25: Ollie made it into the TOP TEN! Thank you to everyone who has supported Ollie on his athletic journey and through this process. He loves making everyone proud and Steph and I couldn’t be prouder!!!

8.14.25: Another great accomplishment. Oliver is now made it through to the TOP 15 of his group!!!

8.7.25: So incredibly proud to announce Oliver has made it through to the TOP 20 in his group!!!

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Now Batting… #11… Oliver

The journey from Town TBall to where we are now has been one of the most interesting, complex and exhausting experiences of my life. Coming from someone who played sports at an extremely high level, I cannot and could not ever have predicted how insanely fast things can happen when sports (especially youth sports) are concerned. 

I’d love to spend the time in this blog describing what got us to this point, but Oliver is the real reason we are here today!  

There is no doubt that Oliver is athletic.  Anyone who comes into contact with him can see it. Coaches comment on it, players notice it, and as sports analysts would say, “tape don’t lie.” But then again, he just turned eight… everyone at eight looks good playing their sport and let’s be very clear- every parent thinks their kid is the next Bryce Harper, LeBron James (🤮) or Patrick Mahomes… but, no one can do what those guys do.  The chances of being a D1 college athlete let alone a professional athlete are less than 1%. 

With that being said, Steph and I have been steadfast in just supporting the growth of our boys in terms of their love of the game, their effort and determination in how they approach anything they take on (sports included). If they want to try something, then they take it on with determination and commitment. Then again honesty, how do you teach that to an eight year old… I guess modeling and finding the right people that can model that for them is the right path.  

That brought us to the CTMETS Baseball Academy. What sets The CTMets academy apart is their commitment to developing well-rounded individuals. They understand that baseball is more than just a game; it’s a vehicle for teaching valuable life skills. This was not something we were looking for. But as the process played out… we chose theCTMETS… after they chose us. 

We showed up for an evaluation after being convinced by a friend to check them out. We were looking for a workout program, maybe 1:1 coaching once a week or so. We had no expectations and to be honest we were over the travel team nonsense. This was going to be something to get us through the winter and get the boys ready for rec baseball in the spring. 

Oliver (and Jax) went and worked out with three former professional Major League Baseball players. Oliver did his thing, he dove for balls, made throws from his knees. He hit the ball and afterwards Coach Jose used the phrase… “Oliver is Elite.”  (even Jax was crushing baseballs in the cage)

Coach sat Steph and I down for almost an hour.  The first thing he asked was if we would consider allowing Oliver to play for the 9u CTMETS, who are a statewide travel team consisting of some of the best young baseball players across CT.  This is a huge opportunity for Oliver. Not only is this team one of the best travel teams in the state, but at seven years old at the time Oliver was the youngest player ever to make the team. It’s an incredible honor, and we’re so proud of him.

Hearing Coach Jose describe how he was trying to get Oliver to show him how he could “backhand a ball from the shortstop position,” but Oliver was so fast to the ball he, “kept squaring it up and getting in front of it to field it in a perfect position to be ready to throw,” was amazing. He laughed when he said he, “can’t get some of his 17u infielders to do that.”  He told us he needs a player like Oliver (who he recognized was very young at seven for this team), but explained that he wants to build his academy and team from an early age and most importantly explained that Oliver was, “ready now.”

He explained to us his philosophy of coaching baseball… but more importantly… coaching well rounded children… if that didn’t sell us… when he said he saw something in Jax, besides baseball talent, he told us he saw “a leader and a big brother who cheered for his little brother everytime he made a great play” and that he recognized something in him too. He told us he wanted Jax to be part of his team… not to play in games yet, but to be there to help the younger players. To be there to support his brother who is one of the youngest kids on the team, but also to help build Jax’ baseball skills (coach Jose loves big first basemen!!!)

That was it. We needed them like they needed us. We were so out on the travel experience, until that night we met Coach Jose and his staff. Until they saw Oliver and Jax as people first and players second (hearing your seven year old is elite doesn’t hurt either)!

Congratulations, Oliver. Good luck! Do us proud, but more importantly, do you proud!  Now to the important question, can I have your autograph?

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A Letter from a Baseball Dad

Dear Jax,

I’m not the easiest guy to get along with! I’m definitely not the best at cheering you on… I think I make you nervous. But one thing I am great at… IS BEING SO INCREDIBLY PROUD OF YOU!!!

I’ve watched you grow into a confident leader on your baseball team. I’ve watched you cheer on your team when no one else is. Today I watched you pick up a teammate who tripped and carry his bag for him when he was hurt. Then watching a teammate strike out, you were the first one to meet her at the dugout and give her a high five and a hug and tell her not to worry!

You my friend are everything I have ever hoped you would be as an athlete and person. You Jackson have something NOT THAT MANY OTHER PEOPLE HAVE… compassion, humor and leadership.

I watched you this year work on your swing… let me tell you something, baseball is the hardest sport in the world to play! Ted Williams who is considered one of the greatest, if not THE GREATEST HITTER in the history of baseball said, “The hardest thing to do in baseball is to hit a round baseball with a round bat.” And Deion Sanders (who played nine seasons in MLB including for the Yankees, while also having a Hall of Fame NFL career at the same time) when asked the hardest thing to do in all of sports, he said “Hitting that baseball.”

For some context, remember you have been a switch hitter for six years! That means you take half as many swings as your friends and teammates, because you have to practice swinging both righty and lefty! Switch hitting, Something NOT ONE OTHER PERSON IN ALL OF A, AA, AAA leagues can do! NOT ONE!

In all of Major League Baseball there were only 17 people who could switch hit last year! ONLY 17 of 974 Major League Baseball players can do what you do (thatsmeans 957 Major League Baseball playerS CAN NOT do what you CAN do!!!).

With that being said not many players have what it takes to be a leader, a hard worker and a great teammate. I’m happy you are working lefty and happy watching you get more comfortable at the plate. I’ve never told you this, but I stopped playing baseball in high school because I never really was a good hitter. I know what it’s like to stand in the batters box and be nervous. Everyone who has ever played baseball has felt that way!

I love watching you play baseball. I am so happy when you are out there on the field! Most importantly though, I want you to be happy too! Maybe it doesn’t seem like it, but I am so proud of you. I want you to be successful and maybe I don’t tell you enough… but you are successful. You are a leader, a great player and someone who I would want on my team every single day of the week.

Love Always,

Dad

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Happy Seventh Birthday Oliver

Dear Oliver,

I feel like seven is an underrated age. Six seems so young… But, seven feels so different. I’m not sure if that means you can watch PG movies now, or maybe you’re allowed to vote or drive a car or something? But I know that the Bubble Guppies loving, Blaze and the Monster Machine quoting little guy… doesn’t seem so little anymore.

There’s still signs of that little guy there. That adorable, innocent, and sometimes menacing smile, wanting to curl up in bed with Mom And Dad in the middle of the night for no reason or a simple request to race hot wheels. Those will always be there. I know they will and mom and I cherish each of those times more than you’ll ever know more than you’ll know at seven years old and more than you’ll know as you grow older, until one day you have children of your own.

Mom and I are in awe of the boy you have become. You’re not just someone’s son or a little brother. You are your own unique person. Watching you develop a passion and love for baseball and football has been truly inspiring. You remind me of me at your age, collecting baseball cards and reading the back of the cards as you unwrap them to learn more about each player is so fun to experience. Watching you trade baseball cards with your brother and talk about sports with him and I or some of the best moments I’ve had over the past year.

This year you just picked up a chapter book and started reading it. You fold your own laundry, you make your own breakfast. You never cease to amaze us. I watch you take care of your cousins, call to check on Bammy and Mima and continue to develop into a kind and respectful boy. You are a leader and your friends look up to you. That’s what life is about… leading with kindness and respect. We can’t ask for anything more.

We have enjoyed watching you live your life through your eyes and your stories. Your crazy stories, your fearless attempts at anything you put your mind too are impressive (and at times scary for mom and I). Yet in the end, it’s those reasons your will be successful.

Anything you put your mind to, you will accomplish. You will never fail if your goal is not perfection, but excellence and improvement. We could not be anymore proud of you and we could not be more excited about what the future holds for you.

Keep being crazy! We love you!!!

Love always,

Dad

January 31, 2017
January 31, 2018
January 31, 2019
January 31, 2020
January 31, 2021
January 31, 2022
January 31, 2023
January 31, 2024
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Santa Went All Out

No way did we get this much stuff when we were kids!

Don’t get me wrong. Santa hooked me up every year and we never went wanting, but I remember getting a WWF Wrestling Buddy, a 1987 Topps factory set and a Rickey Henderson autograph and I literally thought Santa went broke just on our Christmas presents every year!!!.

PS: the single greatest XMAS present ever given to any child:

Thank you Santa
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The Baseball Rookie Card Business is Booming Thanks to a New Superstar’s Card

If baseball is America’s national pastime, then collecting baseball cards is a close second. People everywhere are searching every nook and cranny of their childhood home for those boxes and binders of cards! Could there be a Frank Thomas NNOF, or a mint Ken Griffey, Jr ’89 Upper Deck? Closets, crawl spaces, and attics across the country are full of cards from every era. Years ago, the Mantles, Ruths, Williams and others from the prewar days were stuck in bike spokes or lost forever as children grew out of the hobby.

Baseball card values depend on many factors, like age, condition, scarcity, and the collectible market trends at the time. Mantle’s Topps RC card recently set an auction record and sold for $5.2 million, people everywhere claim they have an original 1909 Honus Wagner T206 card. Every year there is a new card that sets the market on fire, a Mike Trout Gem Mint 10, an Ohtani Gold Foil, or a 1993 Jeter SP. There is always something new. Either way, few things for collectors elicit the adrenaline rush of finding a legend’s rookie card.

Obviosly, pulling a rookie card out of a pack of an up and coming superstars or finding a rare and expensive legend are especially coveted. Jackie Robinson first appeared on 1948-49 Leaf and Hank Aaron’s rookie card is in the 1954 Topps set. Roberto Clemente’s first baseball card is a 1955 Topps card and maybe the most famous baseball card, besides Wagner, is the Mantle rookie either his 1951 Bowman (which I prefer), or the aforementioned 1952 Topps.

Baseball card collectors have always had their own reasons for collecting. Some collect their favorite team, or player, but in recent years, a large push in the card industry has been the intentional investment in the rookie cards of unproven players, hoping they will become stars one day and that their card will skyrocket in value. Everyone is buying out the minor league top draft picks; Juan Soto and Robert Acuña are proving those collectors who invested early to be correct (and rich). They were the focus of the “new” collectors recently. That was until the newest and hottest card in decades was released.

On August 23, 2021 the hobby was turned upside down. A card was released that not only shows what some in the hobby say is the most handsome player to ever don a baseball jersey, but also say it could become the first $10 million baseball card.Introducing the most sought after card in the industry right now… Oliver’s 2021 Rookie Card:

Get it now folks… order on eBay, wait in line at Target, or take your chances in a razz. Either way get this kid now, before it’s too late.

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Bash Brothers

They might practice wrestling moves on each other daily and they might annoy the ever living hell out of each other on a regular basis, but there is one thing you can’t deny… they are each other’s biggest fan!

Ollie’s first real game turned out to be a heated battle of four year olds fighting for the title of least amount of children left on the field at the end of the game. Four innings of T-ball on an early Saturday morning might be torture for some, but not for these two tag team partners.

Just when you thought things were going to go to hell… the team was losing interest. The players were losing their minds and there were no more dandelions to be picked… then out of no where here comes Jackson to coach first base.

It was like the clouds cleared, the Red Sea had parted… his arrival was a miracle. It had a direct impact on the outcome of the game and dare I say it may have changed the landscape of T-Ball forever (Sandlot reference).

Jax was just the spark that Ollie’s team needed. Oliver was completely inspired and began the “Rally Heard ‘Round the World.” We came back from a large deficit… I’m actually not sure if that’s actually true. I don’t think we keep score and T-ball. But for the sake of the story we were down quite a few runs I needed someone to come up with a big hit. Oliver was just that guy.

…and the rest is history, to be told for years to come. There’s even a rumor that Oliver‘s hat that and Jackson’s autograph on the scorecard are displayed probably in the Hall of Fame…

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

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Baseball, Again

I’m not sure how many times I can write about how important baseball is to me and the fabric of my family. Go back and read things that I’ve written about my grandfather. We shared so many amazing experiences through baseball and those amazing experiences don’t lessen at all even as time goes by. In fact the feeling of extreme happiness and family connection is only heightened as each my sons experience the same firsts as I did so many years ago through “America’s Past Time.”

This time it was Oliver’s turn to don his first jersey and baseball cap, to slip on a pair of cleats and take a few hacks in the batter’s box. The smile on his little face when he was handed his first jersey, pulled on his hat and walked out onto the field was indescribable. He might as well been in heaven (not Iowa).

I watched this tiny little baseball player so excited to figure out where to stand in the infield and how to run the bases. I won’t lie, I was nervous. Oliver can not stand in one place for longer than a nanosecond, and I’m sure he would have been the kid in the field chasing butterflies and/ or picking dandelions (or at least chasing the kid who’s chasing the butterflies).

However, he was anything but disinterested. He was the one who was first in line to bat, first to put his glove on and run out into the field and the first to give coach knuckles after the game. He loved every second of being with his friends, being in the field and getting to wield a giant metal bat without repercussions.

He may be a few years away from really understanding the intricacies of the game and maybe even a few years from that before he understand how important baseball is to me. But today was about him.

Hopefully as he grows he’ll be able to enjoy the game as much as I did when I played and more importantly how much I enjoyed the time I spent with my grandfather as we experienced the game together, because there is nothing that compares to being able to squint at a sky so blue that it hurts your eyes just to look at it. To feel the tingling in you arm as you connect with the ball. To run the bases … stretch a double into a triple, and flop face-first into third and wrap your arms around the bag.

Hopefully one day he’ll get it, but for now, he enjoys being out there… maybe it’s just about getting dirty, but he enjoys it nonetheless.