News

by Thomas Garverick

Athens, OH -- I’ll never forget Media Day.

I was so nervous to meet the Copperhead players. I was a freshman who had just a year of journalistic experience under my belt. The most personal I'd ever been with an athlete was with high schoolers in the Southern Ohio area.

Now, I was expected to just go up to Division One baseball players and get to know them. And tell their stories.

“Bring a notebook to jot down some notes of the players,” Anthony Allocco, the Cheads' Director of Communications, said to our staff of writers heading into media day.

I didn’t have a notebook at the time, so quickly before I went to Bob Wren Stadium, I stopped at Walmart to buy something cheap since I knew I would be on a low college budget all summer.

And you know what, that low budget that resulted in the ridiculously high amounts of ramen and easy mac I ate combined with the crappy job I had to work at Taco Bell to pay for that low-quality food was all worth it.

I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

It all started with Media Day. All the players and interns waited in line for their free Kona Ice. (Matthew Summers was at the head of that line). One player sat in the shade by one of the light poles that lit up The Wren at night.

So I walked over there to meet him because I hadn’t introduced myself yet. Let me tell you, he stood out from the rest. His crazy red hair and cool demeanor made him one interesting guy.

It was none other than Phillip Tomasulo.

In that moment sitting next to him, I was just glad I had my hands on the notebook I had bought an hour ago.

We both said hello and the nervous 19-year-old me looked at this guy like he was some famous celebrity because he was a college baseball player. I looked at him and said, “You, by far, have the sickest hair on the team.”

Really, sickest hair on the team? That’s the best I could come up with?

But Phil, being the kind of guy he is just looked at me and said, “Thanks, man. I appreciate it, bro.”

He went on to tell me his story. About how he moved from Southwest Ranches, Florida to play JUCO ball at Nebraska for a year before transferring to the University of Buffalo.

My nerves of talking to these guys suddenly went away because I realized something.

These guys are just people.

They weren’t any different than me; they were just as normal as me. I just had to show them I cared enough to get to know them.

Naturally, I followed Phil the most of all the players in the first few weeks. After I realized how amazing his story was combined with the fact that he was tearing it up on the field, I decided to write a story about him.

I had never written a feature story about an athlete, ever. I was ready to push myself and take the next step.

I quickly realized that it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I was just writing about his story and how his love for baseball made his backstory that much cooler to tell.

More and more figured out why I love what I do. The stories I told of these players meant something to them. It had an impact.

I’ll never forget what his mom tweeted at me after she read the story.

“Thank you so much for writing this great piece on my son, he’s my favorite number 18,” Tomasulo’s mom said.

I got the biggest smile on my face because I knew that I was able to touch someone else’s life with my words.

Out of all the guys on the team, I’m so glad it was Phil’s story that I got to tell first.

At every home game, I would always walk on the field during batting practice to talk to him. I looked forward to the talks with him we had before every game that had me asking how he was feeling, where in the lineup he’d be hitting, and how the team looked that day. So my first thank you is to you Phil for taking all my nerves away.

Now, to thank Blaine Crim and his dad.

The funny thing about this is that I met Blaine’s dad for the first time at the final game of the season, but considering I talked about him a lot with Blaine, I felt like I already knew him.

Blaine stood by the net that enclosed Bob Wren where he was talking to his father and he signaled me down to talk to them.

He looked at his dad and said, “Dad, this is Thomas who wrote the great story about me.”

I didn’t even know how to react in that moment. I just felt incredibly lucky that my words left that impression on Blaine and his dad.

Blaine then congratulated me on my new writing gig. He and Phil both Followed me on Twitter so it was just special that in a way, they cared about what I was doing. Just like I had invested so much time into getting to know them.

I told Blaine and his dad that the story I wrote about Blaine was my favorite and best story I’ve ever written.

Blaine’s dad just looked at me and said, “Thank you for writing about him. Your story was incredible.”

So, from the first day to my last day as a Copperhead intern, I felt like I was able to make a lasting effect on people, and that’s all I could’ve asked for.

To Blaine, thank you for opening up and telling me your story. This summer, He was with you at the plate. I can’t wait to see you tear up Division Two ball even though everyone in Southern Ohio knows you can slug it with the best.

To the Smith family, in particular, Bryan Smith, you really did make my first internship memorable. Not only did you make it a point to get to know me, you got to know every single intern.

But for me personally, you made covering baseball for the first time ever so incredibly fun and easy. I could always count on a hello from you. Whether I sat in the press box or with you in the seats, it made my day 10 times better.

Until the very last game, you kept me sharp. We went through each inning to check the pitch count for pitchers. Doing so made me realize that the little things do matter: In baseball, your job, and in life.

To Marshall and Bryson, I could always count on a handshake from you guys, win or lose. Obviously, it was a whole lot sweeter when we won. Marshall, you were always upbeat and that’s something I respect a lot about you.

Even when the Hamilton “Sloppy” Joes beat us for the fifth time, you just looked at me and said with that big smile on your face and said, “They’re our kryptonite.”

So given all of that, I’ll let the whole you promising me that I could take a couple of swings with your bat thing go, maybe I’ll make a stop at Western Kentucky this year so you can make it up to me.

Now to my fellow media colleagues. Thank you will never be enough for making this summer in Athens so wonderful.

A big thank you to Anthony and Blake, who gave me this opportunity as a freshman soon-to-be sophomore to have this opportunity. I certainly made the most of it.

To the rest, we did something really special. The content that we produced for this team meant so much for our Cheadheads. I was amazed at how we were able to constantly deliver and push each other to be better.

To the game day staff and directors, you guys did one heck of a job. I learned what it was like to be a part of a team and we did something spectacular as the best organization in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League.

From fidget spinner world records to record-breaking attendance, we had big goals and we made those big goals a reality.

We made the Copperheads the talk of Southern Ohio for the summer. We built connections with fans that will last a lifetime. Hopefully, with all of it, we can look back and say working with the Copperheads proved to be our stepping stone to successful futures.

We’re Cheads forever, and I’ll always remember this summer full of walk-offs at the Wren. And ripping my hair out at the bullpens’ inability to hold a lead.

As Blake and I said to each other every game, “There’s never a normal baseball game at the Wren.”

Well, as the season grew long I realized that maybe it was just meant to be that way.

See you all for the one-year reunion at Matt Summers’ wedding next August, and remember, Go Cheads.