Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Garrity follows father’s advice

For most kids growing up, your father is your idol. When he tells you something, you listen and try to emulate what he told you to do. Good thing freshman Bryan Garrity listened to his father, because it led to a full-athletic scholarship and a possible future in professional baseball.

His father, Dennis, was a high school catcher and had always told his son that a good catcher was something rare and coaches were always looking for a quality backstop.

When his son was six years old, Garrity threw on the gear for the first time during his tee ball days and was simply a natural with a catcher’s mitt. Bryan caught his first pop up by the backstop and that was it. He wanted to be a ball player.

“I did fall in love with baseball right away,” Bryan Garrity said. “As a young kid, your aspirations are you always want to be a major league baseball player. My father loves baseball. When I was younger, I tried to mold myself after him and he introduced me to the game. He never forced me into it, but I’m happy I stuck with it.”

The young catcher enjoyed life behind the mask and stayed with the position. He continued to work hard on his technique to improve himself before he started playing for the Peabody High School varsity baseball team.

Garrity became a four-year starter behind the plate and was named Male Athlete of the Year at Peabody, where he was also the starting two-year quarterback and a senior captain. In his senior year on the diamond, he was named captain and posted a batting average of .302 with 12 runs batted in and 10 stolen bases, leading the team to an Eastern Mass Sectional championship game.

The state championship game in his senior year pitted Peabody against their rival, then nationally-ranked St. John’s Prep in Danvers. The crowd was filled with fans, somewhere between 5,000 to 6,000 people in attendance, according to Garrity.

“It was just an unbelievable game to play in and experience,” Garrity said. “I had a hit in the game, stole a base and there were a ton of scouts there. Playing in such a large crowd really got my adrenaline going.”

Over his four years at Peabody High, he caught two big time pitchers in Jeff Allison and Ryan Moorer.

Moorer was drafted in the 13th round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Chicago Cub’s and is currently a freshman at University of Maryland. The six-foot-two right hander is a powerful pitcher, who throws in the high 80s to low 90s.

Though the best pitcher that Garrity caught for in high school was a local legend named Jeff Allison. The six-foot-two pitcher with a rocket for an arm was drafted the sixteenth pick overall by the Florida Marlins, who signed him to $1.85 million dollar contract. The newly drafted hurler, who was named Baseball America’s 2003 High School Player of the Year, developed an addiction to OxyContin and almost lost his chance at the big time. Though, Alison is battling back and is currently pitching for the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the Marlins single-A affiliate.

“My sophomore, junior and senior year, I caught Jeff Alison, who was the number one prospect in the senior class that year,” Garrity said. “He was topping out at 98 mph and was striking 18 or 19 kids a game. Then, he just got into the wrong things like drugs, but now he’s back there and hopefully it will work out.”

The tradition of hard throwing pitchers has continued with UMass ace Matt Torra. The six-foot-three, 225-pound junior starter can reach the mid 90s and has attracted a lot of attention from scouts like Garrity’s former high school teammates.

Torra likes his new catcher especially after he filled some big shoes. Last season, catcher Frank Curreri lead the team in batting average (.380), home runs (seven), hits (60), slugging percentage (.614) and RBIs (54). Garrity had difficult task replacing a leader like Curreri, who was drafted by Arizona Diamondbacks in 41st round, but his ace on the mound feels has done more than an efficient job.

“I compare him to a Jason Varitek,” Torra said. “Varitek really knows how to handle every pitcher. He knows what he needs to do. Garrity is coming that way. He really knows how to handle pitchers and the more experience he gains, it’s going to become more natural. He’s going to be a solid leader for the next four years.”

In fact, if you ask the young catcher, Garrity will tell you he loves the challenge of the hard throwing fire ballers.

“I rather catch someone throwing hard, because it makes you as a catcher better, more solid defensively and quicker,” Garrity said. “You have to be on top of your A game and keep you focused more.”

Torra is will be drafted in the early rounds in this spring’s MLB draft, but will see definitely see plenty of Garrity this summer after the freshman catcher had nowhere to go.

Garrity’s mother, Linda, worked persistently this past fall to find her son a team within a summer league. She started sending out emails to every coach in the league with stats and background information on her son. A family friend who was a scout with the Red Sox landed him with a team in a Hawaii summer league. But the phone rang with a last second opportunity that he could not pass up.

Along with Torra, the UMass battery will be playing on the Berkshire Dukes in Torra’s hometown of Pittsfield. The Dukes are part of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. This wooden bat league is the second largest summer league next to the Cape Cod League.

To make sure he was on top of his game after high school, Garrity wanted a coach who had experience as a catcher. Before head coach Mike Stone started his coaching career in 1983, he spent three years in the St. Louis Cardinals system and two more years in the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league system in 1970s.

“By having a coach that played in the minor leagues as a catcher was one of the reasons I came here,” Garrity said. “I wanted my head coach to also be the catchers coach and he told me great amount about catching. [He showed me] how to set up batters, how to receive the ball and how to make a clean throw to second or third. I’m a lot smoother now since high school and thank him for that. He’s just helped me defensively on things that I was shaky on.”

Another reason Garrity choose to come to UMass was the pride he showed for playing college baseball in his own state.

As you listen to him talk about how proud he is to be a Minuteman, the maturity, dedication and love of the game shine through bright and clear.

“It’s very enjoyable playing for my home state,” Garrity said. “I’m not wearing a UConn shirt or a West Virginia shirt, I’m wearing a Massachusetts shirt. I feel like wearing that I represent the team, my family, the school, my friends and everyone in the state. I feel like I’m playing for more than myself.”

Through the early part of the season, Garrity struggled to find success at the plate. By April, he started to find his swing and achieved an eight-game hitting streak from Mar. 27 to April 16.

Garrity ranks among the leaders in several categories since breaking out of his early slump. His .273 batting is third best on UMass, as he is also second in hits with 35 and tied for second in doubles with four.

“He hasn’t played like a freshman,” Stone said. “He really has played how I thought he would play. I really wanted him as a recruit. He’s been solid behind the plate, a leader, improving with the bat and very heads up. He plays the game as a mature freshman at a very high level. That’s what has impressed me the most.”

His skills on the field have impressed everyone from his coach to his teammates, but his teammates are more impressed by his intangibles.

As a freshman on a new Division I baseball team, these types of players tend to be quiet and reserved. It’s a big time to most incoming freshmen and they just want to take in whatever they can absorb. But not Garrity, he’s not the shy type.

The freshman catcher came in right away and showed the
maturity, as well as knowledge, be a good starting catcher. His teammates, however, feel has done a lot more than throw on the gear and crouch behind the plate.

“Right now, he is our leader,” senior outfielder Jason Twomley said. “Every baseball would say the quarterback is the catcher. Coming in as a freshman, he knew his role he had to take. He’s been able to leader for everyone.”

It has been a hard season for Garrity and the Minutemen. They have lost all, but one one-run this season. The painful process of rebuilding a team can wear on you, but Garrity knows he’s on a talented team.

He can also rely on a couple familiar faces to things in perspective after a bad loss or a tough day on the diamond. After every game, Garrity leaves the dugout and goes straight to his parents.

“I talk to my father after every game,” said Garrity of the man who got him on the success track. “I’ll break down every at-bat with my father after the game.” He’s just someone who I have looked up to and someone who has always been there. He always given me the truthful outlook on everything and never pushed me. That’s why we such a great friendship. He’s probably one of my best friends.”

When it comes to saying father always know best, Bryan Garrity will never argue that.

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

All Massachusetts Daily Collegian Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *