Baseball is a sport of numbers – of statistics, records, wins and losses. Baseball is also a sport of emotions – of cheers, tears, triumph and devastation. Fieldston Baseball is all of these things – and above all else, it is also about family. The letters “OTF” perch on the back of the team’s “away” caps, a reminder that “Only The Family” matters. This saying has been passed down from team to team over the last decade, and the phrase has become a lifestyle in the sense that every member of the Fieldston Baseball team supports one another, roots for one another’s success, has high expectations and believes in one another. When things go badly, each member of The Family picks the other up.
The fact that Fieldston Baseball is off to a tremendous start in this 2022 spring season is attributable to the team’s chemistry and care for one another. The team sits behind Poly Prep in second place in the Ivy League with a record of 5-1, led by senior standout pitcher Theo Canning, who has dominated the competition with his spectacular control and excellent fastball velocity on the mound. “My hopes are to make a deep run in the postseason,” Canning states. “We have tremendous depth in every position and we have the star power necessary to beat any team…we have really gelled as a group and have genuine camaraderie on the team. We all enjoy playing with each other which helps us get back up when we are down, and stay up when we are ahead. I’m really excited to finish my Fieldston baseball career with these boys.”
Senior Noah Greer, devoted team manager since his freshman year, helped keep the team’s tradition of “family” alive even during the pandemic. Covid took away from all sorts of community experiences, but Fieldston Baseball managed to keep its bond as strong as ever. Says Greer, “I think that there’s something special that everyone feels about this team…this team is like a family and finding my role hasn’t always been easy but I’ve always felt like I had the support of my teammates behind me. Losing the 2020 season and much of the 2021 season was incredibly frustrating. The preparation put in during the offseason coupled with the excitement that we all had for the start of the 2020 season made it very difficult to learn that we wouldn’t be able to play. The team really rallied and we spent a lot of time on ZOOM, but nothing could really replace a real season…The return to spring sports seems to have rejuvenated the community. There’s a lot of spirit and good energy to be thankful for here at the nest…I feel like we can appreciate the little things a bit more now.”
This year, Head Coach Tony Marro, affectionately known as “Skip,” has taken on more than heading this baseball family. Marro is the interim principal for the high school, a job that requires long hours and hard work off the field. But he still brings his ultra-competitive winning mentality and energy to his coaching job every single day. Even when Marro was sidelined by Covid in April, his investment in the team never wavered. “Being a principal and a head coach is one of the most challenging experiences I’ve ever had…The biggest challenge is just time. There’s not enough time. I am lucky, however, to have great coaches and leaders on the team. There have been too many times when I’ve been in dress shoes for practice, because I don’t have time to change! It’s also quite exhausting, to be frank. However, it’s also exhilarating at the same time. We all have struggled in one way or another the past couple of years. I know that I have certainly appreciated being around the team. In a way, it has helped the constant stress (as a parent and administrator) because I can “lose myself” in coaching.”
Most families have dreams. For this baseball family, the ultimate dream is a league championship, something that the Fieldston baseball program has yet to achieve. Says manager Greer, “Winning a championship this year would be a dream, and I’m prepared to do anything for this team to make that dream come to fruition.” Sounds like something a true family member would say, doesn’t it?
