Sophomore baseball player Mathew Musial remembers the first time he hit a ball that cleared the fence, back when he was 8 years old.
That was the first of many home runs that Musial has hit in his career.
At a young age, Musial realized he had the skills to play the game. When he was 5, with his dad and grandfather’s influence, Musial decided to try baseball
Musial started playing for the Greater Baldwin Whitehall Athletic Association on an in-house team. Once he was old enough, he tried out and made the travel ball team for his age group.
“I decided to play because I realized I had potential in the game and I enjoyed the sport,” Musial said.
During his freshman year at Baldwin, Musial played junior varsity for his first 10 games and was then called up to varsity.
“I was pretty nervous before my first varsity game. But once the game started, it felt like any other game I’ve played,” Musial said. “I knew I belonged there when I went two for three vs. Central Catholic last year and hit a triple in that game.”
This season, he has played varsity in every game. Musial has contributed as the baseball team has earned its first trip to the playoffs in a decade, and his statistics show it.
So far this season, Musial has had 38 at-bats with a .368 batting average. He also has a .538 on-base percentage, meaning he finds a way to get on base more than half the time.
“It feels amazing to be part of this team that ended our 11-year playoff drought, and to be a contributor feels even better. I’m excited about the playoffs,” Musial said.
Over his career, Musial has run into challenges in his game that he had to overcome physically and mentally. Despite these challenges, he stays as consistent as he can for the team.
“I have had big slumps where I can’t get a hit no matter what I do,” Musial said. “What I do to overcome it is keep a positive mindset.”
Musial’s teammates agree that his skills positively affect the team.
“His outfield skills and his hitting are effective because he starts games very well, batting leadoff,” senior Brady Caplan said.
Junior Gavin Sakely also cited Musial’s outfield skills.
“He is like a hawk in the outfield, and rarely is a fly ball out of his range. He also hits very well, and he already has one home run this season,” Sakely said.
Off the field, Musial’s character is noticed by his teammates.
“Matt is a very upbeat kid and always having fun and smiling,” Caplan said.
Sakely is also fond of Musial’s character.
“He is a quiet kid who can be very funny,” Sakely said. “He is a very solid dude and would always do what is right for the team.”
Musial plans to pursue baseball at the collegiate level to allow him to play the game longer.
