Yaz's grandson to make MLB debut with Giants

[Yastrzemski Sports]

I am a distant relative of Mike - I’ve never met him. But it is still exciting to have family playing in mlb and I have been following him since he was drafted. While I appreciate that the Orioles drafted him and worked with him to develop his game, my personal feeling is that the Orioles farm system is a pit of despair. The best thing that could have happened to Mike is that he was traded to the Giants. Mike spent 6 years with the Os - after less than 2 months with the Giants he was in the majors. If you look back at the Orioles top prospects, they are the same year after year. Ryan Mountcastle, Hunter Harvey, Austin Hays, DL Hall, Cody Sedlock, etc have been prospects for years. This is a team that is going nowhere and has nothing to lose. For some reason, they won’t give their kids a chance. Sometimes your prospects will surprise you if they get the opportunity and have a sense of hope.

I hope Mike can put together a few good years. He may be able to put together 10 years if he’s lucky. I’m happy for him being able to achieve his dream. Getting there late is better than never. Our family is proud of him and we love watching him play.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

It's a great story, even as a Dodger fan I can appreciate it, just in all likelihood not an indicator of his future. There are exceptions to every rule, and I think it's cool that he kept going past the age where his father hung up his cleats (with strikingly similar minor league numbers I might add) and has been rewarded for his dedication.