Baseball Somerset Patriots Welcome Special Young Fan To Spring Training by Somerset Patriots April 26, 2018 Bridgewater, NJ- The Somerset Patriots welcomed a special young fan to Spring Training to meet the team and Sparkee The Mascot. Michael Grzankowski is a four-year old from Laurence Harbor that was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. He has been through two open-heart surgeries within the first six months of his life. He has what is hopefully his final surgery scheduled for the end of May to help him get to 100%. Michael loves coming to Somerset Patriots games, so when the opportunity arose to give him a special day with the team, manager Brett Jodie jumped at the opportunity. “I thought the guys just loved it. It was fun for everybody involved,” said Jodie. “Just to see the smile on Michael’s face with everything he is going through helps put everything in perspective.” All the Somerset Patriots players had the chance to say hello, take pictures, and bring a smile to Michael’s face while he stretched with the team and watched batting practice. He was presented the first official 2018 team signed baseball by Jodie with all the players around and Sparkee made sure to put a gift bag together of Patriots merchandise and goodies. Outfielder Justin Pacchioli and infielder Scott Kelly also presented Michael with game used bats that they signed for him to remember his day at the ballpark. “He’s going through a lot of stuff that guys on our team, myself included, could never imagine having to do at any age, let alone four years old,” said Pacchioli. “Just having Michael run around with us and see him having fun out there was very exciting for us.” Michael’s visit helped the team close out Spring Training on a high note as the 2018 season kicks off at TD Bank Ballpark on Friday, April 27th with a 7:05 pm game against the Road Warriors. The 2018 Somerset Patriots Season presented by Ford features the 20th season at TD Bank Ballpark. Tickets for all games are available at the ticket office located at the ballpark, by calling (908) 252-0700, or online at www.somersetpatriots.com. Post Views: 1,083 The following two tabs change content below.BioLatest Posts Somerset Patriots Latest posts by Somerset Patriots (see all) Somerset Patriots Announce Added Programming On Radio Partner 1450 WCTC-AM - May 7, 2020 Somerset Patriots Bring Back All-Star RHP David Kubiak - April 7, 2020 Somerset Patriots Land Eight-Year Major Leaguer Vance Worley - March 27, 2020 Somerset Patriots Acquire Major League LHP Pat Dean - March 10, 2020 Related Topics2018 SeasonBrett JodiecommunityFamily FunJustin PacchioliScott KellySomerset PatriotsTD Bank Ballpark Click to comment You must be logged in to post a comment Login Leave a Reply Cancel replyYou must be logged in to post a comment. Newsletter Subscription Can't Miss Posts! Women in Sports: NHL Network Host, Jackie Redmond by Nicholas Durst | posted on March 4, 2019 Lochte, Dressel and Ledecky all Chasing Gold at 2021 Tokyo Olympics by Anthony Paradiso | posted on April 18, 2021 You Know I’m Right, Episode 109: The Athletic’s Marc Carig (Audio/Video) by Nicholas Durst | posted on April 19, 2021 Michael Jordan Could Change the Future of Nascar for the Better by Inesh Chari | posted on March 30, 2021 WNBA Rolling Out Red Carpet For Upcoming 25th Anniversary Season by Jason Cordner | posted on March 16, 2021 More in Baseball You Know I’m Right, Episode 112: New York Jets’ Insider Brian Costello (Audio/Video) On the 112th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... You Know I’m Right, Episode 109: The Athletic’s Marc Carig (Audio/Video) On the 109th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... You Know I’m Right, Episode 108: WFAN’s Sweeny Murti (Audio/Video) On the 108th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... You Know I’m Right, Episode 107: New York Post’s Columnist Mike Vaccaro (Audio/Video) On the 107th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... The MetsCast, Episode 7: Familia Is Lights Out and Slump, What Slump? (Audio) Somerset Patriots rally for extra innings win on Opening Day