Credit: PJ Maher

The Wayland High School baseball team has a new manager, sophomore PJ Maher. “He is a baseball guy and I love having him in the dugout,” Coach Chris Fay said.

If you look at the dugout at Wayland High School while attending a baseball game, you might see the new manager of the varsity baseball team, sophomore PJ Maher.

Whether it’s catching up with his grandfather about baseball or playing it, Maher’s love of baseball has a significant presence in his life. However, his knowledge and appreciation of baseball didn’t come randomly. Maher has been involved with the sport ever since he could walk.

“I’ve played baseball since I was in first grade and my grandfather has talked to me about baseball since I was a baby,” Maher said. “He’s an avid fan of the game and I’ve definitely caught the bug. I love all things baseball.”

Due to a surgery Maher had in January, he could no longer try out for the team. Despite this obstacle, Maher still wanted to be involved in the team. After talking with Maher’s family, baseball coach Chris Fay had the idea of offering Maher a manager position on the team.

“I was asked by Coach Fay if I would be interested in being the team manager and I was thrilled with the opportunity to be involved with baseball and the varsity team,” Maher said.

Through his experience, Maher has found being a team manager comes with a lot of responsibility. According to Maher, managing a team takes a good amount of time out of students’ schedules, and they have to be on top of their work. For baseball, managers need to organize and plan tasks that will benefit the entirety of the team. Maher is with the team for every game, ready to work.

“The things I am responsible for as manager are tracking the pitch count of our team’s pitchers and helping out the coaches and players when they need it,” Maher said.

Even with Maher being there for a short amount of time, the team’s players have noticed that his presence makes a positive impact on how the team runs.

“PJ is very knowledgeable about baseball, so he gives really good tips to teammates and is very helpful,” sophomore team member Sebastian Chung said. “I like having PJ as a manager because he is a great kid and I love being around him. He also always helps out the team in so many different ways.”

From Fay’s perspective, having a manager on the team is vital to the team’s success. Team management can help the whole team work better together by setting goals, offering their support to the team and trying to strategize different things for the team.

“PJ is a key part of our team and he is extremely well respected by every member of the coaching staff, as well as the team,” Fay said. “He is a student of the game and understands baseball as it relates to strategy and decision making. He is a baseball guy and I love having him in the dugout and on the bus, talking to him about baseball and discussing different situations.”