CLEVELAND — Highland baseball coach Jay Grissom and retired Walsh Jesuit baseball coach Chris Kaczmar felt like proud papas this week at Progressive Field.
With Highland graduate Luke Raley and Walsh graduate Dominic Canzone in town with the Seattle Mariners , Grissom and Kaczmar were able to watch an outfielder they coached play against the Guardians in a matchup of first-place teams.
Raley hit a home run and made a diving catch in left field in Seattle's 8-5 win Tuesday night and Canzone hit a double in Cleveland's 8-0 win Wednesday night .
Grissom and Kaczmar watched with their own family members, and a large contigent of Raley and Canzone's family and friends were also in attendance to cheer on the Northeast Ohioans.
"This was such a thrilling moment in my life," Kaczmar said after Wednesday night's game. "I had to get there. I couldn't make it [Tuesday] night. It was absolutely dream, like, for me, for all of Walsh Jesuit baseball past, present and future, quite frankly. He has come so far in his career. He is such a great young man, and I couldn't be more proud and thrilled for both he and his family."
Kaczmar said he realized Canzone , a 2016 Walsh graduate, was "a special player" in high school.
"I remember throwing him batting practice in our fieldhouse so very vividly," Kaczmar said. "Back then, you could tell he had a special amount of whip in his wrists. He is one of the players in my entire 28-year career that hit the ball the hardest.
"... He went on to do great things at Ohio State. When you get a player in the major leagues, and we have two of them now [Canzone and Colorado 's Ryan Feltner ], it makes you so filled with joy for those families. We thought he was special then, but for him to come as far as he has, it is a testament to his work ethic and the amount of mental toughness that he has got. He is a special young man and a special young player."
Grissom watched Raley , a 2013 Highland graduate, play against the Guardians on Wednesday for the fifth time in the past two years.
"We were at three games last year and two this year, plus we saw him down in Cincinnati and we saw him in Baltimore ," Grissom said after the game. "We have kind of chased him around a little bit. ... When he was in high school, you don't think you are going to be watching him play at Progressive Field 11 years later. It is pretty surreal more than anything."
Grissom watched Raley's fifth-inning home run Tuesday from behind home plate and said he is happy with his continued improvement.
"He has one of the strongest arms in Major League Baseball," Grissom said. "He always had a strong arm. We transitioned him to an outfield position as a senior. He had been mostly a first baseman in our program. Seeing his development as a defensive player has been pretty cool.
"As a hitter, my gosh, he was unbelievable in high school. He is just so big and strong now. He is 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds. He is a monster these days. Physically, it is pretty impressive."
Raley's home run Tuesday over the left field fence initially hit the hands of his uncle, Scott Profitt, who was sitting with his wife, Laura Profitt. The ball bounced away to another fan, but Scott Profitt was given the ball later in the evening.
"I told him he is going to be hearing about that at Thanksgiving a lot," Raley said with a smile Wednesday in an interview with Guardians television analyst Andre Knott.
Kaczmar and Grissom acknowledged they are Guardians fans and enjoyed watching Josh Naylor hit two home runs and Tanner Bibee strike out a career-high 12 batters in six innings Wednesday. Bibee struck out Raley twice and Canzone once.
"I was thrilled to see Dominic's double," Kaczmar said. "Obviously, I am a Guardians fan and we have got family with the Guardians [with brother-in-law Alex Eckelman serving as vice president of hitting for the Guardians], so I had to keep my cheering to a minimum."
Raley , 29, and Canzone , 26, grew up cheering on Cleveland sports teams just like their parents, Beth Raley and Doug Raley, and Amy Miklos and Dave Canzone.
Raley said Wednesday in an interview with Guardians radio announcer Jim Rosenhaus that his parents keep him updated on how Naylor, Steven Kwan , José Ramírez and Andrés Giménez are hitting.
Raley struck out as a pinch-hitter against Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase in Thursday afternoon's series finale won 6-3 by the Guardians . Canzone did not play.
Raley entered the weekend batting .254 with eight home runs, 20 RBIs and 25 runs. Canzone is at .208 with six home runs, 12 RBIs and 10 runs.
"The offense is definitely clicking better, and it is fun to be a part of right now," Raley told reporters after Tuesday night's game. "Obviously our pitching has been really good all year."
Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Mariners teammates Luke Raley, Dominic Canzone play in Cleveland
