By PAUL GOTHAM
Grady Mee “hit for the cycle” with his summer collegiate baseball placement. The Western Michigan Bronco is seeing plenty of at-bats and time in the field for a team thick in a playoff race. All this while living in a nearby family camp. His metaphorical home run to complete the cycle continued a tradition that is now nine decades in existence.
When Mee took the field in early June for the Jamestown Tarp Skunks’ home opener of the 2023 Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) season, he became the fourth generation of his family to play at Diethrick Park.
“It is awesome; it really is,” he said by phone. “That was one of the reasons that I wanted to come to Jamestown. Not often are you able to be the fourth-generation player.”
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM STEPHEN GARVEY.
The tradition started with his great-grandfather (Warren) in the 1940s, continued with Ory (grandfather) in the 60s and 70s, then Cory (dad) in the 80s and Ryan (uncle) in the 90s.
“It’s special, and it’s awesome to have friendly faces in the crowd especially in my first summer-ball experience,” Grady said. “I’m enjoying it.”
Warren Mee played throughout the 1940s and was an All-State performer for the Jamestown Steel Partition Bombers – a semi-pro team that played its home games at Diethrick Park. Ory Mee played high school baseball along with his brother, Terry for Falconer High School, a neighboring community that frequently travelled to Jamestown for games.
Ory Mee continued his career at Jamestown Community College where again he played games at Diethrick. The longtime Hilton High School head coach and Section V Baseball Hall of Fame member took his first team in 1987 to play at Jamestown. Cory was on that that team. Ryan Mee played on the 1997 Hilton Cadet squad that won a regional championship at Diethrick Park.
Cory Mee went on to the University of Notre Dame where he was a four-year starter. He eventually signed and played in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ system. He is a veteran of 30 years coaching at the college level including his current position at Western Michigan where he is the Associate Head Coach. He contacted Jamestown head coach Jordan Basile about the prospect of Grady playing for the Tarp Skunks.
“Placed him the normal way we place all the guys,” he said. “The (summer team) coach makes a decision on whether that player fits. The way they were putting together their roster, fortunately it fit. It fit for Jordan and Jamestown and obviously it was a great fit for Grady and our family.”
It’s like a home away from home for the younger Mee.
“Every year since Grady’s basically been born, we return home whether it’s Hilton to see our family there or going to our family cabin in Falconer.”
The idea of donning a uniform for Jamestown during the summer came a couple years ago when Grady went with his dad to watch a PGCBL game.
“He had a player who was with a team in Erie. They came over to Jamestown and when I found out it was a college league, I was like when I get to college, I want to play there.”
The Tarp Skunks honored the Mee family with an on-field celebration prior to a recent game. Ory Mee threw out the first pitch. Grady was the catcher.
“It was a pretty special evening,” the elder Mee said. “Four generations, it makes it pretty cool.”
“He was grinning from ear to ear,” Grady said of his grandfather. “He was so happy to be out there.”
The evening also included a picnic for family and friends.
Trotter Mee, son of Ryan, served as bat boy for the Tarp Skunks during a game two nights later.
Grady Mee is hitting .306 with 22 runs scored and 14 RBI for the Tarp Skunks (21-15) who currently sit 2.5 games behind the Batavia Muckdogs (24-13) in the PGCBL West. The 46-game regular season ends on July 29th with playoffs starting the July 30th. The top four teams in the West advance to the postseason.
“The experience of playing in Jamestown has been awesome for him,” Cory Mee said. “They do such a good job of supporting a team there.
“It’s been a great experience for our entire family. I’m thrilled for Grady especially from the development standpoint both personally and athletically.”
Ties that bind: former Hilton Cadet Preston Prince plays for Batavia. Prince’s dad, Troy (the head basketball coach at Hilton) was a classmate and teammate of Cory Mee in high school.
Leave a Reply