Spartan signs with the Mariners
SPARTA — Hometown hero Nick Ammirati, 22, of Sparta was signed on to the Seattle Mariners as a catcher for the team Aug. 7.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Ammirati in a telephone interview with the Sparta Independent. The Mississippi State graduate in public relations was waiting for this moment all his life.
“The day he was born, his father Chris bought him a catcher’s mitt,” said mother Tammi Ammirati.
Nick had been playing ball all his life, touring the country from New England to Wisconsin to California at a collegiate level, working for a major league spot, cheered on by his family.
“We were at a barbecue when we heard the news,” said Chris Ammirati. Siblings Samantha, 19, and Zack, 13, tweeted it immediately. “They were extremely excited for him,” said Chris
“My dad played college ball,” Nick said, “it’s sort of like I’m following in his footsteps.” Chris Ammirati played collegiate ball at Iona College, a division 1 college. To add to Nick’s pedigree, his grandfather played for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians.
Throughout Nick’s baseball career, he’s been a star catcher, playing collegiate ball at Seton Hall and Panola before getting an invitation to play for Mississippi State College, along with a scholarship for baseball.
His first year at MSU, Ammirati barely played, only being put in 13 games, shut out by another catcher.
“I’d never seen a player in my 22 years who worked so hard to turn his career around,” wrote MSU Head Coach John Cohen in a hand written letter to Ammirati’s parents.
His senior year, Ammirati led the MSU Bulldogs to their first College World Series as a starting catcher with a .246 batting average and throwing out 41 percent of base stealers.
Despite coming out of MSU with such accolades, Nick Ammirati admitted there was a time where he thought he might not get picked up by a major league team.
His father recalls Nick was on the draft board for three teams coming out of MSU: the Marlins, the Mariners and the Rockies. His younger brother had been watching the picks closely online, and was very disappointed when his older brother was left out.
Nick graduated MSU without getting signed by a major league team, but he continued to play, signing on to the minor league team the St. Paul Saints.
“[You have to] just keep working hard,” said Ammirati, “Good things happen to people who don’t give up.”
Shortly after getting signed onto the Saints, Ammirati’s contact was sold to the Mariners, beginning the MLB career he’d always wanted.
“He’s played all over the country to achieve this dream,” Chris Ammirati said, “In the last three years, he’s been home six or seven weeks.”
Nick is now in Arizona training with the Mariners, working with catchers like Jesús Sucre to sharpen his game, followed closely and cheered on by his family and friends.