Can you remember where you were 5 years ago? Can you remember details about an event, about why you were there, something interesting you spotted? How about a conversation you had with someone almost 5 years to the date? What if you had a photo to remind you of an event, a person you spotted, a significant peg in the timeline of your busy life? Would you be able to go back in time and relive that moment through that photo? And fill in the gaps of the story using that photo to help guide you? Cool, I thought it was just me that did this.

For years, I wrote about baseball and Rhode Island, specifically. Baseball players, fields, tournaments, coaches, significant historic figures – if they had a Rhode Island base, I was interesting in learning more about them (or it) and writing about them (or it). 5 years ago, Rachel and I went to Martha’s Vineyard for the day to relax and catch a New England Collegiate Baseball League game. My local Rhode Island team, the Ocean State Waves, were playing a doubleheader against the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks. First part of the day was beach time and Sharkey’s Cantina. Second part was Waves vs Sharks baseball, which featured another Rhode Island connection for me – Johnston native, Wheaton Lyon baseball star, and then Martha’s Vineyard Sharks catcher Nick Raposo.

I remember chatting with Ocean State Waves Head Coach Eric Hirschbein-Bodnar, I remember meeting the MV Sharks mascot, the awesome snack shack at the Vineyard Baseball Park. And I remember getting ready to head out to the ferry to travel back to Woods Hole, and eventually home to North Kingstown when I heard the announcer bark out, “coming to the plate, from Wheaton College, Nick Raposo,” and stopping along the first base line to grab a photo of him batting. I remember telling Rachel who Raposo was, where he was from, where he currently played his college ball. I remember Nick Raposo smacking a single in Martha’s Vineyard that day, the last at bat I would watch before heading home. I remember being very satisfied that I could be a part of it and couldn’t wait to share my news with my Rhode Island baseball fans. Many of whom were/are also fans of the Johnston native who was making a name for himself in collegiate baseball at Wheaton College and that summer with the NECBL’s Martha’s Vineyard Sharks.

Fast forward to the summer of 2020. Nick Raposo signs on with the St. Louis Cardinals organization after a stellar career at Wheaton College. In 2021, Raposo is assigned to the Springfield Cardinals, the Cardinals AA affiliate. 2 years later in 2023, Raposo moves up to the Memphis Redbirds, the AAA affiliate. One level away from the Major League St. Louis Cardinals. Raposo remains a Memphis Redbird into the 2024 season, waiting for his name to be called. A series of injuries (always unfortunate but part of the business of baseball) to the Cardinals catching roster have occurred in 2024, which moved some players up from the minors to the big club. And just recently, another St. Louis Cardinal catcher sustained an injury which demanded another catcher to be called up to the big club from the minor leagues. This time, the call up from the St. Louis Cardinals minor league system would be Johnston Panther, Wheaton College Lyon, Martha’s Vineyard Shark, and Rhode Island native Nick Raposo.

So, there it is, another Rhode Island player has made it to the Major Leagues. Nick Raposo will probably remember the date – June 22, 2024 – for the rest of his life. The day of his Major League baseball call up roughly 4 years after signing a professional contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, Raposo is in rare air – a Major League baseball player. Nearly 5 years ago, I watched Nick Raposo hit a single on a baseball field hidden way back off Edgartown Vineyard Haven Road for the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. And now, lineup permitting of course, Nick Raposo will get a chance to hit at famous Busch Stadium in St. Louis suiting up in the number 70 for THE St. Louis Cardinals. Great story, great Rhode Islander who gives back in the off season at local batting cages and facilities, great memories of why I love baseball. Good luck Nick Raposo, you made it to the Show!!!