Trevor
Wolff:
With Mat already being a professional ballplayer by
2005, at what point did you realize that Ben had the same potential?
Ceri
Gamel
I think that the professional interest that Mat
received during his year at Chipola [College] came as such a surprise to
us. We had honestly never even
considered that he might have the opportunity to play professional
baseball. Ben had always been a pretty
good player and I think we had really just hoped that both boys could play
through college. Ben’s sophomore year of
high school his team won the State Championship and he had a great season. I think that may have been when I thought he
could possibly have the chance to play professional ball as well.
Trevor
Wolff:
You told me that the draft scenarios with Mat &
Ben were “very different”, would you be able to elaborate on that? What was it
like on draft day ’05 & ’10 for the family?
Ceri
Gamel:
Well, it wasn’t so much the day, but the whole
process. With Mat being away at school,
we would go to as many games as we could, but we didn’t attend every single
game. So when scouts started leaving paperwork in his locker it was very exciting
but we still didn’t have the sense that he might get drafted. Chipola [College] went to the state
championship that year and that was where we began to believe that this could
actually happen. It was our first
contact with the scouts. With Ben being
in high school, the scouts started doing home visits early in the fall of his
senior year, so we had much more contact with them than we did with Mat. Both draft days were really nerve wracking
for me, but the boys were really relaxed-Mat was playing wiffle ball with Ben
and some friends in our yard when he got his call from the Brewers and Ben was
fishing when he got the call from the Yankees. It still blows my mind!
Trevor
Wolff:
2008 was an incredible year for Mat. He was elected
to the Futures Game & got his first call-up to the Brewers when rosters
expanded. When did you find out that your son was going to be a Major League
ballplayer, and how would you be able to describe the emotions upon receiving
the news? The feeling when he got his
first Major League hit must have been indescribable.
Ceri
Gamel:
I’ll tell you, the Futures Game was in the old
Yankee Stadium that year-it was just incredible walking into that place! Then
you look around and you see your son wearing a USA jersey with his name across
the back shagging fly balls in the outfield-it was just surreal, it literally
made me dizzy. When he got his first call
up we went to Milwaukee, again, just an unbelievable feeling. People at Miller Park tailgating at
4:00-just such an incredible environment-such great fans! We stayed in
Milwaukee Friday and Saturday and Mat did not play in any of the games while we
were there. We returned to Jacksonville on Sunday and watched him get his first
Big League hit on TV! We were screaming
and going insane. You could tell Mat was a little overcome too and the crowd
gave him a standing ovation-just so amazing! His first hit came on September 7,
his Dad’s birthday. What a great present.
We have the ball in a case in our living room.
Trevor
Wolff:
With his older brother being in the Majors &
having gone through the Minor League grind, how do you think that helped
prepare Ben for that life?
Ceri
Gamel:
I think Ben actually living through the years that
Mat was in the minors gave Ben the best preparation in the world. He had no misgivings about what the life of a
professional ball player is like. He
knew it was a hard job that required a lot of you both physically and
mentally. And that you play every day. I feel that as a parent, this helped me in my
heart and head when Ben got drafted. I
knew that he knew exactly what to expect of minor league life.
Trevor
Wolff:
How strong was the Yankees’ interest in Ben on draft
day? Was it a pleasant surprise or did you have a feeling that it was going to
be the Yankees all along?
Ceri
Gamel:
I felt that the Yankees were among the teams that
had shown the strongest interest in Ben because of the personnel that they had
sent to watch him play. But it was a
very pleasant surprise to all of us when they did draft him. I mean, just thrilling.
Trevor
Wolff:
Was the plan always for Ben to sign out of high
school or was it going to take the right situation (offer, team, etc.) for it
to happen? I know he was prepared to attend Florida State.
Ceri
Gamel:
Florida State has always been Ben’s dream
team/school. He committed to them right
away early in his junior year of high school.
Being able to play at FSU was a dream come true for him. As it became more apparent that he could get
drafted, we had conversations regarding realistic projections of where teams
might take him in the draft. I think it
definitely had to be the right situation.
For Ben, signing with the Yankees was the right decision. He has never regretted it for one
second.
Trevor
Wolff:
There has been something that I have always been
curious about, and I never have gotten an answer. It has nothing to do with Mat
or Ben but how do you see the Dominican players coping with the American culture?
Every player is on their own but at least American players have the opportunity
to communicate regularly with their families, and sometimes they even get to games.
Do the families all rally together to make them feel more comfortable if need
be?
Ceri
Gamel:
When we visited our kids we tried to include whoever
wanted to go eat or hang out with us. In
general, I think that the players from the DR kind of become family and stick
together. I know Ben lived in the same
complex that the Dominican players lived in, in Charleston. They all hung out together, went fishing, and
played video games just like the other players.
Trevor
Wolff:
The last word is all yours. Is there anything at all
that you want to say about what the Gamel clan has experienced over the eight
combined years of professional baseball with Ben & Mat?
Ceri
Gamel:
It has been incredible, something that we could
never have predicted or imagined. We got to experience Mat’s first big-league
opening day this year in Milwaukee and that was just thrilling. You are so happy and proud! Everywhere we have been with both boys, the
fans have been so incredible and supportive and welcoming.
As a parent, of course you love the walk-off wins,
the home runs and home runs that your kid robs someone of. But what makes me the proudest is when
someone tells me what a great kid I have and how they took the time to sign
their kid’s glove or talk to them. I
honestly could get teary eyed every time that happens
Having a son play a sport professionally, you
definitely have highs and lows, but you have to remember that your son is
literally living a dream. So for however
long it lasts you should try to embrace every minute of it.
Twitter: @trevwolff
Twitter: @trevwolff
