Rome Braves Program Vol. 4

Rome Braves Program Vol. 4

ROME BRAVES

MAY 31-JUNE 5, 2022

Northwest Georgia’s largest health care network

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FEATURED STORY

Vaughn Grissom: Just A Kid In Love With The Game

8 Bowling Green Roster

9 Rome Braves Roster

10 Rome Braves Photo Roster

12 Group Tickets

13 Tradin’ Post Item of the Homestand

PLAY ALONG DURING THE GAME Answers revealed in the 5th inning

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2022 SCHEDULE

HOME

AWAY

Times, dates, and opponents are subject to change.

2

CHARLIE MORTON BOBBLEHEAD JUNE 24

MAX FRIED BOBBLEHEAD JULY 9

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Vaughn Grissom: Just A Kid In Love With The Game by Justin Franklin

Vaughn Grissom is one the Atlanta Braves’ top prospects. Drafted in the eleventh round in 2019 out of Hagerty High School in Oviedo, Florida, the six foot and three inches tall shortstop has always been a coveted piece of the Braves’ farm system. However, the spotlight Grissom thrives under now has not always shown directly on him. Born in Orlando, Florida, Grissom’s baseball origin story is as humble as it gets. “I guess I’ve always had every- thing to play baseball.” Grissom said. “At my dad’s house when I was young, we had this berry tree out front, and I would spend hours just hitting these little berries.” So just like every other

neighborhood kid, Vaughn Grissom was out in the yard, making something out of nothing. “There was also this gutter across the street, about ninety feet away and my dad had this palm tree with rocks around it, and it felt like there was three million of them. I would just spend hours throwing them across the street trying to make it into that gutter.” It was from there Grissom knew that he possessed the arm strength to do something special. “My first love hon- estly was football, but I knew I had too good of an arm to be a receiver.” He was right. Once Vaughn committed himself to baseball, there was no look-

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ing back. The Atlanta Braves drafted Grissom in the eleventh round of Major League Baseball’s 2019 Draft. Grissom lit up the charts in 2021, his first full season within the Braves organization. In 2021, Grissom was hitting .311 with thirty-three runs batted in through seventy-five games in Low-A Augusta before he got called up to Rome. Once Grissom got to Rome, he instant- ly became a fan favorite. He finished the last twelve games in Rome with a .378 average and ten runs batted in, solidifying his place on Atlanta’s list of top prospects. Vaughn Grissom is unquestionably in the spotlight as a Rome Brave. On any given game day, fans are lined along the wall waiting for an autograph with the Braves’ top prospect. The fans love Vaughn, and Vaughn loves the fans. However, the spotlight Grissom thrives under now has not always shown directly on him. At most every Hagerty High School baseball game in 2019, the stands were packed full of scouts. Not for Grissom, but for Greene. Riley Greene, the fifth overall pick in 2019’s draft, was the center fielder for Hagerty. Greene currently sits as the Detroit Tigers’ top prospect and is expected to contribute to the Motor City’s base- ball success for years to come. Gris- som considers Greene to not only be one of the best players, but to be one of his best friends. “Really, he was my center fielder since we were thir- teen years old, and he plays for the Tigers now, and he has really made a name for himself. I think he’s one of the best to play the game in the last twenty years.” Grissom also even goes as far as to credit Greene for getting him some of the spotlight. “He’s got-

ten the spotlight on me ever since we were kids, because I have either been hitting right in front of him or right behind him. So, he brought some at- tention to me and kind of helped me shine a little bit.” Grissom believes that his time in high school helped his competitive drive as well. “It just had a different feel to it. Everyone was super competitive where I’m from, and we play a lot of good baseball. So, you had to play really well just to hang around in Oviedo.” It is pretty safe to say that Vaughn Grissom played well enough to hang around. Although he was commit- ted to Florida International Universi- ty, Grissom answered the call in 2019 when the Braves drafted him in the eleventh round. Atlanta liked what they saw in Grissom. They liked it enough to go over the $125,000 limit in the eleventh round and sign Gris- som to a $347,500 contract straight out of high school. Grissom has been worth the money for the Braves as well, entering the 2022 season as their seventh overall prospect. And as cool as it all is to Grissom, he essentially pays it no mind. “I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but it doesn’t really mean the most because those numbers are very temporary. Yeah, it’s nice, but you can’t look at it for too long.” Although he says it would be nice to eventually be number one, Grissom has his sights set a little higher than the prospects list. “I’m blessed, obviously, to be on there. But if you’re not striving to be better, then what’s the point?” When asked where he sees himself in five years, Grissom knows exactly where he wants to be. “I want to be on the Braves. I want to be the Braves short- stop in five years.” As much as he

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wants his own success, Grissom sees the bigger picture as well. “Baseball is an incredibly humbling sport, though. Hopefully everything works out and we’re winning games. I just want to contribute.” There is no questioning the current success of the Rome Braves. Sitting just a few games out of first at any given time and never dropping below a .500 winning percentage all season, Grissom believes that success comes from the unique chemistry that the team has. “A lot of us spent a lot of time together last year in Augusta. Last year was everyone’s first full year since Covid and everything, and we couldn’t really do as much as we want- ed. We couldn’t fall into groove or any- thing. But this year, I don’t know. It’s just different. Everyone just opened

if you’re not striving to be better then what’s the point?

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up. The guys that were already here in Rome have done a good job, too. Guys like Cody Milligan and Beau Philip. It’s just a perfect gel.” Grissom also is well aware of the im- portance of minor league baseball in Rome, Georgia. “I love the fans here. They know us and we know them. You see a lot of the same people night in and night out, and they have no idea how much that means to us. Even though they don’t think we can, we hear them rooting for us.” Grissom speaks on his own lack of hardware, and believes it is time to bring some more back to the River City. “It would be awesome to bring a championship back here. I’ve never won any kind of championship so there’s an extra mo- tivation there. But these fans deserve that, too.”

Despite be- ing one of the h i ghest regarded

tal- ents within the Atlan-

ta Braves organization, Vaughn Grissom is still that kid slinging rocks into a gutter outside his childhood

home in Florida. At heart, Grissom is just like any other ordinary kid who fell in love with America’s favorite pastime, and he hopes to never lose that spirit. So the next time you see Vaughn Grissom patrolling the infield for the Rome Braves, think of a little kid from central Florida hitting ber- ries across the yard with a stick, and remember what it was that made you fall in love with the game of baseball.

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BOWLING GREEN HOT RODS Manager: Jeff Smith Coaches: Skeeter Barnes, Alberto Bastardo, Paul Rozzelle Tsutomu Kamiya, Jordan Brown

PITCHERS

NO.

B/T L/L

HT

WT 162

DOB

Dacosta, Franklin

38 22

5' 11"

02/27/00 08/18/98 04/29/98 07/26/99 10/29/98 01/12/02 06/17/00 09/18/99 01/12/00 03/30/01 08/06/97 12/31/99 07/02/98 12/06/98

Dryer, Conor LaSorsa, Joe

L/R 6' 3"

205

31

L/L

6' 5"

215

Leonard, Cameron

37 30 24

R/R 6' 4" R/R 5' 11" R/R 6' 1"

205 160 170 195 205 200 168 250 205 228

Lugo, Audry

Molina, Anthony

Montgomery, Mason

10 18

L/L

6' 2"

Mullen, Sean

R/R 6' 1" R/R 6' 2" R/R 6' 4"

Peguero, Matthew

28 25

Rojas, Nomar

Stinson, Graeme Wicklander, Patrick

41 16

L/L R/L

6' 5" 6' 1"

Wiles, Nathan

35

R/R 6' 4" R/R 6' 4"

Workman, Logan

11

215

CATCHERS

NO.

B/T

HT

WT 175 195 175 WT 188 205 190 164 180

DOB

Berglund, Michael

27 20

L/R 6' 2" L/R 6' 1" R/R 5' 10"

07/18/97 11/03/97 11/24/95

Driscoll, Logan

Soria, Nate

5

INFIELDERS

NO.

B/T

HT

DOB

Basabe, Osleivis Manzardo, Kyle Murray, Tanner Simon, Ronny Williams, Alika

8

R/R 6' 1" L/R 6' 1" R/R 6' 2" S/R 5’8” R/R 6' 2"

09/13/00 07/18/00 09/03/99 04/17/00 03/12/99

21

3

13

2

OUTFIELDERS

NO.

B/T

HT

WT

DOB

Baker, Dru

29

R/R 5’11” L/R 6' 3" R/R 6' 1" L/R 5' 11" R/R 6' 2"

205 170 195

03/22/00 04/29/97 12/16/99 07/07/97 10/22/99

Brundage, Beau

4

Hernandez, Heriberto

19

Hiott, Garrett Infante, Diego

1

175 178

23

8

ROME BRAVES Manager: Kanekoa Texeira Coaches: Wes McGuire, Danny Santiesteban, Bobby Moore, Jesus Aviles, Joe Powell

PITCHERS Barger, Alec De Avila, Luis

NO.

B/T

HT

WT 201 215

DOB

30 34 22 38 59 58 32 26 45 20 49 54

R/R 6' 2"

03/24/98 05/29/01

L/L

5' 9"

De La Cruz, Isrrael

S/R 5’11”

175 06/15/1997

Dodd, Dylan

L/L

6' 2"

210 215 210 210 215 210 205 205 227 230 210 205

06/06/98 09/30/96 07/06/97 02/02/00 03/12/96 04/14/00 04/21/98 04/10/01 07/24/98 01/27/97 06/22/99 06/21/98 07/05/98

Dum, Benjamin

L/R 6' 0" R/R 6' 1" R/R 6' 5"

Freure, R.J.

Hoffmann, Andrew McSteen, Jake Munoz, Roddery

R/L

6' 0"

R/R 6' 2" L/R 6' 3" R/R 6' 3"

Riley, Trey

Salinas, Royber Santos, Lisandro Schwab, Davis Smith, Austin

L/L L/L

6' 1" 6' 4"

37

12

R/R 6' 4" R/R 6' 6" R/R 6' 4"

Spain, Dylan

7

Van Buren, Malcolm

23

185

CATCHERS Tolve, Tyler Valdes, Javier

NO.

B/T

HT

WT

DOB

55

L/R 6' 1" R/R 5' 10"

200 205

07/16/00 11/19/98

16

INFIELDERS Bunnell, Cade

NO.

B/T

HT

WT 190 210 220 212 170 200 204

DOB

4

L/R 6' 0" R/R 6' 3" L/R 6' 3" R/R 6' 3" L/R 5' 10" R/R 6' 0" R/R 6' 2"

05/14/97 01/05/01 03/06/99 02/19/00 12/23/98 10/23/98 03/15/98

Grissom, Vaughn

15

Horne, Bryson

9

Malloy, Justyn-Henry

24

Milligan, Cody

2 8

Philip, Beau

Stephens, Landon

18

OUTFIELDERS Campbell, Drew

NO.

B/T L/L

HT

WT 180 215

DOB

11

5' 11"

11/10/97

Carter, Willie

14

R/R 6' 0"

04/08/97 11/23/99

Robinson, Christian

25

L/L

6' 2"

211

9

ROME BRAVES COACHES

13

28

1

Wes McGuire Pitching Coach

Danny Santiesteban Hitting Coach

Bobby Moore Assistant Coach

50

Kanekoa Texeira Manager

Jesus Aviles Athletic Trainer

Joe Powell Strength + Conditioning

Angel Piva Clubhouse Manager

ROME BRAVES ROSTER as of 05/31/22

2

4

7

8

9

Cody Milligan Infielder

Cade Bunnell Infielder

Dylan Spain Pitcher

Beau Philip Infielder

Bryson Horne Infielder

10

ROME BRAVES ROSTER as of 05/31/22

11

12

14

15

16

Drew Campbell Outfielder

Austin Smith Pitcher

Willie Carter Outfielder

Vaughn Grissom Infielder

Javier Valdes Pitcher

18

20

22

23

24

Landon Stephens Pitcher

Trey Riley Pitcher

Isrreal De La Cruz Pitcher

Malcolm Van Buren Pitcher

Justyn-Henry Malloy Outfielder

25

26

30

32

34

Christian Robinson Outfielder

Jake McSteen Pitcher

Alec Barger Pitcher

Andrew Hoffmann Pitcher

Luis De Avila Pitcher

37

38

45

49

54

Davis Schwab Pitcher

Dylan Dodd Pitcher

Roddery Muñoz Pitcher

Royber Salinas Pitcher

Lisandro Santos Pitcher

55

58

59

Tyler Tolve Catcher

R.J. Fruere Pitcher

Ben Dum Pitcher

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GROUP TICKETS

308

307 306

Pressbox

310 309

305

304 Jumbo Suite

311

Boardroom Suite

Terrace

314

301

201

200 202

203

204

206

205

208

207

100 102

210

101

209

103

104

106

105

Gate 6

108

t

107

gou

Du

ay

110

Aw

109

112

Bubba’s BBQ Barn

111

113

Marina

115

117

Picnic Pavilion

Kids Zone

Suzuki Showcase

The Terrace

Suites

The newly renovated Terrace is set to debut for the 2022 season. The Terrace is the most exclusive area at the stadium. Terrace parties include a 90-minute pre-game buffet inside a climate-controlled area with full bar service available. The Terrace also offers your guests one of the best views in the stadium.

An evening in a Rome Braves luxury suite is the perfect way to watch the Rome Braves at AdventHealth Stadium. In fact, a luxury suite is much more than a night of exciting ac- tion-packed entertainment. It’s Rome’s most exclusive opportunity to entertain your clients, employees, family and friends.

Picnics

Parade of Champions

Perfect for large company outings, Picnics in- clude a 90-minute pre-game buffet and a re- served Box Level ticket for each guest. Unique compared to other group areas, there’s no limit on how big your party may be.

Any group reaching one of three reward tiers will be invited to parade around the warning track during pre-game festivities and the Rome Braves will make a donation per the reward program back to your organization.

Suzuki Showcase

Birthday Parties

A covered private party area in Right Field is the perfect place to celebrate little league team parties or birthday parties! With picnic table seating and a grassy-berm area, it’s the perfect area for all to play. Reserve your date today and let the children celebrate.

Celebrate your birthday with the Rome Braves! Enjoy the game with three reserved picnic ta- bles, cake, and the opportunity to eat it too! We’ll even get the entire crowd to sing happy birthday on your special day. National Anthem Packages Does your choir, class, or church group want to perform the national anthem? Groups of 50 or more will receive a discount when booking through our group line!

Picnics

Perfect for large groups who don’t need the amenities of a group area. Discounts are based on how many tickets are purchased.

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MVSport Rome Braves Trainer Hoodie

The newly renovated Terrace is set to debut for the 2022 season. The Terrace is the most exclusive area at the stadium. Terrace parties include a 90-minute pre-game buffet inside a climate-controlled area with full bar service available. The Terrace also offers your guests one of the best views in the stadium.