Beyond the Box Score: An In-Depth Interview with Ceri Gamel, mother of Yankee prospect Ben Gamel & Milwaukee Brewer, Mat Gamel.

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