Former groundskeeper serves up gopherball

About six years ago, Jake Smith was a volunteer groundskeeper at Lake Olmstead Stadium, home of the Augusta Greenjackets. Today, his dream of becoming a major leaguer finally came true. Unfortunately for him, Hanley Ramirez hammered his first pitch for a laser of a home run.

Smith’s path to the big leagues was chronicled by the San Jose Mercury this spring. He volunteered at the local Single-A ball club to stay around the game. Eventually, someone wondered what he could do with a baseball, and he was on his way. It’s a neat story to follow. Plus the Caddyshack references are fun.

The gopher won the battle today. Hopefully he can summon his inner Carl Spackler and get red of those pesky rodents once and for all!

P.S. I couldn’t find any photos of Jake Smith, so enjoy the shot of Heath Bell in the same period garb lookin’ sharp as a tack.