Toms River High School North Alum Pitching in the World Series

A few months back my brother texted me asking if I had graduated with a Mark Leiter.

Now, I graduated with well over 600 students at High School North in 2009, so it took me a while to think back. The name sounded familiar, but I won't lie I had to Google him to be sure.

Turns out, I did in fact graduate with him. I may have even gone to elementary school with him as well, but I would have to break out my 5th and 6th-grade yearbook to figure that out.

In July, Toms River's own Mark Leiter Jr. was traded to the New York Yankees.

Even though I grew up in a divided Yankees/Phillies household, I never became a fan of any Major League team.

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I was always a Jersey Shore BlueClaws girl (I did some onfield emceeing for them a few summers in a row) and I was a fan of whichever team Todd Fraizer played for.

Toms River really knows how to grow baseball players.

Using my logic of being a fan of whichever team Todd Fraizer played for, I now became a de facto Yankees fan because of Mark Leiter.

Half of my family is happy about this.

I have to root for someone I went to school with, right?

I was, of course, excited to see my fellow Toms River North alum pitching during the World Series.

While the Yankees aren't doing fantastic in the World Series, being down 3-0, this play by Leiter was great to see.

Leiter was drafted by the Phillies in 2013 and did come back to New Jersey during the 2013 and 2014 seasons to pitch for the Jersey Shore Blueclaws.

The last name Leiter has become a common one in baseball.

The Yankees pitcher's father, Mark Leiter Sr., was an MLB pitcher for 11 years, retiring in 2001.

Al Leiter, his uncle, is "A two-time National League (NL) All-Star player, Leiter pitched for three World Series winning teams and threw a no-hitter in 1996 during his tenure with the Marlins."

His cousin, Jack Leiter, was the 2021 second-overall draft pick by the Texas Rangers.

Seems like baseball runs in the family.

While the Yankees may be 3-0 in the World Series against the Dodgers, we wish Mark Leiter and the entire team good luck with tonight's game.