It's all about hard work for Maple Ridge catcher Graig Merritt. The 25-year-old baseball player is the first one to point out that it wasn't endless talent for the diamond that got him knocking on the door of the major leagues. He credits his mother and father for instilling a passion for the game. His dad's first name is Gehrig and his is Graig. His dad is named after baseball legend Lou Gehrig and Graig is named for New York Yankee Graig Nettles. That passion for baseball was tempered with a stong dose of reality. "Hard work is my key to my success. I wasn't born with a lot of talent," he says with modesty. "God blessed me with a good arm, but I still continue to work hard every day.
Merrit, currently playing ball for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' minor league affiliate team and the Orlando Rays AA squad, comes home every year from his baseball travels that take him to California, South Carolina and Orlando.
From holding court with the Little Dribblers in Pitt Meadows Youth Basketball during his elementary school years in Pitt Meadows and Hammond, Merritt also played soccer with Golden Ears United at ages nine and 10. He also played on the Ridge Meadows Rustlers until the Atom A-division call, when he had to trim his sports selections and settle on a goal. And the natural choice for this young man was baseball—the sport he's played since he was four with Ridge Meadows Minor Baseball. Graig went on to become a member of the Champion BC Select National Team 1995 and Team Canada 1996. Graig has had an impressive College baseball career with a staggering 200 victories against only 50 losses in four years. In 2003 in the minor leagues, Merritt impressed the big boys at the Devil Rays, enough to get a callup to spring training and rub shoulders with general manager Lou Piniella.
He has one recommendation for any kids looking to play ball in the big time: "Sports is just supposed to be fun. So go out there and have fun. Everything else will take care of itself."