It was mid-August of last summer, and Valley Blue Sox director of baseball operations John Raiola started the process of drafting the Blue Sox roster for 2024.

His first call was in the same area code.

After years of struggles with defense behind the plate, Raiola knew just who he wanted to recruit for the foundation of his roster – UMass catcher and Granby alum Mike Toth. 

The UMass sophomore has been on the Blue Sox radar since his junior year of high school, when longtime Granby coach and Valley assistant Jim Woods told Toth that he could see him catching for his hometown team in the near future. Toth has attended Blue Sox games at MacKenzie Stadium in Holyoke since he was 5 years old and has known manager Pedro Santiago for a decade.

When Woods, Raiola and UMass head coach Matt Reynolds confronted Toth with the chance to play for the Blue Sox, Toth immediately said yes.

“We used to sit up on the hill and watch it happen,” Toth said. “To me, these were grown men playing pro ball, it was so cool to see that. Now to be a part of it seems kind of surreal.”

In Toth’s second season as UMass’ starting catcher, he hit .234 and topped the Atlantic 10 by throwing out 21 attempt base stealers while helping the Minutemen to a winning record in conference play for the first time since 2012. Thanks to a 4-for-4 day from Toth, UMass knocked off No. 13 Virginia for their first win over a ranked opponent in over 20 years and advanced to the Atlantic 10 Tournament for the first time in 12 seasons.

In 18 games at catcher this summer, Toth is hitting .148 with 12 runs and eight RBIs, in addition to strong defense behind the plate.

The Blue Sox have rostered a steady contingent of local players in recent years, including fellow Granby alums Noah Bleakley (2019) and Nolan Sullivan (2022), Hopkins Academy’s Jon Morrison (2020), Amherst’s Jake Balderston (2021) and Holyoke’s Anthony Rosado-Burgos (2022). Toth is also joined on the Blue Sox by two UMass teammates, pitchers Mike Jensen and Dylan Terwilliger.

Raiola said rostering local players is essential to familiarizing the rest of the team with the Blue Sox’ traditions and the area itself. Toth said the Blue Sox are looking to take a trip to Mt. Tom soon and he’s excited to show his teammates around the UMass campus and baseball facilities.

“It’s obviously something that is important for us to try to reward those guys, bring them in, give them an opportunity to play at home,” Raiola said.

When he was young, Toth said he attended about five Blue Sox games every summer and remembered getting autographs from his favorite players in the dugout. Now, he’s on the other side of the dugout rail.

“He’s such a positive kid, very friendly, great teammate, guys seem to gravitate towards him,” Woods said. “He’s really good with the fans and the kids.”

The Blue Sox roster players from 18 different states, and many of them have no familiarity with the East Coast, let alone western Mass. When Toth chats with autograph seekers after games, he’s quick to remind them that he was in their shoes not too long ago.

“I ask them what town they’re from and they’re like ‘oh, you probably don’t know it,” Toth said. “Well, I do know, I’m from right here as well.”

On June 23, the Granby Athletic Association brought a group to watch the Blue Sox score a 6-2 win over the North Adams Steeple Cats, and Toth was inundated with autograph requests after the game.

This summer has provided Toth with the chance to keep improving his offensive game against high-level pitching, Reynolds said. And playing close to campus allows him to use UMass’ baseball facilities over the summer. This is Toth’s first time playing college summer ball after hip surgery knocked him out all last summer, but he recovered quicker than expected and said he’s been enjoying his first taste of the NECBL. This summer will provide important continuity for next season, Reynolds said.

“We’re excited to see what he looks like when he comes back in the fall, because he’s going to step into a leadership role on the team,” Reynolds said.

Ten years ago, Toth was watching Blue Sox games from the hill behind the backstop and grabbing autographs at the dugout afterwards. Five years ago, he was a high schooler, watching the games with his friends with the goal of playing in them soon.

Raiola sees the kids who come game after game in search of foul balls and broken bats and autographs and knows the next local Blue Sox player is in there somewhere.

“Almost every guy who we have that is local tells that story of how they used to come to games,” Raiola said. “The interesting thing to keep in mind as we see these younger kids coming up for autographs and everything else is, I don’t doubt at all that when we fast forward seven years that one of them might be in the dugout and able to tell the same story.”