Toms River High School North Alum Pitching in World Series

A few months ago my brother texted me and asked if I graduated with a Mark Leiter.

Now I graduated with just over 600 students at Gymnasiet Nord 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 actually ended up with him. I may have even gone to grade school with him too, but I’d have to break out my 5th and 6th grade yearbook to find out.

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

Although I grew up in a split Yankees/Phillies household, I never became a fan of any Major League team.

I’ve always been a Jersey Shore BlueClaws girl (I did a few games on the field for them a few summers in a row) and I was a fan of whatever team Todd Fraiser played for.

Toms River really knows how to grow baseball players.

Using my logic of being a fan of whichever team Todd Fraiser 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?

Of course, I was excited to see my colleague Tom’s River North pitching alum during the World Series.

Even though the Yankees aren’t doing great in the World Series, being down 3-0, this play by Leiter was great to watch.

Leiter was drafted by the Phillies in 2013 and returned to New Jersey for the 2013 and 2014 seasons to pitch for the Jersey Shore Blueclaws.

The surname Leiter has become common in baseball.

The Yankees pitcher’s father, Mark Leiter Sr., was an MLB pitcher for 11 years and retired in 2001.

Al Leiterhis uncle, is “A two-time National League (NL) All-Star, 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 second overall draft pick in 2021 by the Texas Rangers.

It seems baseball runs in the family.

While the Yankees can go 3-0 in the World Series against the Dodgers, we wish Mark Leiter and the entire team the best of luck in tonight’s game.