My Cousin the Ballplayer

Back in late February, during the first weekend of exhibition games, I heard Steve Selsky's name on a Red Sox/Twins telecast from Florida. The name rang a bell -- but for the Steve in my generation. Steve's dad and namesake was a promising minor leaguer who signed initially with the White Sox and played several years of minor league ball in the '60s, but never made it to the majors. His mother and my mom were first cousins.
But that was decades ago. A phone call to another a cousin who has lived in L.A. since the '70s and knows "that" Steve led me to do some online research -- and I realized that this player, who made the majors for the first time in 2016, was indeed a distant relative. Saturday, I got the chance to see him play for the first time, as Pawtucket, the Red Sox top farm club hosted Scranton, their Triple A rivals from the Yankees organization.
Number 20 for the PawSox and playing centerfield, here's Steve Selsky, While I didn't get the chance to meet you before Saturday's twinbill, let me pass the word along that you've got plenty of east coast relatives on your dad's side rooting for you.

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