BRIGHTON, N.Y. – Long before Ernie Clement was a major story of Major League Baseball’s postseason, he was a kid at Diamond Pro in East Rochester.
“I started hitting with Matt Dryer when I was, I think, a sophomore in high school,” Clement said.
Matt Dryer, owner of Diamond Pro, recalled Clement’s early days.
“He kept coming to the wrong time. That’s what he and his mother always laugh about,” said Dryer.
That was the first of hundreds of meetings between Clement and Dryer, once a standout at McQuaid and national champion at Miami Hurricanes, with a nice little temper.
“Every year since I go back, every time, every time, you know, the snow starts falling. I’m hitting in, in his indoor facility,” Clement said.
And Clement isn’t always getting coached. Sometimes he is the coach.
“Well, sometimes we play catch, and sometimes I do batting practice with him. So sometimes we hit off the machine together and he teaches some of the stuff he does,” said Dax Dryer, Matt’s son.
So Clement’s ascent has certainly created some new fans. But Matt, Dax and Clement go way back.
“Can’t thank the guy enough. I mean, he’s he’s turned into a just a great, you know, mentor, a great friend and you know I still every offseason I’m hanging out with him a couple times a week and then, you know, if we’re not hitting, we’re going out and grabbing a couple beers and hanging out,” Clement said.
The Toronto Blue Jay even wrote Matt a letter of appreciation ahead of his big league debut.
“And he said, the most influential person in your baseball life. And he wrote that to me, and it sits right on my desk. So to watch him do that, to go through, you know, each offseason, even though he’s, you know, doing it and becoming a star, he’s still, you know, allows me to throw to him all winter long,” Matt Dryer said.
So win or lose in the ALCS, the guys at Diamond Pro are going to have his back.
“Pretty proud of him,” Dax Dryer said.
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