SPORTS

Alexandria’s Jake Marshall Signs with The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs

Alexandria business owner Jake Marshall has signed as catcher with Atlantic League Baseball’s Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.

Jake has played baseball his whole life and says the chance to play for the Blue Crabs is a “dream come true.” (Photo Courtesy of Andrew Bandstra)

Alexandria, VA – Alexandria business owner Jake Marshall has signed as catcher with Atlantic League Baseball’s Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.

A baseball player since childhood, Jake dreamed of playing baseball professionally. In 2018-2019, the dream was developing when Jake left for California to play in the independent Pecos League.

“I lived in Virginia my entire life,” says Jake. “I went to California because that is where the opportunity was.” Jake is a man who seizes an opportunity, wherever it may be. And when the pandemic canceled the Pecos League season and sent him back to Virginia, Jake sought opportunities outside baseball.

He formed a construction company, Marshall Detail (instagram.com/marshall_detail_llc) in Alexandria, remodeling and repairing. “Construction is always something I have gravitated toward,” says Jake. “I have always been a hands-on guy.” The hands-on attraction was fitting for a recently retired athlete, or so it seemed.

While his construction business was prospering, the spring of 2021 reinspired Jake’s professional baseball dreams. He was invited to attend training camp with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, an Atlantic League baseball team. Jake says, “I wasn’t sure what the future had in store for me in baseball, so this [invitation] was like hitting the lottery for me.”

Jake Marshall signed with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs to play as catcher for their 2021 season. (Photo courtesy of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs)

Jake quickly proved himself and was signed as a catcher for the 2021 season.

Ray Ortega, the Blue Crabs hitting coach, says of Jake, “What attracted us initially was that he was very much a team guy, and he is always looking to get better.” Joe Walsh, the bench coach, adds, “Jake would come to us and say, What do I need to improve on? His passion for the game is something you cannot teach.”

The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs have grown since their 2008 inaugural season and continue to grow by recruiting players like Jake. With team chemistry and work ethic, Jake “has had far and away the best season of his career here in the Atlantic League,” says Andrew Bandstra, Broadcaster and Media Relations Manager for the Blue Crabs. The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs home field is Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf, MD, (somdbluecrabs.com).

Jake has so far started three games behind home plate with the Blue Crabs and he hopes to return in 2022 for another season with the team.

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