Chris Rotolo

@rote7123

LAKEWOOD – Family over everything.

For BlueClaws center fielder Mickey Moniak it’s not merely a phrase to be carelessly spouted into microphones, used to round out a soundbite, but rather a guiding ideal by which he lives life.

That much was evident on June 9 … Draft Day.

It’s a moment in time that every ballplayer dreams of, and one in which Moniak’s life would change forever, as the 18-year old San Diego native was headed east, not just as the first round draft selection of the Philadelphia Phillies, but as the first overall pick in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

For many top picks, they’re eastward migration starts days before the draft, as players of a certain caliber often accept an invitation to the MLB Network studios in Secaucus, opting for the glitz, glamor and grandeur of the Draft Day media hub.

However, Moniak chose the family living room over the green room. Instead of ceremonial handshakes amongst bonus babies, he elected to mark the moment with an embrace from his cousin Tanner Gage.

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“Growing up I was always family oriented,” Moniak said on Thursday, ahead of his FirstEnergy Park debut. “Pretty much every weekend it’d be a big family event at one house or another, my grandfather’s house or an uncle’s house. And I always looked forward to that, because I have a lot of cousins on both sides, and I think of them all more as my brothers than my cousins.”

That brotherly bond was particularly strong with Gage and their cousin Chase Miller, as the trio resided within 30 minutes of one another.

“They were a few years older than me,” Moniak said, “but as long as I can remember, they were older brothers to me. We didn’t spend a lot of time apart.”

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Those innocent days in the sun took a dark turns on a fateful evening in 2014, when a late night phone call from Miller alerted Moniak that Gage had suffered a serious injury, falling from a balcony and over a 40-foot cliff in Santa Barbara where he was attending college. The fall broke Gage’s back and severed the then 20-year old’s spinal chord, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

Nine months later, tragedy struck again as Miller – who suffered from severe bouts of depression – took his own life.

Prior to Thursday’s opening night proceedings in Lakewood, Moniak reflected from the BlueClaws clubhouse on just how these misfortunes shaped his development not only as a player, but as a person, and what’s more, the inspirations both Gage and Miller continue to be.

“I’ve certainly had some tragedies in my family, and it helps you take a step back and gain some perspective on what’s truly important in life, and that’s the loved ones around you,” Moniak said. “If you don’t have family, really, what do you have?”

“I have Tanner in my life, and he motivates me, he inspires me every day. What he goes through on a daily basis, it’s so much more than playing in a minor league baseball game. He definitely gives me the strength I need to work through anything. And my cousin Chase, he’s no longer with me physically, but I know he’s watching over me. I feel his presence in my life every day, and it’s huge…It’s absolutely uplifting to have both of them in my life.”

With his first full-season of professional baseball officially underway, Moniak has certainly had some early success – the center fielder carried a .281 (9-for-32) average, five runs scored and seven RBI into Thursday’s home opener – but was adamant that his strides in the sport aren’t made for him alone.

“Every baseball game I play, it’s not just for me, it’s for my family too. It’s for Tanner and for Chase, and my parents and my grandfather. Everyone. I wouldn’t be where I am without my family. Just to have their support, to have them in my life, I want to make them proud, and I strive to do that every day…They’re absolutely out there in the field with me.”

Moniak and the BlueClaws will be back for a 7:05 p.m. Friday first pitch with the Greensboro Grasshoppers.