HAMPTON, Va. — War Memorial Stadium is a proving ground for college baseball talent in the summertime. This year, one of the Peninsula Pilots is hoping to show he got the family baseball gene.
So far, so good. Jake Boone is batting .347 for the Pilots as of Tuesday. That last name should ring a bell.
Jake's father, Bret played major league baseball for 14 years. His uncle, Aaron had a 13 year career and now manages the New York Yankees. His grandfather and his great-grandfather were major league all stars.
Jake says there is no pressure to be the fourth generation big leaguer. "Everybody asks me if I've been pushed or anything like that, but I can honestly say I haven't. Just growing up around it, I've fallen in love with the game. Obviously my family has been very supportive, but I've never been pushed to do anything. I just love it and do it for myself."
There is a backup plan. Jake is an economics major at Princeton. If this major league baseball player thing doesn't work out, he's got the bases covered anyway.