Ryan McCarthy has been a fixture in the dugout for the Northeast baseball squad at the annual Bay State Summer Games since 2002. His stepson, Christian O’Brien, has been alongside for the past decade.
In the past, he has shagged fly balls in batting practice, taken a seat in the dugout, and operated the scoreboard.
This week, the pair will be able to truly share the experience of the Games together, as father/son and coach/player.
“He went from chasing down every foul ball that nobody wanted to get to announcing games in the press box,’’ said McCarthy, who has been the varsity baseball coach at Triton Regional in Newbury since 2013.
“He was chasing down so many foul balls that the umpires were paying him after the game because he was getting so many. He’d go and chase one, come back three minutes later and he had collected two.’’
A rising junior at Triton, the 16-year-old O’Brien is savoring his first opportunity to be an active player in the summer diamond showcase for ninth, 10th, and 11th graders.
“I always love going to the Games. The atmosphere to be around some of the best players is amazing to watch,’’ said O’Brien, who played for McCarthy for the first time this past spring after his transfer Newburyport High after his freshman year.
“[My stepfather] always challenges me, he pushes me to try and do my best,’’ O’Brien said.
“One of the reason I came [to Triton] is because I wanted to be pushed as an athlete. He helped me out a lot.’’
McCarthy got his start in coaching at Newburyport, his alma mater, guiding the freshman baseball team for 11 seasons. He was also a football assistant, coaching under mentors that he had had as a student-athlete. After one year as the varsity assistant and freshman baseball coach at Triton, he was promoted to head coach in 2013.
What is the lure of coaching? “I think just the part of giving back,’’ he said.
“I was so fortunate growing up, having legendary coaches . . . so growing up I think it was something I always wanted to do, but [my former coaches] just inspired me as a high school athlete. And I was very fortunate at a young age to get an opportunity [to coach].’’
And coaching your own son, or daughter, brings a different dynamic.
Northeast infielder Jack Ward, a rising senior at St. Mary’s of Lynn, played for his father, Mike Ward — the head coach at Salem State University — at the Little League level, as well for the Team Boston AAU squad last summer.
But the elder Ward said that their experience together does not align with McCarthy and O’Brien because of age and the level of competition.
“You don’t encounter the same types of things in Little League,’’ said Ward.
“It’s a different situation that takes a real balance. One is the family dynamic: what happens at the field or at practice, does it come home? I haven’t really experienced that. The other part of that is it’s a different balance for the coach. You’re in a situation where all coaches are much harder on their own kid than other players we coach. You want them to do well but you also want them to do well the right way.’’
“Fortunately Jack [Ward] is playing for coach McCarthy, not me.’’
After coaching his stepson for the first time this past spring, McCarthy can already relate to Ward’s thoughts.
“To be honest with you, I was kind of unsure in the manner of that whole coach/son thing at the high school level. You never want the outsiders to think that there’s favoritism . . . you’ve got to treat him like he’s anyone else,’’ McCarthy said.
Baseball may not be O’Brien’s strongest sport. But this spring, he utilized his raw skills and speed to become an effective nine-hole hitter, and outfielder at Triton.
Whether he is coaching his own son, or any other player, McCarthy has become a big advocate over the past decade of the Bay State Games experience. And the opportunities that often materialize for athletes because of the showcase.
Justin Cashman, now a rising sophomore pitcher at the University of Hartford, played for McCarthy at Triton Regional. And taking the hill for the Northeast squad in the opener of 2014 Games, he tossed a complete game shutout.
“It got him a scholarship to the University of Hartford . . . it opened so many doors for him,’’ said McCarthy, who guided Northeast to a silver medal last summer.
In a text message, Cashman confirmed the significance of that performance.
“Before opening day, I wasn’t in contact with any college coaches,’’ he said. “After opening day, I received multiple phone calls from Division 1 and Division 2 schools, asking me to visit campus and talk scholarship offers. The Bay State Games [were] an eye-opening experience which has allowed me to pitch at the next level.’’
This summer, he is pitching for the Mystic Schooners of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. McCarthy has had similar success stories on his Northeast squad.
Peabody’s Ryan Moorer (2002) went on to a four-year minor league career with the Seattle Mariners. The 2007 squad included Scott Weisman (Acton-Boxboro), who played in the Cubs’ system, and Scott Oberg (Tewksbury), now pitching for Colorado’s Triple A affiliate in Albuquerque. And Triton Regional grad and former Salem State All-American infielder Richard Fecteau, who played for McCarthy’s 2011 Northeast team, is playing second base for the LA Angels’ Rookie League team in Tempe, Ariz. this summer.
O’Brien, and others, are hopeful of a similar opportunity this summer.
“I’m looking forward to trying to do my best,’’ said O’Brien. “It’d be nice to go to college for baseball, I know what you have to do to succeed and to be recognized to where now I need to just be able to do it myself.’’
Added McCarthy, “I think it’s a great opportunity for him and I’m hoping that while he’s down there he’s able to show his strengths and catch an eye or two at a young age. I’m just thrilled for the mere fact that he’s been around it for so long but now he’s really a part of it. Not that he wasn’t when he was younger, but now it’s his opportunity to play.’’
The BSG baseball showcase kicks off Monday at Monan Park (BC High/UMass Boston).
Logan Mullen can be reached at logan.mullen@globe.com.
