Maris to Maris Connection: A longtime Roger Maris fan with the same last name throws his first pitch to Oak Hall’s Kevin Maris

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - What if your name was the same as a baseball legend?

What would you do if his son called you up?

For Roger Maris Gregory ... A nine-hour drive from South Carolina to Gainesville, FL led to a dream coming true throwing at Roger Maris Field in the heart of the Oak Hall High School campus.

On March 3rd, the Eagles baseball team is hosting Seven Rivers Christian clarifies the statement, “It’s a beautiful day for baseball.”

The Greenville, SC resident showed up at the baseball field in a Roger Maris jersey across the classic Yankee pinstripes and took the field with Oak Hall head coach Kevin Maris who played the catcher role.

Kevin Maris explained how a chance meeting last year led to this, “He came in from Greenville, South Carolina and his name is Roger Maris Gregory and a big fan of my dad and his parents named him Roger Maris, so he carries the name Roger Maris Gregor and he wanted to come down and throw out the first pitch. I think it might be the first one he has ever done but he did good.”

Roger Maris Gregory said, “I never dreamed this would happen but it’s like a dream come true, pretty cool. He was a great guy, he was a family man, you can’t nothing bad about him, a stand-up guy, great athlete, a great family man it is all you could ever ask for.”

Kevin Maris gifted Roger Maris Gregory with Oak Hall baseball cleats with the famed number 61 to signify the 1961 season when Roger Maris hit a career-high 61 homers as a New York Yankee.

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