St. Dominic catcher Thomas Garrett 'all business, all the time'

There is a cerebral calm to St. Dominic catcher Thomas Garrett. He’s never too high or too low, just even-keeled. His demeanor never changes.

The junior is the leader of a St. Dominic baseball team battling for first place in the Catholic High School Athletic Association, the most competitive league on Long Island.     

On this day, Garrett lined a key two-out, bases-loaded RBI single to centerfield to give the Bayhawks the lead in a win over St. John the Baptist. There was no emotion. No bat flip. No arrow slinging or gestures of any kind that would draw attention to himself.

“It’s not about me,” he said after another win. “It’s about the team. We’re all doing our share to produce runs.”

In a game earlier in the week, Garrett threw out a would-be base stealer at second to short circuit a scoring threat and end the inning in a win over St. Francis Prep. Again, no emotion. He jogged to the bench as if it were business as usual.

“All business, all the time,” said St. Dominic coach Joe Fusco. “That’s Thomas Garrett. He’s the smartest kid on the field who commands the attention of his teammates. He’s a take-control catcher who always puts the team first. He’s everything you want in a catcher.”

BORN INTO BASEBALL

Garrett started hanging out at baseball fields at a very early age. His dad, Rick Garrett, was the head coach at St. Dominic (1996-2014) and then St. Joseph’s College of Patchogue (2014-2022).

Thomas Garrett was a bat boy for eight years for those schools and found his love for the game. He became a fixture inside the dugout at the age of 4.

“He used to sit on a cinderblock outside the dugout and watch all of our games,” said St. Anthony’s varsity coach Paul Parsolano, who used to serve as an assistant coach at St. Dominic and St. Joseph’s. “And he never moved. He was so focused on the field. He was this cute little kid that was like a sponge and soaked it all in around all the high school and college players. He would ask a million questions and never wanted to leave the field.”

What impressed Parsolano more than anything about Garrett was his ability to learn.

“We would go over a drill and he’d have it down the next day,” Parsolano said. “He was young, and the players absolutely loved him.”

Said his father, “I would pick him up after school and bring him to practice and it’s the only place he wanted to be. He’d sit in the dugout, do homework and watch. He was glued to the field.”

CATCHING ON EARLY

Garrett’s first game experience behind the plate came in travel ball at the age of 9. And that experience came unexpectedly.

“No one on my summer travel team wanted to catch,” he said. “I was like, ‘I can do it.’ And I never looked back. It’s an interesting position that is so important to winning games. The catcher controls everything. I learned early that if you’re a bad catcher, the team is bad.”

Garrett worked hard at the position but was always on the noticeably smaller side.

“He would make up for his smaller stature with his baseball IQ,” his father said. “But as he grew into his body through his first years of high school, everything changed.”

Garrett started hitting the ball with authority. He is currently hitting .338 for the Bayhawks (9-3). His throws have more velocity and he’s thrown out eight runners this year with one throwing error.

“His catching skills have gone to the next level with better receiving, framing and pitch selection,” Fusco said. “He took a leap in his development this offseason.”

The transformation from the little guy picking up the helmets and bats to the starting catcher on St. Dominic varsity was complete. The 5-6, 128-pound sophomore was now a 6-1, 172-pound junior.

“He has tremendous focus and he’s bought into himself,” said Long Island Field House trainer Matt Reistetter, a former Triple-A player with the Nationals. “He learned how to go about training and what his short-and-long term goals were in the weight room. We put together a plan on how to achieve those goals and he’s locked in.”

CATCHING MATT HARVEY

During winter training, Garrett improved his receiving skills. He caught bullpens for pitchers playing for Team Italy leading up to the World Baseball Classic. Former Mets righty Matt Harvey, lefty Nick Fanti (Phillies), Stephen Woods (Giants, now LI Ducks) and Johnny LaRosa of the Brewers all used Garrett for indoor workouts. The velocity of those four pitchers ranged between 94-to-98 miles per hour.

“Fanti could be tough to handle because he has so much hard inside run and movement,” Reistetter said. “And Thomas had no problem with it. LaRosa threw a heavy fastball that pounded the glove consistently at 98. Again, no issue for Thomas. He caught guys with big league stuff and that helped him improve.”

Garrett, 17, said he loved the challenge of catching professional pitchers.

“I’m used to seeing incredible velocity as a young guy,” he said. “It boosts your confidence knowing you can catch guys that throw in the mid 90’s. I can catch anyone. It was an honor to have those guys trust me in the workouts that were so important to get them ready.”

So how daunting was catching a 90-mph-plus fastball? 

“It was admittedly intimidating at first,” Garrett said. “You see that movement on TV and you wonder how do these guys catch that kind of velocity? The pro catchers make it look so effortless, so easy. It’s not easy. The ball is on you in a hurry — out of the pitcher’s hand and in your glove.”

Harvey was impressed with Garrett.

“I’ve had guys in the minor leagues and in the major leagues that don’t receive as well as Thomas,” Harvey told Newsday. “He’s an incredibly talented catcher. I appreciated all the work he did with me.”

STRONG SUPPORT SYSTEM

Garrett has also taken advantage of the baseball people all around him. Parsolano and St. Anthony’s assistant coach Greg Naccari taught him how to handle the pitching staff and understand statistical packages, and analytics.

Phillies scout Tom Downey and Los Angeles Angels rookie catcher Logan O’Hoppe worked with him in the Catcher Matrix camp over the winter. And Reistetter and Triple-A catcher Cam Maron of the Marlins helped him hone his receiving skills.

He asked former St. Dominic’s catcher Brendan Sullivan to be his sponsor for Confirmation. Sullivan is currently the school principal of the Portledge Middle School.

“I’ve taken a little bit of information from everyone,” Garrett said. “I think it’s important for a catcher to make a strong connection with his pitchers. We must be on the same page. We must think alike and know our strengths and weaknesses.”

St. Dominic ace Victor Frederick has benefited from Garrett’s leadership.

“He controls the rhythm of the game and that’s good for a pitcher,” Frederick said. “He supports and picks you up when needed.”

Garrett said growing up around baseball and being with his dad through the years has inspired him to be the best version of himself.

 “I was in a coma for two weeks and given my last rites during the COVID pandemic,” Rick Garrett said. “It was bad. We all thought it was over.”

Garrett survived after a three-month ordeal and came back to coach St. Joseph’s College to a third Skyline Conference championship in 2022. He then retired to watch Thomas play in high school.

“I’m grateful he’s still here,” Thomas Garrett said. “We’re blessed in so many ways. Baseball is our life. I don’t know what I would have done without my dad.”

Earlier this year with everything going seemingly well, the Garrett family lost its patriarch Richard Garrett to heart failure at 80 years old.         

“My dad died in Florida,” Rick Garrett said. “Before he passed, he told me how much he enjoyed his nightly phone calls with Thomas.”

The younger Garrett enjoyed them, too. 

“I’ll miss those calls to my grandfather,” Thomas said. “But I’ll use his memory to drive me toward my goals.”

By Gregg Sarra

gregg.sarra@newsday.com@Gregg_Sarra

Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.