“My mom and my grandpa were my inspirations. My mom sacrificed so much, giving so much to my sister and I, it’s just really inspiring how selfless she was to make sure my sister and I had all the best opportunities. As well as my grandpa, this would’ve went back to when I started baseball. My grandpa had an opportunity when he was about my age, like 22, to go play for a team called the St. Louis Browns who ultimately turned into the Baltimore Orioles. He turned that down to marry my grandma and then hence my mom, and then through my mom, me. So I guess my biggest inspiration would be to be him, like he made it so far and had all those opportunities then turned them down so I could have my opportunities so I was keep that in the back of my mind in terms of baseball goes. Basically what I say, he gave up his opportunity to have his last name on the jersey so I can have mine. For me that’s really inspiring and motivating, I just want to make him proud, make my mom proud and my grandma proud.” – Liam Stroud (7/7)