BALTIMORE, Md. — Anthony Servideo and the Baltimore Orioles were meant to be. He’s the grandson of former Oriole Curt Blefary.
"We have a lot of pictures of him and memorabilia," said Servideo.
Like a photo of Blefary showing young Anthony his 1966 Orioles World Series Championship ring. Anthony would never really get to know his grandfather.
"I was about two years old when he passed. My mom and my uncle and my grandma all told me stories. I would ask about him almost every time I saw them. Growing up he’s been my idol and I want to follow in his footsteps. Hopefully be a better player than he was."
He has the first footstep out of the way.
Selected No. 74 overall by the O’s in this year’s draft, the 21-year-old from University of Mississippi is one of the best shortstops in the country. He can hit for power, get on base and swipe a bag or two.
"Being left-handed I can get out of the box quick and a big thing for me is getting on base and once I can do that I can create havoc on the base path and score a lot of runs," he said.
In the field he is superb defensively and versatile.
"I’m comfortable playing any position on the field," said Servideo.
If he achieves his goal of eventually playing at Camden Yards it won’t be the first time the Florida native plays ball in Baltimore. He suited up for the Baltimore Redbirds of the Cal Ripken Collegiate League in the summer of 2018.
"I loved it. I had the time of my life out there," he said. "That summer I played the best baseball of my life. So, I feel pretty good playing out there and hopefully continue the success coming up."
Success with the Orioles is in Servideo’s DNA.
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