Six unique connections within the Marlins' roster

JUPITER, Fla. -- The baseball fraternity is an exclusive club, but here are six interesting degrees of separation at Marlins big league camp:

Clayton McCullough and Connor Norby

Norby became the 27th and most recent alumnus from East Carolina University to reach the Majors when he did so on June 3, 2024.

Five months later, the Marlins hired fellow Pirate, McCullough, to be the manager. McCullough never made it past the Triple-A level, but he did play at ECU (2000-02) with Cliff Godwin, who was Norby’s college head coach.

“When this happened and went down, Cliff and I spoke,” McCullough said. “Connor speaks very highly of him and Cliff as well. So I was able to talk to Cliff a little about his time with Connor. I know they still stay in touch. We're Pirate alum. But also, Cliff was very instrumental, I believe, in Connor's formative years there in college, kind of helping shape his mindset.”

Rob Brantly and Juan Pierre

Pierre, who has been on the back fields helping out the ballclub across a variety of disciplines, retired in 2013 after 14 MLB seasons. One of his Marlins teammates was rookie Brantly. This spring, Brantly is the veteran non-roster invitee.

“Seeing JP now, the crazy thing is it looks like he hasn't aged a day and he could still play,” Brantly said. “He was out there taking outfield reads, getting behind balls, getting ready to throw them in. It's just incredible the type of athlete he is. But the type of person that he is and the teammate that he was with me will always stick with me.

“The first time I saw him, I pulled out every quote that he had said that had stuck with me and helped me over the years, and has helped keep me in the game. I just wanted to tell him how much I appreciated his mentorship when I was there with him.”

Matt Mervis, Griffin Conine and Graham Pauley

Mervis was a senior and Pauley a freshman at Duke University in 2020. Mervis and Conine were teammates with the Blue Devils from 2017-18.

All three came over to the Marlins’ organization from elsewhere.

Conine was the player to be named in the Jonathan Villar trade in September 2020. Pauley was part of the six-player trade with the Padres ahead of the 2024 Deadline for Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoeing. Mervis was acquired from the Cubs for Vidal Bruján and cash last December.

“I sent a text to [Griffin] and [Marlins Double-A pitcher, college roommate] Adam Laskey that just said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to find a Spring Training house,’” Mervis said.

Derek Hill and Xavier Edwards

Their fathers, Orsino and Jovon, respectively, played professional baseball. Orsino made it as far as the Triple-A level before retiring in 1993. Jovon got to Double-A in 1989.

Both trained at the “Program,” which was held at Denker Park in South Central Los Angeles from the mid-1980s to the late-1990s.

“I knew of X just because, No. 1, he's nasty at the game,” Derek said. “I knew of X's dad because they all talk about that. They all reminisce about that stuff.”

Max Meyer and Adam Mazur

They’re the only two graduates from Woodbury High School in Minnesota to play in MLB.

Miami selected Meyer third overall in the 2020 MLB Draft as a prep arm, while San Diego picked Mazur in the second round in ‘22 out of the University of Iowa. Mazur was part of the Scott/Hoeing trade.

“Isn’t that crazy?” Meyer said. “He got traded over at the Deadline and I was like, ‘No way.’ So that was pretty exciting. I played with his older brother, Josh. He was a year older than me. My brother played with his older brother, I'm pretty sure. And then I also played with Adam for a year.”

Cal Quantrill, Ryan Weathers and Conine

Their dads (Paul, David and Jeff, respectively) repped the Marlins during their MLB careers -- just not all at the same time.

Paul and Jeff were on the 2005 team, while David and Jeff were teammates from 1993-96 and 2004. And it doesn’t end there.

“You can add to the story that I'm the proud owner of our Conine's first hit; it was against me last year,” Cal said. “Now I'm on his team. I'm happy I was a part of it. It's cool. It's been funny. Almost every team I've played on, I've been one of at least two [second-generation guys]. I think it happens more than people think.”