'The tricks of the trade': How Kevin Maris used his lineage to turn Oak Hall into a winner

Like most youth baseball players, Kevin Maris learned the game from his father.

He conversed at lengths with his dad and his friends.

At the age of seven, he snagged fly balls on the diamond and played in father and son games.

That year was 1967, and the venue wasn’t some town park like most kids.

It was Busch Stadium, and Kevin’s dad held baseball’s most iconic record for 37 years.

His name? Roger Maris.

The famed right fielder played in the big leagues from 1957-1968, and he famously broke Babe Ruth’s home run record with 61 in 1961.

Fast forward 56 years after Roger’s retirement, and Kevin has passed on what he learned from his dad onto the Oak Hall baseball team.

Now, he has the Eagles back in the FHSAA Regional Playoffs for the fourth year in a row.

How did Maris end up at Oak Hall

Kevin, of course, isn’t new to the Eagles. He’s coached on Gainesville’s west side for the better part of 34 years.

It all started when Roger retired from baseball in 1968 following back-to-back pennants for him on the St. Louis Cardinals, and a World Series win in 1967.

The Maris family then moved to Gainesville, so Roger could run a Budweiser Beer Distributor based out of Gainesville and Ocala.

Roger’s daily presence improved Kevin’s game.

“We played little league when we moved down here. We'd never play organized ball until we moved down here,” Kevin said. “It was a real treat for us.”

In 1977, while Kevin starred for Oak Hall, Roger helped build its new field. It was later named after him after he died in 1985 at 51.

In the 1980s, Kevin attempted a professional golf career, but a series of injuries forced him to return to the game that made his family famous.

He joined Oak Hall’s coaching staff in 1990 and was named head coach in 1997.

Kevin built a winner at OH until he departed in 2008.

After stints as coach of St. Francis and the Florida Hardballers youth baseball squad, he returned to Oak Hall in 2019.

“You’re getting the tricks of the trade.”

Since Kevin ventured back to Oak Hall, he rebuilt the Eagles into a winner.

They’ve won districts four years in a row.

Last season, they won their first playoff game of Maris’ second tenure.

Expectations lowered this season due to the loss of Gainesville Sun All-Area Small School Player of the Year Jack Kuzmicki.

Still, Maris milked the most out of his roster and to a No. 5 seed in Class 2A-Region 1 postseason.

Maris believes players under him learn unique skills due to his past.

“You're not getting that book knowledge,” Maris said. “You're getting the tricks of the trade to make you a little more quick and a little more efficient in pressure situations.”

The coach himself learned to embrace pressure situations at a young age.

He mentioned that one time in a little league game, he was on deck when the player before him struck out with the bases loaded to end the game.

Maris then told his father he was happy that it wasn’t him who struck out.

“He stopped the car and said, ‘if you think like that, you need to quit this game,'” Maris said. “You learn to thrive in those situations.”

That mindset showed that Roger was mentally tougher than most athletes, something Kevin tries to pass onto his players.

That mentality was on display in Thursday’s district final vs St. Francis.

The Wolves' pesky offense continued to claw at the Eagles, but the squad maintained composure and held onto a 12-8 win.

Kuzmicki told the Sun last July that Maris lived up to the hype as a coach.

“With the last name Maris, anybody who knows baseball knows that last name,” said Kuzmicki. “He, gosh, he owned up to it. He’s an amazing coach.”

Fulfilling a father’s wishes

Maris entered coaching five years after Roger’s death.

In his 34 years coaching, Maris has seen multiple players make it to the MLB, something he believes would make Roger proud.

“To see his son follow in his footsteps in the coaching standpoint,” Maris said. “To see the knowledge that he had over the years and passed onto me that I have now passed on.”

To have this success at Oak Hall with a field that has his father’s name is even more special, Maris said.

An April visitor

On April 19, OHS hosted Seven Rivers Christian and cruised to a nondescript 15-5 win.

Maris, though, received a unique visitor during the game.

It was a Greenville, South Carolina, native named Roger Maris Gregory.

He was born in 1961, and given that his parents idolized Maris, they named their son after the new home run king.

Gregory traveled down to Gainesville in hope of meeting Kevin and seeing the field. Maris spent 30 minutes speaking to him after the game and signing baseballs.

Maris noted that he appreciates encounters like that and seeing what his father still means to others.

“It's a treat for us to realize the impact that he has made throughout his lifetime and he's still doing it,” Maris said. “We take pride in continuing his legacy.”

Oak Hall opens playoff baseball Wednesday at University Christian.

Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun. Contact him at Nram@gannett.com and follow him @Noah_ram1 on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Kevin Maris, son of Roger Maris, helps turn Oak Hall baseball into winner