DAILY ITEM OF LYNN: For Markakis, love of the game continues

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Courtesy of The Daily Item, Written by Mercedes Slawter

Alex Markakis got a close-up look at baseball and fell in love. Watching his cousin Nick Markakis play in the major leagues was a childhood highlight. He jokes about how he wasn't blessed with the most talent in the family, but that has not stopped him from being a part of the game.

While Nick Markakis, the seventh overall pick by the Orioles in 2003 and a veteran of 10 major league seasons, may have the more recognizable name, Alex Markakis has been working to establish his own baseball pedigree.

Markakis, 23, of Lynnfield, played baseball, golf, basketball and football at St. John's Prep, before graduating in 2010. As a captain and second baseman he helped the Eagles to the EMass final before falling to Xaverian Brothers.

Markakis started his college baseball career at Fairfield University but that changed when a new head coach came in. He transferred to Saint Joseph's College in Maine for the second semester of his freshman year, continuing his baseball career. He was a four-year starter for St. Joe's, primarily at third base along with some time in the outfield and was known for his bat.

Before he graduated with a finance degree in 2014, the Monks had made an appearance in the NCAA tournament each year, clinching the Great Northeast Athletic Conference championship each of Markakis's four seasons.  He also played for the North Shore Navigators for two years.

Knowing he didn't want to leave baseball behind, Markakis has combined his love of the sport with his academic experience. He is now the general manager of Maine's Old Orchard Beach Surge of the North Country Baseball League. The NCBL is an independent professional league in its first year. There are four teams, which each play a 50-game schedule with 22 players on the roster.

It has been nearly 26 years since Old Orchard Beach has hosted professional baseball. The Maine Phillies, Philadelphia's Triple-A squad that had also been called the Maine Guides, left after the 1988 season amid a contentious legal battle.

"The demand is back in Old Orchard, everyone is excited and on board," Markakis said. "We want to make this a community team."

Markakis manages the business side of the team, figuring out how to get people to the park, making sure they are comfortable when they are there, fostering in them the love of the game he has.

"I have to put people in the seats, create a bond," he said.

His job also is to recommend, sign, release players, doing everything to make this a team. He really has the best of both worlds, he said, watching from the inside and the outside of the game, being a part of history, he hopes, as his team thrives.

"All the people I am meeting, those who have been involved all over the world, I am becoming well connected," Markakis said. "The organization and being able to work with all these people, watching the organization and the players grow to its highest potential" is a rewarding feeling.

With responsibility come challenges, he knows. But Markakis believes that is a good thing. He understands what it takes to make an organization and to be part of one.

"Being an athlete my whole life has shown me everyone has to contribute, this is how we have success," he said. "As an organization you must understand who you are and the role you play."

On the business side of things you have to start somewhere to get people through the doors and there is nothing better than making things affordable.  Markakis wanted something that was family friendly and wouldn't break the bank for a family night out. Parking is free and tickets are just $5 each with children under 7 admitted free.

Just about 30 minutes down the road are the Portland Sea Dogs, the Red Sox' Double-A affiliate. Markakis is working to develop a good relationship with them so the Surge wasn't  seen as competition, just a friendly neighbor offering affordable family entertainment.