With recent events flooding the news and media, a MHS student wanted his voice to be heard. Nick Mattei, a current senior, had the idea to write a letter to Democrat Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman in regards to the current financial state of minor league baseball teams.

Nick has experience involving such minor league baseball teams, such as the New Jersey Jackals by being a scout for the past few years. He has been engulfed in the operations of a minor league team demonstrating his knowledge on the ins and out enabling him to write a compelling letter to the representative. He states, “These teams are very expensive to operate, from sponsors to ticket sales, (they are) basically making no money right now but still have to pay for expenses (such as advertisements, maintenance, lease on their field, etc.).

With the current financial state our country is in, many are receiving different versions of financial aid during this time. Nick communicated that while looking at some elite universities getting a substantial amount of money from the federal government as a bailout, there are some businesses such as the minor league baseball teams who are not benefiting from government finical aid. These teams not only provide an affordable way for families and communities to come together to enjoy one of America’s favorite past times, but they also employ many people. These teams are businesses at the end of the day; it is not just about the player’s and coach’s salaries, but they employ people from the ticket collectors, team accountants, to the presidents of the team while also paying taxes.

Nick’s passion for baseball doesn’t just stem from his recent scouting opportunities, Nick has played baseball all his life, however like many spring athletes, he wasn’t able to finish out his senior baseball career due to COVID. He used this passion, as well as his engagement in politics as a catalyst to write a letter in which he suggests a plan for some minor league baseball teams. His suggestion is for the government to grant teams a one to two-time stimulus check in hopes to aid their current financial system, not a bailout.

Nick plans to send this letter not only to Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman, but to many other Republican senators across NJ’s borders, in hopes to create some movement on this idea. It takes that one right person to see it and bring it up to create traction on the idea, Nick suggests.

With Nick’s proactive actions to get involved, he suggests to others to get involved with government at all levels so connections are built and your voice is heard.