Stories From Main Street: Ramsey Teenager Is Already Published Author
RAMSEY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - This is a story about following your dreams and doing what you love.
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Barely out of high school, 18-year-old Matthew Orso from Ramsey is already the author of two books about baseball.
"I know it's kind of weird, but I've loved baseball and I've loved writing ever since I was a little kid. So, I figure why not put the two together," he told WCBS 880 reporter Sean Adams. "It's definitely weird, but that's just how I want to live my life. I love baseball baseball history. I love telling the stories [of] the greats of the game and the past and it's definitely what I want to do as a career."
"He was 16 and he says 'I'm contacting editors and publishing companies' and my wife Kathleen and I said 'You go right ahead,'" his dad Ron told Adams.
One of the books is called "Bonded at the Seams: Baseball And Our Lives" and is a straightforward paperback written from the heart with personal memories and historical tidbits.
"One of the chapters, Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson came out of retirement to help benefit the soldiers in World War II and went into a 21 pitch duel for a charity," Matthew said.
The other book, co-written with Joseph Nardini, is called "Youthful Experience: The Baseball Way."
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It's all ironic because Matthew dad doesn't follow sports. Love of the game was fostered by his grandfather.
"He'd tell me a lot of stories. He was a police chief in Fort Lee. So, he actually ran into Yogi Berra and Phil Rizutto a couple of times on the George Washington Bridge," Matthew said.
"Pulled him over?" asked Adams.
"On purpose? I don't know," said Matthew.
You have to be driven, motivated, and focused to be published at such a tender age.
Matthew Orso is also caring. When his sixth grade teacher lost her husband to a terrible disease, he took action.
"Every year I sell my own personal baseball card collection to raise money for the ALS Foundation, or more commonly known Lou Gehrig's Disease," he said. "If my cards are going to someone in a way that they'll help them live their lives better, I'm all for it."
With two books under his belt before he has even taken his first journalism course at William Paterson University, what's next for Matthew Orso?
"I'm not going to take John Sterling's job just yet. John, you and Suzyn can stay in the booth right now," he said.
