To: Kate Jones (jonesk2027_3@stanford.edu)
From: Jonah White (whitej2027_2@stanford.edu)
July 17, 2024
Hi Kate,
The All-Star Game was INCREDIBLE! The night before at the Home Run Derby, Matthew and I went down to the rail behind the NL dugout and Tom Haley saw us. He waved to us and came over, and he signed a ball for both of us. Then he brought Ty Williams over and introduced us. They're friends from when Ty pitched for the Braves. Then Tom said, "If you guys give us back the balls we signed, we'll get the rest of the National League team to sign them for you." How awesome is that? All the players signed it--Jose Rodriguez, Joe Hooper, Jameson Taillon, Archie Faulkner--all of them.
Tom texted me this morning and invited us to go to breakfast with him and his family. Mrs. O'Farrell was my third grade teacher, so we all go way back.
Seeing the best players in the big leagues close up like I did makes my dreams seem much more real. They seem like they're a long way away, and I'll need to work harder than I've ever worked, but I've never been afraid of hard work.
I really miss you, Kate. Michigan is a long way from Georgia, and an even longer way from California. One reason why I'm glad I decided to spend the summer here working out is because being here reminds me of you. I can't wait until you're back here with me. One more month...
Love,
Jonah
Jonah White enjoyed an excellent freshman season for Stanford. He went 5-1 with a 2.31 ERA in 10 starts for a Cardinal team that won its division with a 32-18 record.
He was shut down in late May with shoulder soreness, so he didn't pitch at all in the postseason. The Cardinal were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by Pepperdine, the eventual national champion.
Jonah didn't appear in the draft pool this year. I'm thinking he'll probably pitch four collegiate seasons before he turns pro; if I remember correctly, college players don't go pro after their junior year in OOTP.