Baseball is in his blood: Matthew Fletcher is part of the Savannah Bananas league

by Sarah Barr

Staff Writer

Matthew Fletcher was born to play baseball. As a child, he circled the bases a lot, moving from town to town including Stamford, Trumbull, Fairfield – and Glastonbury twice – until coming to Wethersfield in 2015.

And that was because he got figuratively hit by a pitch when his mother died. Jayne Fletcher was 51 and he was just 12.

“My mother passed away unexpectedly in November 2015 in our home in Glastonbury. I was home and had to call the police. It was obviously a very traumatic event in my life as, within minutes, my entire life was flipped upside down,” he recalled.

It’s all about connecting with the fans, especially the younger ones. (submitted)

His godparents are her sister Nancy Citino and her husband Frank. They took Matt into their Wethersfield home immediately while he was in eighth grade.

“They have taken wonderful care of me,” he said. "My dad [who is now deceased] was never truly present in my life, no matter where I lived.”

The one constant in his life was baseball. In the movie “Field of Dreams” James Earl Jones says “America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time.”

“When she passed, I knew I had to continue [supporting Matt’s love of baseball] in her honor,” Nancy Citino said.

Demonstrating his record-setting form at Lasell University. (submitted)

Because of that promise made and promise kept, the game has defined his life.

“Baseball to me was just always my escape. In a childhood and life of change and instability, it was really the one true constant I ever had,” Fletcher said. “No matter what I had going on at home or outside of the field, I knew I could always count on baseball to escape the real world and just be myself and have fun with my friends and teammates.”

He first started playing around the age of 5. There was a little soccer squeezed in there but, in his own words, baseball is “truly the only sport that ever stuck with me.”

Fletcher was the captain of the Wethersfield High School baseball team, but as he wrote in his college essay, “the greatest title I will ever hold is son.” The 2021 graduate played Division III baseball at Lasell University in Newton, Mass. A left-handed pitcher, he set many school records.

“After my school baseball season my coaches at Lasell found me a spot with the Mystic Schooners of the New England Collegiate Baseball League where I played for [coaches] Phil Orbe and Dennis Long. That is really where my knowledge for baseball took off, as the talent in the NECBL is off the charts,” he said.

Matthew Fletcher winds up for a pitch during his years with the Wethersfield High School Eagles. (submitted)

“Learning from a lot of guys that got drafted to Major League Baseball or Coach Orbe and Coach Long taking the time to teach me new mechanics or cues that could take my game to the next level, it was definitely a super-fun experience and some of the most fun times I have had playing baseball,” he added of his experiences in 2023 and 2024.

At one point, it looked like his days on the diamond were over and he would have to put his degree in business management to work. Perhaps he could learn how to blend his love of the game with driving business growth.

Tryouts didn’t turn into anything right away. Then came a call. Not for the big leagues, but for a big break.

Fletcher was invited to try out for the Texas Tailgaters, part of the same organization as the famed Savannah Bananas. Think Harlem Globetrotters. It’s a professional exhibition baseball team in the Banana Ball league, known for high-energy, entertainment-focused games.

It is no wonder it is part of an organization called Fans First Entertainment. It all happened so fast. He immediately quit his day job. He’s currently pitching and living down in Savannah, Georgia where the sister teams play in a league of their own.

“For me, now being in Banana B

Matthew Fletcher takes the mound for the Mystic Schooners. (submitted)

all is all about bringing people together,” Fletcher said of the sport and the business where, whether you are a fan or not, the audience gets to be seen and heard before, during and after the game.

That’s because players get to break the so-called “fourth wall” and be “human” with the fans by talking with them.

“Talking to fans is my favorite part because, at one point, I was that little kid that was shy to go up to a player with the fear of being rejected,” he said, adding that a conversation goes a long way in building trust and confidence.

Fletcher carries the state flag onto the field for the Texas Tailgaters. (submitted)

Which brings us home to that five-year-old boy who fell in love with the game of baseball. A simple game of a bat, a ball and a glove where you throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.

In Fletcher’s case, he’s pitching a no-hitter on defense and hitting a home run on offense in the game of life. His mother is that angel in the outfield, still cheering him on. WL

For more information go to https://thesavannahbananas.com/about_u