BROCKWAY, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Corey Ragsdale stood in the middle of the diamond at Chase Field in Phoenix last Wednesday, taking in a World Series championship as the first base coach for the Texas Rangers.
Something was missing. He had to make a very important FaceTime call to his stepson back in DuBois.
Brayden Fox, a junior on the DuBois Central Catholic baseball team and quarterback for the Brockway football team, was watching from home, heart pumping with every pitch.
When the final out was made, Fox was ecstatic. Then, his phone buzzed.
“Even though I wasn’t there, I felt like I was there,” Fox said. “That wasn’t the only FaceTime call that night.”
(Pictured above, DCC junior and Brockway quarterback Brayden Fox walks on the tarmac toward a plane that would carry him to Phoenix and the World Series last week. His stepfather, Corey Ragsdale, is the first base coach for the Texas Rangers)
Fox had a chance to see several postseason games during the Rangers’ run to the world championship.
He attended two games in Baltimore during the divisional round, two games in the American League Championship Series — one in Houston and one in Arlington — and two World Series games in Arizona on Monday and Tuesday of last week.
Fox returned home and to football practice on Wednesday for Brockway, which was opening up the District 9 Class A playoffs against Union/A-C Valley just two days later.
“It was obviously a hectic week,” Fox said, laughing.
(Brayden Fox sits with his family, stepfather Corey Ragsdale, sister Rylee and mother Kristy Ragsdale, in the Texas Rangers’ dugout at the World Series at Chase Field in Arizona)
Brockway coach Jake Heigel wasn’t about to let Fox miss it.
He gave his blessing for Fox to be there for those two World Series games.
“That kid didn’t sleep in his own bed last week,” Heigel said. “He was on a plane probably four different times seeing his stepdad down in the World Series. We weren’t able to have him until Wednesday. In my mind as a coach, that’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I would never, ever tell a kid they can’t go experience something like that.”
(Brayden Fox)
Fox did what he could from 2,000 miles away.
He watched film in Arizona over FaceTime with Heigel.
Fox is the first to admit he didn’t play his best game against Union/A-C Valley on Friday. He threw four interceptions, but made some big plays and big throws when he needed to make them in the 27-20 win that sets up yet another showdown with old nemesis Port Allegany this Friday in Bradford.
“I probably still had a little jetlag from being in Arizona,” Fox said. “I really respect Coach Heigel a lot. He let me miss a couple of practices to go to the World Series. He understands the position my family was in and that it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Game-wise, it was obviously not the game that I wished to have. But I know if I’m not having my best game, I know my guys are gonna pick me up with that next man up mentality. I’ll even use the Rangers as an example. That’s how they did it all season. Next man up.”
Heigel said he was impressed with how Fox didn’t lose focus or composure, even through his struggles against the Falcon Knights.
That allowed him to help lead the Rovers to the win and advance to the semifinals.
“To have the shortened week he had and to have the turnovers he did and still be able to bounce back and put the ball where it needed to be in order to kind of will us back into that game is definitely a credit to who he is as a person,” Heigel said “We’ve challenged him in so many ways this year and he’s done nothing but respond to it.”
Fox is no stranger to pressure and big stages.
Two years ago he helped lead the DuBois Central Catholic baseball team to a PIAA Class A championship. Last spring, he was a big part of a Cardinals’ team that returned to the title game, falling to Clarion in an all-D9 final. His father, Adam Fox, is the DCC baseball coach.
Fox, a left-handed thrower and hitter, is one of the best baseball players, not only in District 9, but the state and perhaps the country.
His goal is to one day play professional baseball.
Fox has already received an ample amount of exposure to the big leagues because of Ragsdale.
“During the season I had a chance a few times to hit BP with the guys,” Fox said. “You kind of get a head start and seeing what it’s actually like and what it actually takes to be able to play at that type of high level baseball. It’s really surreal at first. But that whole Rangers’ team, they’re all so welcoming and they make you feel at home.”
Ragsdale is usually the pitcher during batting practice for the Rangers.
“I got some good rips,” Fox said, chuckling.
Fox and his family had chances throughout the summer to spend time with Ragsdale and see the Rangers play.
(Brayden Fox with his sister, Rylee, and mother, Kristy Ragsdale at Chase Field in Arizona during the World Series)
But with his stepfather away for such a long period of time during the baseball season, it can be difficult. It’s especially hard for his younger sibling, Rylee.
“My little sister, that’s her dad,” Fox said. “She gets really upset when she’s not able to see him. But that’s kind of the sacrifice that someone who is doing a professional sport has to make. You’re not always going to be with them. But when you are, it’s amazing. Everyone gets along. All the families get along. There’s so many baseball kids, it’s crazy. They’re all just playing together in the family room and at the games. It’s just so awesome.”
Ragsdale returned home for the offseason over the weekend. It’s an all-to-short respite. The countdown to spring training in February has already begun.
This offseason will be an extra special one. There’s a state champion and a World Series Champion in the house.
Fox hopes to add D9 football champion to that mix.
“It was an amazing experience,” Fox said. “I was just thinking the other day, after we won the World Series, that in June we would have never thought this would be a possibility. And now it’s a reality. I’m not gonna lie. I’m speechless because that’s my dream and to see it firsthand just leaves you speechless.”
