Sayville native, Angels catcher Logan O'Hoppe inspires next generation at Massapequa school

Sayville’s Logan O’Hoppe’s journey to becoming the Angels’ starting catcher is one that plenty of kids can learn from, and on Wednesday they did.

Angela O’Hoppe, Logan’s mother, wrote “If You Choose to Believe Them,” a children’s book published last August that is based on her son’s life. It emphasizes overcoming the odds, listening to those who believe in you and silencing negativity and doubt from others.

Angela read the book to about 85 fifth-graders at McKenna Elementary School in Massapequa Park – where she was a student teacher in 1993 and a speech therapist from 1994-2004 – on Wednesday afternoon. Logan and his father Michael O’Hoppe joined them for an interactive presentation that included questions from students.

“It's huge because I think it's part of anyone that's made it, or anyone that's achieving any goal that they put their mind to,” Logan, who turns 26 on Monday, told Newsday. “It still goes on now. You have people that tell you you can’t or you're crazy for doing it. So I think it's an awesome message … and one that I know a lot of these kids will benefit from.”

Said Angela: “I just want every kid to have someone who tells them that they can do this. And also, too, to stress how important it is that opinions don't matter. I mean, I'm the mother of a big-league baseball player. Do you know the things that we hear about our child in the media? Like, not always so good. And then you have to say, ‘Do I know this person? Do I value their opinion?’ No. So then you can let it roll off your back. It's a little easier to take, but I don't think kids have those tools.

“Adults have a hard time with tools like that, so I think it's important for them to hear that some opinions actually don't matter, and you'd have to value that person's opinion before you let it affect you.”

Logan squeezed in Wednesday’s visit before heading to Arizona for spring training on Sunday.

“I’ve traveled a lot of places in 26 years of life, and there's no place like being back here, no matter where I've gone,” he said. “I've thought about moving other places and making that home, but every time I come back, this is home. So I love being back.”

The students greeted Logan with a red-carpet entrance to the library. They cheered during a video montage detailing his career and swarmed him after the event.

“This is an opportunity for our students here at McKenna to hear a powerful story of somebody that had a dream and was able to put in the time, adopt the habits and commitment and work to achieve their dream,” said William Brennan, the Massapequa School District’s superintendent of schools. “And more importantly, what I loved about what (Angela) kind of cultivated in that room was unearthing what the dreams are of our students, and the belief that any of them can achieve that. And when they lock in and they focus on what their potential is, that's the message that they got.”

Logan has played in four MLB seasons (311 games) and owns a career .231/.286/.408 slash line with 53 homers and 130 RBIs. He hit .213/.258/.371 with 19 homers and 43 RBIs last year and had a strong start to the season, batting .264/.299/.517 in his first 50 games.

The Phillies selected Logan, a former Newsday Catholic League Player of the Year at St. John the Baptist, 677th overall in the 23rd round of the 2018 MLB Draft (there were only 20 rounds last year). He forwent his commitment to East Carolina and signed with Philadelphia, which traded him to the Angels on Aug. 2, 2022. Fifty-seven days later, he made his MLB debut.

Angela, now a speech therapist at Sayville High School, reflected on the adversity that Logan faced. She noted that he was in a neonatal intensive care unit after being born, was diagnosed with ADHD in elementary school, and made it to The Show despite being drafted in the 23rd round from a New York high school.

“That's pretty inspiring to me,” Angela said. “Even though he's my son, that inspires me.”

The last page of the book, which featured illustrations by Holbrook’s Penny Weber, showed Logan’s reaction after his first MLB hit. It included the words: “There is no limit to what you can do if you choose to believe them.”