It’s pretty exceptional by any sports standards.
Lucas Giolito, Max Fried and Jack Flaherty, teammates on the 2012 Harvard-Westlake baseball team, will be opening day pitching starters in the major leagues.
Let’s check the Guinness World Records for that one.
Giolito (Chicago White Sox), Fried (Atlanta Braves) and Flaherty (St. Louis Cardinals) didn’t win a championship as expected in 2012. Their coach, Matt LaCour, always gets teased by those who don’t know that Giolito suffered an early-season arm injury. Flaherty was only a sophomore, and Giolito and Fried were seniors.
It’s a Trifecta! @hwbaseball
RT @Ken_Rosenthal: The Braves’ Max Fried joins the Cardinals’ Jack Flaherty and White Sox’s Lucas Giolito as Opening Day starters from the same high school – Harvard-Westlake in Los Angeles. All three also share the same agent, CAA’s Ryan Hamill. pic.twitter.com/Be4e6nHwuo
— Rick Giolito (@RickGiolito) March 25, 2021
The Wolverines went 24-5-1. All would become first-round draft picks.
What’s intriguing about all three is their character and work ethic. These qualities were apparent when they were teenagers, and have stayed with them as adults.
“All three of these guys have had their own unique journey to get to this point in their career, and I’m proud of the resilience each has shown,” LaCour said. “Opening day will definitely be a lot more special this year.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.