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'Big Nate' stands at 6-foot-7 while 'Little Nate' is just 4-foot-4

One Nate Is Tall, The Other Nate Is Small, But They Share A Bond To Last A Lifetime

August 7, 2007

A screaming line drive comes off the bat of Cardinals first baseman Nate Freiman just over the Orleans dugout and into a crowd of fans scrambling to jump out of the way of the ball’s path.  It’s quite a common sight at Eldredge Park this summer and one that Cardinal’s batboy Nathan Garran thoroughly enjoys.

While many fans - from young toddlers to grown men with gray hair - aren’t thrilled by the prospect of being hit by a foul ball, Garran loves it.  He doesn’t hesitate when he says his favorite part of being an Orleans Cardinals batboy is “chasing foul balls.”

The 11-year-old is a baseball fanatic.  Although very shy in an interview, Nathan is extremely outgoing and loves being around the sport of baseball, the players, and the Orleans Cardinals coaching staff.  He takes pride in being the team’s batboy and when somebody tells him he’s the best batboy on the Cape he quickly chimes in “Yes, I am!”

His father, Steve Garran, takes him and his sisters all over the Cape to many of the team’s road games and the entire family attends each home affair.  This summer, the family became even more involved with the organization when they decided to become a host family for two of the team’s players.

One of those players was Nate Freiman, the team’s tall first-baseman from Duke.  Freiman stands at 6-foot-7 and makes the entire Garran family look short, particularly Nathan.

“He’s tall,” Nathan said about his first thought when he met Freiman.

Many members of the Cardinals family distinguish between the two Nates as ‘Big Nate’ and ‘Little Nate’.  It isn’t so much that ‘Big Nate’ is so big as it is that ‘Little Nate’ is just so small.

‘Little Nate’ was born with hemifacial microsomia and an expanded spectrum of related symptoms.  Although it isn’t necessarily responsible for his size, or lack thereof, it has caused half of his face to be smaller than the other.  ‘Little Nate’ was also born without a left ear and has several other parts of his body that differ slightly from others.  The youngster is just 4-foot-4 and he weighs 50 pounds, almost half the weight of an average 11-year-old.

‘Little Nate’ has not let his medical condition hold him back from doing what he loves, however.  The Orleans batboy has been playing organized baseball for five years and started taking karate lessons when he was just in kindergarten.  According to his father, he excels at karate and really enjoys playing baseball.

The unique size difference between ‘Big Nate’ and ‘Little Nate’ has certainly become a sight to see at Eldredge Park and around the Garran house because the two have become close friends this summer.

“I spend a lot of time with Nate.  He comes to the clinic the Cardinals host every morning and he’s always in my group.  He hustles and he loves baseball.  He comes out here every day and works very hard.  He’s a big help for us and everybody on the team loves him,” Freiman said.

‘Little Nate’ became a Cardinals batboy three summers ago and the entire Garran family has become more involved with the Cardinals ever since.  The family is also hosting Cardinals second baseman Alden Carrithers and was hosting former Cardinals relief pitcher Brad Gemberling before the pitcher switched teams.

“I think it’s been a great experience for Nathan.  It’s been an even better experience this past year having a player live with us but the guys always treat him like he is a part of the team.  It is that inclusion that’s really great for him and he feels like he has a bunch of big brothers.  They look out for him and treat him really, really well.  He keeps in touch with some of the guys from last year and I expect he will keep in touch with a lot of them this year, as well, especially Nate and Alden,” his father said.

Freiman and Carrithers often take ‘Little Nate’ out for dinner with the team.  They recently went on a whale watch together.  After a summer of acting as a big brother, Freiman could not have asked for a better situation.

“The Garrans are a really nice family and it’s been a really great place to live.  The entire family is very supportive and are always cheering at the home games,” Freiman said.  “Nate is a fantastic batboy and a really great kid,” he added.

The Garran family has enjoyed every minute of their first experience hosting a player for the summer and plans on continuing to do so in the future.  With Freiman having only finished his sophomore campaign at Duke, the Garran’s are hoping that he will return to the Cardinals next summer so their bond can continue to grow.

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Nate Freiman was recently named the 2007 recipient of the Manny Robello Award.  The award is for the 10th Player and is given annually to the Cape Cod Baseball League player who exemplifies wonderful service on and off the field. Freiman is second on the Cardinals in batting average (.275), slugging percentage (.345), and RBIs (25).  He ranks third on the team in runs scored (16). All statistics are games played through August 7.