By David Driver, Special Correspondent
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Former George Mason baseball star Logan Driscoll was at home in North Carolina in late August when he got a telephone call from Morgan Ensberg, his then-manager with Triple-A Durham in the Tampa Bay farm system.
A promising backstop for the Rays, Driscoll had spoken in person earlier in the day with Burkhart at the Durham ballpark about possibly being the designated hitter in the next game to give his legs a break from the rigors of catching. Instead, former MLB All-Star Ensberg gave Driscoll the news he had longed to hear – he was heading to the Major Leagues for the first time.
"It was around midnight and I got the call while listening to music on the porch," Driscoll, 27, recalled. "It was cool that I had my brother Garett and one of my best friends, Tyler Ratcliff, who went to high school in Alexandria, was there. From there we packed everything up. I got to bed about 3 a.m. and got up about 4:45 a.m. for a flight to Tampa Bay. It was a whirlwind. Garett and Tyler drove back to Virginia and dropped off my brother's dog, then drove to Florida."
A few days later, on September 3, 2024, Driscoll made his MLB debut and got his first hit as the Rays won at home over Minnesota with his wife, parents, brother and sister and several friends in the stands. "My wife, Isabel, a doctor at Duke Medical in Durham, had flown to Boston for a wedding and she turned around and flew to Florida," Driscoll said.
Then on September 13, he hit his first homer in The Show in a victory in Cleveland.
"You don't appreciate it until I get back to the hotel room," said Driscoll, who played for the Patriots from 2017-19. "Everything is moving so fast. It was very special. You have these moments and it is hard to appreciate. After the season, I could take a break and enjoy it."
Now Driscoll – a product of nearby Lake Braddock High in Burke – is trying to build off his cup of coffee of 15 games and 35 at-bats in 2024 with the Rays. He's currently on the injured list with the Triple-A Durham Bulls.
FLORIDA DREAMS
For the first time as a member of the 40-man roster, Driscoll reported to Port Charlotte, Florida, and MLB Spring Training with the Rays this year. The left-handed slugger was in contention to be the backup catcher for Tampa Bay, but he started the 2025 season with Triple-A Durham, and is currently on the 60-day injury list.
The Rays signed catcher Danny Jansen to a one-year deal prior to the 2025 season and he is expected to be the regular catcher this season.
Driscoll has been able to watch Jansen in Spring Training and learn from a veteran who turns 30 in April and played in the American League East last season for Toronto and Boston. "We are all very cohesive," Driscoll says of the catchers. "We are borrowing ideas off each other. It is cool to see what Jansen is doing behind the plate."
Off the field, the rookie from George Mason has enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere on the Gulf coast of Florida.
"I live close to the stadium (in Port Charlotte). Spring training is kind of fun. It is great time to get together [with teammates]," said Driscoll, who in high school would attend Spring Training games of the Washington Nationals in Viera, Florida with his family.
Driscoll followed in the footsteps of his brother, who also played baseball for the Patriots. Their sister, McKena, was on the Masonettes Dance team before graduating.
"I can't say enough about skip, Bill Brown," Driscoll said of the former George Mason coach, who went into the Virginia Baseball Coaches Association (VBCA) Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Fairfax in 2022. "My brother, I kind of modeled by game after him. Injuries kind of plagued his career at Mason but the loyalty that Coach Brown had for him, when I saw how he treated Garett, that was the place that I needed to go as well. We are a Mason family for sure."
Driscoll, who hit nine homers for the Patriots in his third and final season, was drafted out of George Mason by the San Diego Padres in the second round in 2019 and signed by scout Daniel Sader. The Padres' spring training facility is in Arizona and some of their farm teams are west of the Mississippi River.
"One of my favorite players to watch, one of the most intense players I've ever scouted and it was real too. I remember watching him pace around the on-deck circle, every at-bat he was going to war. He played tough too," Sader, who lives in Arlington, according to Driscoll. "He is my first ever pick as a professional scout, so obviously I was elated when I heard the news [that he made the majors.] I was actually down in St Augustine, Florida at my fiancé's family's house. I made her drive with me to the game to see him. Got to hang out with his family again who I keep in touch with. I cannot think of many more deserving kids than him. Passionate baseball obsessed kid. He is only going to get better as he keeps going too."
Before the 2020 season, Driscoll was traded by the Padres to the Rays as San Diego acquired veteran reliever Emilio Pagan. "Obviously getting traded is a lot of mixed emotions. I could see myself living in Arizona. Thirty minutes after saying that to some guys, I got traded," said Driscoll with a laugh.
The Rays told Driscoll, who had played some outfield and infield in the minors with San Diego, he would focus on catching. He worked his way up to Triple-A Durham for the first time in 2023 and played in 70 games with the Bulls last year before being called up to Tampa Bay.
VIRGINIA CONNECTIONS
Driscoll was teammates at Single-A in the Tampa Bay system with pitcher Ian Seymour in 2021. And they connected again last year in Durham; Driscoll caught some of Seymour's starts at Triple-A last year and some bullpens for Seymour this spring.
"I can't say enough good things about him," former Virginia Tech pitcher Seymour said of Driscoll. "He knows what your strengths are and how you like to work through a game. This is all you can ask of a catcher."
Driscoll was the seventh product of the Patriots' program to make the majors.
The others are pitcher Mike Draper (Mets in 1993), catcher Chris Widger (several teams, 1995-2006), outfielder Mike Colangelo (Angels, Padres, A's, 1999-2002), current coach
Shawn Camp (several teams, 2004-14), first baseman Justin Bour (Marlins, Phillies, Angels, 2014-19) and pitcher Chris O'Grady (Marlins in 2017-18.) Widger was also named the minor league manager of the year in 2021 and Colangelo has been a long-time youth coach in Northern Virginia.
Driscoll crossed paths with several big leaguers as an amateur player. "When I was when Little League, I was probably in fourth grade, Colangelo had a business relationship with my coach," Driscoll said. "He has always had a place for me to train. He has created an empire there [with an indoor facility in Manassas.]"
Other pros who have worked out there include Brendan Doyle, who is from Warrenton and won a Gold Glove with the Rockies in 2024; pitcher Kyle Whitten, a University of Virginia product who also appeared with Triple-A Durham in 2024; Sam Ryan, a Fairfax native and VCU product who pitched in the minors for Toronto; Jake Agnos, a Battlefield High grad who pitched in the minors for the Yankees; and Joe Rizzo, an Oakton High grad who reached Triple-A as an infielder with the Marlins and Tigers.
Bour was around the George Mason program when Driscoll was a freshman and sophomore. "Being around him was cool; he is a massive human being," Driscoll said of Bour, who hit 92 homers in the majors. "To see what an established Major Leaguer looked like at that time was cool."
Lake Braddock has now produced two Major Leaguers: Driscoll, and Adam Butler, who pitched for the Atlanta Braves in just one season, 1998.
Driscoll hopes that his career lasts more than one season in the majors and perhaps closer to the long tenure of Camp, who once led the National League in appearances in a season as a pitcher. Driscoll was hitless in his first three Spring Training at-bats this spring before he rolled his ankle, Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash manager told reporters in early March.
Having ended up in Durham to start the season, Driscoll said: "I will work on the things that I need to do at the Major League level. You never know what big leaguers are like until you get up there and experience it." Now he has.
Editor's note: Virginia native David Driver covered the Washington Nationals from 2013-22 for various publications, including The Washington Times during the World Series year of 2019. He is the former sports editor of papers in Baltimore, Arlington, and Harrisonburg, and worked for the Connection Newspapers. A former Division III baseball player at EMU, he is the co-author of "From Tidewater to the Shenandoah: Snapshots from Virginia's Rich Baseball Legacy," available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and at daytondavid.com.
