This is where it all started.
“Here, open this one, Logie,” family members say in the video as the toddler grabs the box.
“I was like getting all these little toys or whatever — I’m like, I don’t care about these toys,” Logan said. “Then I opened up these baseball pants.”
“I couldn’t get my hands off them.”
A love between a game and a boy was born.
Only three, Logan couldn’t yet join a league. But that didn’t stop him from playing in a backyard league with his brothers.
“Before he was ever on a team, he had everything laid out every morning,” his mom Christie said. “He wore baseball pants; he would lay them out before he went to bed like a little person.”
But his brothers — Justin and Tyler, who are five and three years older, respectively — didn’t hold back on their younger sibling.
“We were playing against him like we were just playing against our own age, and we tried to beat him and we never let him win,” Tyler said.
“Or at least tried not to let him win.”
In whiffle ball battles with his brothers and their friends, Logan had to work hard to prove to others he could do it, but it didn’t take long for everyone to see he had something even more extraordinary than his abilities.
“I think what stood out was his will to be as good as us, regardless of age,” Justin said.
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The youngest Warmoth played for hours with the older boys, never shying away from a challenge. Even when they far exceeded Logan in maturity, it didn’t stop him from doing everything he could to win.
“Always playing with people three-to-five years older is obviously gonna help,” Logan said. “It’s gonna push you.”
“You better learn quick, cause if you don’t, you’re gonna get smoked in the face with the ball.”
‘All coming together’
Christie sets the table and gazes outside. The three Warmoth boys were still engaged in a fervent game of whiffle ball.
“Boys, time for dinner,” she calls near dusk.
They had been playing in the backyard all day, but these times are numbered. Justin heads off to college next year.
But even distance couldn’t separate the brothers.
“We have a thing called Team Warmoth where we are together as a group,” Greg said.
“We support all of our boys and our family.”
The Warmoth boys needed the support. The self-described “late bloomers” didn’t grow into their bodies as fast as others.
For Logan, it meant a late entry into the recruiting realm.
“It’s kinda like my story,” he said. “I’ve always been overshadowed by other people that have had the hype coming in before that.”
It’s not uncommon for players from Logan’s area to be highly touted — two of his high school teammates were drafted to the major leagues after his senior season.
During his final year in high school, Logan climbed up the recruiting charts. A number of colleges expressed interest in him, but none of the powerhouse schools from the state of Florida.
“I think, if anything, it gave him more motivation,” Tyler said. “Like a little chip on his shoulder ...”
“But it’s all coming together now.”
Truth is, it might not have made a difference if they had offered him a full-ride scholarship. He was a commitment away from fulfilling a dream.
“From an early age, he knew he was going to be a baseball player somewhere,” Christie said.
“And if he could play at Carolina, well, that would be by far the best dream come true ever.”
Around the Warmoth household, pictures of “Logie” wearing Tar Heel apparel or sitting on his UNC bed sheets are common.
When Logan visited Chapel Hill, this was not just a recruiting visit; this was the recruiting visit.
Watching the Tar Heels play, speaking with head coach Mike Fox, walking around Boshamer Stadium — the school that never once doubted or overlooked the shortstop from Lake Brantley.
Logan knew this was it.
His work ethic throughout the fall of his first year propelled him into the lineup for the Tar Heels in the early part of the season — at third-base.
He started for the Tar Heels for the first 15 games at third, until an injury sidelined UNC shortstop Wood Myers for the season.
Without hesitation, the coaching staff knew who would take over.
Logan had played just one scrimmage at shortstop for UNC since arriving on campus. But to the utility man from Orlando, it was just another chance to show everyone what he could do.
“I’ll keep trying to prove some people wrong,” Logan said, “which is always fun.”
‘I’ll prove it’
Logan strolls down the sidewalk beside the Bosh. His phone is connected to earbuds, pumping potential walk-up music as he makes his way to the field.
Last season, he put together a sterling sophomore campaign — finishing among the team leaders in nearly every statistical category.
Today, the No. 12 Tar Heels open their season at home at 3 p.m. against Kentucky. For Logan, it’s an opportunity to prove himself yet again.
“I’m getting recognized finally,” Logan said. “And hopefully I’ll prove it. I feel like there’s a reason why I’ve had that hype.”
He puts on his cap and looks down at his glove, which has a cross and “WOM” — “Watch Over Me” — patched on the side. He reminisces about those days in the backyard with his brothers.
His cleats clacking on the dugout floor and the glare of the sun give him that giddy feeling inside.
Because as soon as he touches that clay, he’s three years old again, ready to show everyone what he can do.
@WBOD3
sports@dailytarheel.com
