Richie Gilboy, the starting catcher of the South Portland baseball team competing in New England Little League Regional tournament this week, has become an overnight internet star because of his brash television introduction.
Before the national TV broadcast of the Maine team’s Thursday game against Vermont’s entry, Gilboy told viewers “back home they call me ‘Ricardo,’ and I take big daddy hacks.”
That swagger by a youngster may have been enough to light up social media in its own right, but Gilboy made sure to hammer the point home by going out and taking a “big daddy hack” in the game, crushing a long home run over the centerfield fence.
Big boy Richie Gilboy absolutely crushes homer at little league world series pic.twitter.com/NwqDDcK833
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) August 10, 2017
Gilboy’s introduction video was shared online by the likes of Sports Illustrated, Major League Baseball and the Boston Globe, among many others.
The South Portland American little league baseball team defeated the Vermont state champion team by a score of 8-5 Thursday, improving its record in the tournament to 3-1. The state champion teams taking part in the regional competition, taking place in Connecticut, are playing for the right to advance to the Little League World Series.
