ST SEBASTIAN’S

grade behind his former peers at Lincoln-Sudbury. After prayer and
consultation with his family, he decided to take the leap and become
a member of the St. Sebastian’s family. For Perry, the deciding factor
was St. Sebastian’s focus on the whole person.
“At St. Sebastian’s, we learned to be men for others. I didn’t
think you could really have this type of experience anywhere else.
We were united by the same goals. We all wanted the best for each
other,” he said. “Once I got to the School, almost immediately I had
these friends to whom I could bare my soul. We spent so much time
talking about being the best type of people we could be. We saw
so much potential in each other and wanted to see that potential
realized.”
Perry credits the positive environment at St. Sebastian’s for
enabling him to thrive on and off the field. He looks at the many
conversations with his classmates over the years as pivotal moments
in his life.
“We talked about the people
we were and the people we
wanted to be. We still talk about
that,” he said. “From the topdown,
it’s an experience that is
rigorous, yet comfortable. It’s
not a cutthroat environment,
and that allows you to work hard
and enjoy it. It’s just the caliber
of person the School recruits—people who are willing to poke fun
at themselves if the situation warrants, people who don’t hesitate to
show a little bit of self-deprecating humor.”
Perry also maintains that the School’s spiritual center is what sets
it apart from other high schools.
“The Catholicism is probably the biggest differentiating
factor between St. Sebastian’s and other schools. With a spiritual
background, you are a little more self-aware. As students, we spent
a lot of time focusing inward on who we wanted to be as people and
we discussed it with each other. That spiritual aspect has stayed with
me through college and my baseball career.
“It’s important to always be trying to better yourself—whether
on the athletic field, in the classroom, or with your friends. We
learned to focus on being the best people we could be. And that
started with our relationship with God.”
After completing his high school career as School Vice President
and captain of the varsity baseball and basketball squads, Perry
matriculated to The College of the Holy Cross. He hosted his St.
Sebastian’s brothers at Holy Cross on numerous occasions, even
squeezing five of his friends into the small double he shared with a
fellow baseball player during freshman year.
“That was a scene that ultimately played out at about four or five
colleges—us cramming ourselves into someone else’s tiny room,
sleeping in sleeping bags or just on the floor. I’m not sure I’ve ever
had that much fun. Bringing that St. Sebastian’s experience to our
collegiate environments was unforgettable.”
The brotherhood continued throughout Perry’s college career
and beyond. He played third base for Holy Cross and for the
I had these friends to whom I could
bare my soul... We saw so much
potential in each other and wanted
to see that potential realized.
Chatham A’s of the Cape Cod League in the summer of his junior
year, and the St. Sebastian’s alumni and faculty made several trips to
Worcester and Chatham to support him.
“That was a benefit of how close we were at St. Seb’s…I wasn’t
expecting anyone to come to those games,” Perry recalled. “But we
feel a bond to support each other in our endeavors. No matter what
you were doing, no matter how far apart we were going to school,
we would support each other the same way we did in high school.”
By the time he finished his Holy Cross career, Perry had
impressed pro scouts. He hit .423 his junior year, earning Patriot
League Player of the year, and he followed that up with a .409 senior
season in which he was named to the All-Patriot League First Team
and All-New England second team. Following this success as a
Crusader, Perry was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 41st round
of 2010 Major League Baseball Draft.
“I was assigned to short
season ball with the Class A
Connecticut Tigers. I’ve played
for two other teams since then,
and now I’m in high-A ball,”
Perry explained.
Perry’s advice for young
Arrows looking to play
professionally is not to specialize
in one sport, but instead to take
up the challenge of playing a sport during every season.
“Playing three different sports in high school was really what
allowed baseball to work out for me,” he said. “You’re interacting
with so many different people at the School, presenting yourself
with different challenges. People who play three sports just have a
better feel for things. You’ve been exposed to so many people and
challenges that you are able to thrive. When you go through all these
struggles on the athletic field, you enjoy a bond with your teammates
that you don’t get anywhere else.”
Although his main sports in high school were basketball and
baseball, he cites running Varsity Cross Country with Coaches Jim
Rest and Steve Thomasy as a major contributing factor to his mental
toughness.
“The grit, determination, and mental toughness learned in Cross
Country carried over really well into baseball. The physical pain in
baseball is nothing compared to running a double Hazel’s Hill.”
Although he has kept in touch with many of his St. Sebastian’s
brothers since he was graduated in 2006, Perry feels especially
blessed for his relationship with fellow Arrow Matt Duffy ’07, now
a member of the Houston Astros organization. Duffy, like Perry,
has been very fortunate to play professional baseball, and Perry
enjoys the times he has been able to play with and against his former
Arrows teammate.
“It was awesome being able to play with him again down in
Chatham—my junior year, his sophomore,” commented Perry.
“Especially being from the northeast—there were not a lot of us
down the Cape—so being able to play and live with my high school
teammate was great. Then I got to play against him professionally [in
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