When I was 5 years old, my grandfather — Papa Marty — took me to a Yankees game in a pink princess dress.

I had no idea what baseball was. I just knew I wanted to be wherever he was.

One afternoon, one ballpark, one man who loved this game more than almost anything — and I was hooked for life. Smitten with the Yankees. Smitten with baseball. And completely, permanently his.

But here's what I didn't fully understand until I was older.

While I was growing up, falling in love with this game, learning the names, learning the stats, learning why Derek Jeter made you feel something in your chest just by stepping into the box — Papa Marty had been quietly building something downstairs.

For 40 years.

Over 1,000 signatures. 60 Hall of Famers. Personal photos with DiMaggio, Mantle, and Mays. He mailed postcards as a little kid — a little kid — to various teams across the country, tucked a self-addressed envelope inside each one and waited. Many of them came back signed. He cut them out. He framed them. He never stopped.

He spent 5 hours at Ted Williams' home in Ocala, Florida. Eating. Talking baseball. Talking fishing. He had bought a bat at an auction that he believed Ted Williams had used — and he wanted to know the truth. So he went and asked him directly. Ted held it, swung it and told him it was probably too top-heavy for him to have used. Then he signed it anyway.

Ted Williams, The Splendid Splinter.

Papa believed it was the only one of its kind in the world.

He did all of this before agents got in the way. Before everything became about the bottom dollar. He did it because he loved the game. Phil Rizzuto once sat with him for hours — just talking sports — and there was no payment, no exchange, nothing. They did it for the love of it.

That world doesn't exist anymore.

But the basement does. And about 6 years ago, we filmed a tour of it together.

I look young in this video. I sound young. We are laughing and I am trying to keep up with everything he's pointing at and he is so, so proud of every single piece.

I've been holding onto this video for a while now.

I'm ready to share it.

Watch it when you have four minutes.

When you're done — please subscribe to the Prop Queen Media YouTube channel. It is where I am building everything. Game breakdowns, prop research, baseball content and more videos like this one — the kind that remind you why this sport gets in your blood and never leaves. We are growing this channel together and every single subscriber matters more than you know. If this video moves you even a little, hitting that subscribe button is the best way to tell me.

📺 [SUBSCRIBE TO PROP QUEEN MEDIA ON YOUTUBE — @PropQueenSports]

Papa passed away in July 2024. This basement, this video, these four minutes — that's him. That's all of him in one room.

Now. He would absolutely want me to tell you about this next part. Because Papa Marty loved to enjoy baseball in every way possible.

Here's how you keep his spirit alive this week. You play baseball with me.

I built a contest on Splash Sports and it is closing Tuesday at 6:10 PM. $35,010 in prizes. $20 to enter. There are still spots available — but not for long.

Here's how it works:

Pick TWO batters to get a base hit or better every single day. You cannot use the same batter twice. Last one standing wins.

And here's the part Papa would have loved most — The Cycle Jackpot. If the batter you select on any given day hits for the cycle — single, double, triple, and home run in the same game — you win an additional $10,000 bonus prize. First eligible entry to select that player takes it.

No purchase necessary to enter. Full details on the contest page.

CLOSES TOMORROW 6:10 PM

▶️ [GRAB YOUR SPOT HERE — CODE: PROPQUEEN for first time entries]

How to do the research for the contest ⤵

Papa took me to a ballpark when I was 5 in a pink princess dress and made me fall in love with this game forever.

I built this community so we could all love it together.

No one can fill the void of Papa Marty, but this community and the loyal PQ followers do a damn good job of helping.

— Ariel aka Prop Queen 👑