JUPITER, Fla. — As his two-run homer sailed over the fence in the ninth inning Saturday, Cardinals prospect Pedro Pages joyous enthusiastic point toward his manager was very public.
The reason for it had to remain private, at least for a few hours.
As Pages ascended the dugout stairs on the way to the on-deck circle, manager Oliver Marmol asked the young catcher if that night was the night Pages planned to propose to his longtime girlfriend. Marmol asked if it was all planned, if family were involved, or if would just be the two of them, maybe the beach. Pages gave him the details.
“Hey, before you go ask her,†Marmol said. “Go hit a home run.â€
“Alright,†Pages replied. “Let’s do it.â€
And then he did it.
Pages, the Cardinals’ top catching prospect who has advanced defensively into a superb receiver, connected on a slider for a two-run shot that cut into what had been a 9-0 Mets lead when the ninth inning started at Roger Dean Stadium. The homer was Pages’ first of spring and brought with it his first RBIs in the Grapefruit League. He couldn’t stop grinning as he left the batter’s box and pointed right at his manager on his trot toward first base. A promise, delivered.
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“I had to look right at him,†Pages said. “We’re both just laughing, smiling about it. It was a crazy moment.â€
In the crowd, Kori Varney, Pages’ girlfriend, wondered what that was all about.
She asked after the game and Pages played it off as a good at-bat or something, just a moment between manager and player, no big deal, nope, not at all, not a thing. He had to maintain the surprise despite thousands seeing his elation.
“She had no idea, thank God,†Pages said Sunday morning. “Kept it on the low.â€
The Cardinals’ sixth-round pick in 2019 out of FAU, Pages began dating Varney in college, and they have been together for nearly seven years, he said. Many of his teammates knew he was planning to propose and didn’t let on about the home run when asked. Neither did his manager after the game, not until he got the sign from the young catcher. Pages’ brother and sister-in-law were already helping to set up the stage for him to pop the question, just as he described to Marmol.
They got a spot called The Sand Dune along the beach in Jupiter, not too far from the Cardinals’ spring training facility. They walked a path toward the water and onto the beach, where there was a romantic dusting of rose petals and illuminated letters that read: “Be my wife.â€
The real reason behind the home run celebration became clear.
It had a nice ring to it.
And, she said yes.