Without baseball on the horizon, I’m using this time to connect with former Senators. We will relive some of their fondest memories and find out what they’re up to now. This week we catch up with longtime fan favorite Sean Nicol.

The Nationals selected Nicol in the 2009 16th round out of the University of San Diego. The infielder appeared in 217 games between 2011 and 2014 with Harrisburg batting .252 including 29 doubles, 4 triples, and 5 home runs.

Photo courtesy Will Bentzel / Harrisburg Senators

Mayflies: What are you currently doing?

Sean Nicol: Currently, I am in a dual role as an investment specialist with Penn Mutual and a financial advisor with Pacific Capital Resource Group. I got married in 2014 to Carrie, who some of the Harrisburg family was able to meet my final year and now have two little girls. Kamryn is 3½, and to this point shows no sign of becoming a professional athlete, but very possible to become a princess! Raleigh is ten months old. She is crawling and moving around like crazy, but we don’t know if she will be our athlete or our princess #2. We are living in Phoenix, Arizona, and just enjoy spending time together watching Frozen, both 1 and 2, and going on walks and hikes in the neighborhoodhood.

MF: What is your fondest memory of playing in Harrisburg?

SN: Just being with all the other players and coaches day in and day out, and being able to show up at the beautiful park (thanks to the city, fans, staff, and grounds crew) and take some ground balls, BP, etc. I enjoyed my interaction with all the fans and the community of the Senators, including multiple families dedicated to supporting the team on a day to day basis.

The host families I was able to be a part of in my time there. Not just my own, but the host families of the other players that were always welcoming! I could go into all the families and names and relationships. Still, I think all who are reading this that I had formed a relationship or friendship with will all know. I also enjoyed the booster and fan club. They made sure we were well-fed with baked cakes and cookies, which I think I miss the most!

MF: Going back to the beginning…why baseball?

SN: To be honest, I was just always passionate about baseball, but I was good at it. I met most of all my best friends through baseball, so spending time at practice and the park with everyone was my time hanging out with friends. I remember when I was 13-14 years old, I was on four teams all at once! I was better at baseball than the other sports I played and knew that baseball was my future. I learned in my sophomore or junior year in high school that I would more than likely be playing in college and beyond.

MF: What was your greatest or favorite day in baseball?

SN: This is tough. I have no idea whatsoever. There were definitely multiple games, or at-bats, or plays that I was a part of that I can look back on and remember them like they were yesterday. I don’t have any specific accomplishments or rings or championships that stand out as the best or favorite.

MF: What factors went into your decision to stop playing?

SN: This one is a long story. The game of baseball is absolutely rewarding and a great gift, an opportunity I was blessed to be a part of for so long. At some point in my career, baseball definitely became a job rather than a passion. I remember when it came to an end, I had multiple opportunities to continue playing and to be with other teams. Still, my decision to move on to get married and start a career and a family was now more important and my new passion. My dream as a boy of becoming famous and a big-league baseball player was not what my dream as a man had become.

Thanks to Sean for taking the time out of his schedule to answer our questions.