Gehrig Octavio led his team to victory and hit a home run, but his first instinct in his first brush with the media was to smile and run the other way. Being 9 or 10 at the time, that’s exactly what the Hilo Little Leaguer did.
The home runs have straightened into singles, doubles and triples over time, and most of his running is confined to the Division II college baseball base paths, not from interviewers.
That’s a good thing. Octavio – a Crusader, proud Waiakea alum, good son and grateful younger brother – has a message to give and a journey of perseverance that’s worth a listen.
“Some guidance for the high school athletes of Hawaii: Don’t be afraid of leaving home and leaving the islands. It’s great experience,” he said. “You get to meet great people and find friends that last a lifetime. Just keep in mind, college only lasts four to five years. Hawaii is always going to be home, so you can always go back. I would fully recommend the experience.
“There is always a place to play, no matter what level it is. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get any Division I offers. Just go for the experience. Better yourself.”
If the 5-foot-7 Octavio were a few inches taller, he might not be where is he today. Maybe he’d be in Division I? Or the minors? Or better?
As it is, he’s thrilled with life at a small Baptist school in Tigersville, South Carolina, as a top-of-the-order, trouble-making second baseman for NCAA tournament-bound North Greenville.
“I feel like the majority of my career, I’ve been overlooked as a baseball player,” he said. “I play with a chip on my shoulder and go out there and try and play my game. I don’t try to overplay. I know how I play. I’m not going to be hitting a bunch of home runs, but I’m going to be getting base hits and stealing bases and scoring runs, that’s my style of baseball. I play to the best of my ability. I feel like I do a great job if it.”
Crusaders coach Landon Powell, a former major leaguer who caught Dallas Brayden’s perfect game for the Oakland Athletics in 2010, would agree. In an article in the Greenville Post and Courier (S.C.) last year, Powell bemoaned that Octavio’s skill-set – contact and speed – no longer were prized assets for major league teams, who value power and launch angles above all else.
In Powell’s eyes, Octavio provides a link to “real baseball.”
Octavio’s senior numbers are stellar again, though his batting average simply had to go down compared to his gaudy All-American junior season. In 2021, Octavio was third in the Conference of the Carolinas in batting average (.418), runs (53) and stolen bases (17) and first in triples (seven). This season, he’s hitting .359 and is second in the conference in runs (71) and steals (18). Though far from a power hitter, his OPS (on-base percentage/slugging) is a solid .961.
Above all, “I just try to get on base and score runs for my guys,” he said.
His parents, Luke and Cheryl, and sister Cheylee made the trip from Hilo and were in attendance last weekend in Wilson, N.C., as the Crusaders claimed their fourth consecutive conference tournament, running their record to 45-8. “The Ville” is set to host a three-team regional that starts Thursday, and the team is extra motivated to try and advance to super regionals and reach the NCAA Division II World Series in June in Cary, N.C.
Last season “was a tough pill to swallow,” Octavio said. The Crusaders lost to Wingate at regionals on their home field, then watched as the Bulldogs went on to win the World Series.
The key intangibles – “chemistry,” “bond” – he listed as having helped North Greenville win 27 of its past 30 games are familiar ones. They also were cited last weekend by members of Waiakea High’s newly crowned HHSAA Division I championship team.
Octavio was playing at the conference tournament when his father told him his alma mater had won a second state crown.
“Shout-out to them, I’m really proud of them, actually bringing back a state title,” he said. “We couldn’t at the time, I’m glad they got it done. They got to bring back the koa (trophy).”
As a senior center fielder in 2017, the Warriors finished state runner-up, losing 6-1 to Maui in the final. In a 2-0 victory against Kamehameha-Kapalama in the semifinals, Octavio made a leaping, back-handed, full-extension catch to keep the tying run from reaching scoring position in the seventh inning.
“It kind of hurts that we didn’t get that same feeling of winning the state tournament, but I’m just happy with somewhat paving the way for them” he said. “Along with Kolten (Wong), Kean (Wong), Kodi (Medeiros), the generation before us, they paved the way for us, and I’m just glad to pave the way for the up and coming.”
He started his college career at Murray State College in Oklahoma, and in his third season in South Carolina he’s become an unabashed fan of the “passionate,” and “welcoming” South.
He doesn’t even mind when people ask him about his first name. Yes, his father, a New York Yankees fan, named him after Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig.
“I enjoy it, just representing baseball and my parents and everything in between,” he said.
As for baseball, Octavio wants to keep playing beyond this season. The plan is to graduate in August with a degree in general studies and a minor in criminal justice, and then to explore his playing options, either in an independent league or internationally. His roommate, conference player of the year Marek Chlup, is from the Czech Republic, and Octavio said Chlup’s father is a pro baseball coach who has shown interest in him playing for his team in the European country.
As for his parents, no two people mean more to him. The family has moved beyond a legal issue that made news eight years ago.
“Growing up with everything, it’s not something everybody’s experienced in their lifetime,” he said. “I just feel like those experiences are who made me who I am on and off the field.
“Words can’t explain how much I love (my parents) and how much I appreciate them.”
And the last year hasn’t been easy for anyone in his ohana.
Last June, Cheylee, a mother of two, was attacked in a domestic dispute – sustaining “serious and substantial bodily injury,” according to court documents – and the suspect is awaiting trial.
“We went through hell and back,” he said, “and I’m just glad she’ still with us. I pray to God that she’s still with us.”