Frederick Douglass baseball team mourns loss of teammate killed in car crash
Frederick Douglass High School Baseball Coach Braden Johnson says he’s “not an emotional guy.” But something Mike Perrine said this week got to him.
Perrine, whose younger brother Matthew died in a car crash Saturday, showed up at baseball practice Monday night and told his brother’s teammates, “We’re all a family.”
It’s true, Johnson said: “You forge a bond that’s bigger than the sport.”
Mike Perrine graduated from Douglass last May, having played baseball under Johnson. His brother Matthew Perrine was on the junior varsity team this year.
On Saturday afternoon, Matthew Perrine, 17, died after a head-on crash on Bryan Station Road that sent six other people to the hospital, one of whom was a friend who was seriously injured.
Now, Johnson is trying to help his young players grapple with the loss of a friend and teammate.
He said he’s encouraged the older members of the Frederick Douglass baseball team to “hold the hands of the younger guys.”
“Everybody grieves differently, and crying doesn’t make you any less of a man,” he said he told them.
He said Matthew Perrine “was truly a good soul.”
“At the end of the day,” Johnson said, “all he cared about was everybody around him.”
On Tuesday night, before a game against Henry Clay High School that was ultimately called off for rain, Matthew’s teammates were outfitted in his favorite baseball uniform — all black.
Several people said they suspected the black was his favorite because he was a big Batman fan, and many of the boys had painted Batman’s bat symbol across their faces.
Johnson said a Batman-themed playlist had been all ready to go for the game.
Perrine’s number, 28, was painted on the field, and his jersey was hanging on the fence next to the dugout.
Mike Perrine was there too.
He said his faith has been getting him through.
“The Lord has a plan, and it’s bigger than mine, and that’s all I can believe,” he said.
Perrine said “Baseball meant the world to Matthew. He played every game like it was his last.”
Bronson Reynolds, a senior at Douglass, said he knew Matthew for only a year, but he made a big impression.
The two were in weightlifting together, and Reynolds said Matthew became a good friend. Tuesday was his first time back in that class without Matthew there.
“It just was not the same,” he said.
“I don’t know if he really knows how much I appreciated him,” Reynolds said. “He was selfless, positive, kind, unique. ... He has taught me I can be myself.
“I’m so glad I could be part of his life. I’m so glad he was a part of my life.”
The baseball program has set up a GoFundMe account to help the Perrines and Matthew’s friend, who was injured in the collision.
A celebration of Matthew’s life is planned for 3 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Frederick Douglass High School.
