Cranston Native Lands Dream Gig on MLB's Fan Cave

If you called Cranston native Nick Mendillo a cave dweller, it wouldn't be an insult. 

In fact, it would be an accurate title for the actor, comedian, musician, Boston Red Sox Fan and self-described jack-of-all-trades.

Mendillo, a graduate of Cranston West and a true born and bred Cranstonian, is one of the nine lucky baseball fans selected to be a member of this year's MLB Fan Cave.

The Fan Cave is dazzling high-tech baseball epicenter in the heart of Greenwich Village in New York City with enough TV screens to make a Target electronics department cower in shame. 

And the Cave Dwellers — a group of die hard baseball fans — will be spending every day and night (mostly) in the cave, watching each and every single baseball game during the entire 162 game season, tweeting, blogging and hanging out with celebrities and select members of the public along the way.

For a baseball fan, it's a dream gig and Mendillo, in an interview, said he's still pinching himself.

"I'm just trying to be myself and not really freaking out," Mendillo said. "It's about being calm and being confident."

Today, for Opening Day, Mendillo will be sporting his Cranston West sweatshirt and ready to start rooting for his beloved Boston Red Sox.

He's excited for this season because of the "crap we've been through the last two seasons, mostly last season — the Bobby Valentine season," Mendillo said. "It's nice to have some confidence in this team. I really, really like this team."

Mendillo can't stop singing the praises of the decision by the team to start Jackie Bradley Jr. in left field — at 23, the youngest opening day left fielder for the Sox since Carl Yazstremski.

"I couldn't be more happy," Mendillo said. "One of my favorite prospects in the whole farm system."

Living in the Fan Cave with other cave dwellers is a bit like being on the set of a reality show, ESPN's SportsCenter and living in a college dorm for baseball addicts. Celebrities come and go, media appearances abound and each cave dweller is expected to constantly generate buzz and traffic using social media, blogs and videos. The effort is a way for the MLB Network to increase engagement with its fans, showcase the league and give fans a new way to experience the season.

For Mendillo, it's a once-in-a-lifetime career opportunity.

A graduate of the University of Rhode Island, Mendillo moved to New York about five years ago and has been a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade, specializing in improv comedy. 

Mendillo, 28, is meeting up with Mike and Mike from ESPN this morning for a radio show and then the games start and will last into the night. He and his fellow cave dwellers will be watching it all until the final out of the last West Coast game.

Becoming a Cave Dweller wasn't easy. Mendillo said when he tries to figure out how exactly he ended up in the Fan Cave, it's hard to remember exactly how it went. 

He saw an application and his girlfriend at the time pushed him to try it out, saying he had nothing to lose.

He put together his resume and reached out to a friend of his in Cranston who makes films. The same guy put together an audition video for a friend who made it into the final round of the Bachlorette.

The video was recorded during a quick weekend in Cranston, edited, and sent off to the MLB network. For a few months, Mendillo didn't hear anything, but then, he learned he was in the top 52. It was then up to fan votes to decide the top 30. And sure enough, Mendillo made it. And now he finds himself one of just nine fans in the cave this year.

"It's amazing," Mendillo said. "Right now I'm in my apartment with two other cave dwellers, we're listening to music to pump us up. It's pretty surreal."

Eventually Mendillo will settle into a groove and the stupefaction of being there will subside.

"Talk to me in a week-and-a-half," he said jokingly.

Beyond the TV appearances, brushes with celebrities and other perks associated with being in the fan cave, it's really about baseball. And that's what matters most to Mendillo.

He remembers the 2004 season during which the Sox won the World Series. The playoff series between Boston and New York before the Sox stormed their way through the World Seires was one for the record books, with Boston climbing back from the brink with two outs, starting with that historic Dave Roberts steal. All of New England was bleary eyed for several days after watching those late games.

Mendillo's dad drove down to the URI campus where Mendillo and his fraternity brothers were watching the game. His two other siblings were out of the state, so his dad said he was coming down.

"So there I was, watching the game with my dad in the frat house sitting in the middle in front of all my brothers," Mendillo said. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

It's a long season, and Cranston Patch will be following Mendillo through the whole thing. Along with regular interviews, we'll be linking to his blog posts, summarizing his Twitter feed and sharing other things that come from the cave.

You can follow Mendillo on Twitter: @grevalt and check out his and other cave dweller blog posts by clicking HERE.