Big leagues are in Cards for Brooklyn son: Local kid Adam Ottavino makes MLB debut with St. Louis

He’s a Brooklyn boy making it big in baseball.

Park Slope‘s Adam Ottavino spent his childhood playing ball on baseball diamonds across the borough and dreaming of getting to the big leagues.

In the last few weeks, Ottavino, 24, has done just that: He’s pitched three games for the St. Louis Cardinals.

“I called my mother when I found out [I was pitching] and she was blown away,” said Ottavino, who grew up on 11th St. and from the age of 4 was determined to make it to the big leagues.

“I’ve played in Marine Park, the Parade Grounds, over in Bensonhurst – literally every field,” he said. “Now I get tons of text messages from people saying, ‘Way to represent Brooklyn.'”

Ottavino was a star high school pitcher at the private Berkeley Carroll School on Lincoln Place, and later hurled for Northeastern University in Boston before being drafted by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft.

His father John, an actor, and his mom Eve, a fourth-grade teacher at Public School 39, are still pinching themselves.

“I told him, ‘I’m going to wake up in the morning and you’re going to be 4 years old and you’ll say, ‘Sun’s up dad, let’s go play,'” said John, 54, who coached his son in the 78th Precinct Youth Council Little League.

The Ottavinos’ home is just up the block from Prospect Park, where John played catch with his son for hours on end, year after year.

It was there neighborhood coach Paul Friedman spotted 8-year-old Adam hurling the ball and convinced the youngster to join more competitive leagues.

“What can I say? At that age certain kids stand out,” said Friedman, 62, a retired mechanic from Windsor Terrace who coached Ottavino through high school.

Ottavino practiced hard, giving up summers at the beach with friends in favor of bus and train treks to different ballfields around the borough – including his favorite.

“The Parade Grounds are sacred,” he said. “That’s where all the famous Brooklyn players played.”

Former Mets pitcher John Franco, Giants slugger Rich Aurilia, and Orioles shortstop Julio Lugo all played in leagues that practiced in the neighborhood park on Prospect Park South.

For the past four years, Ottavino has been on the road, working his way up through the minor leagues for a chance to pitch on the big stage in St. Louis.

But even on the road, he thinks of home – and neighborhood joints like Smiling Pizza at Seventh Ave. and Ninth St. where he used to grab a slice after those epic catch sessions with his dad.

“Brooklyn is a big baseball place. I was well aware of all the great players,” said Ottavino. “I just want to be the next one.”