As a youth baseball player growing up in Central Maui, Derick Sebastian dreamed of playing Major League Baseball.

While asthma kept him off of the baseball diamond in middle school, the now 43-year-old has another talent that has led to him playing in front of big crowds at Major League stadiums. He is an ʻukulele virtuoso.

Today, at Dodger Stadium, will be the seventh time Sebastian will play the national anthem before a Major League game.

But this time, his second at Dodger Stadium, will be extra special. A large crowd is expected for the Dodgers’ game vs. the Colorado Rockies because it is Shohei Ohtani bobblehead giveaway day in honor of the home team’s Japanese superstar.

“Oh, it’s crazy, man,” said Sebastian, who descends from Filipino, Spanish and Chinese bloodlines, while his wife Raymi is Japanese and Chinese. “The buzz … it’s not stressful, but it gets me a little nervous.”

Sebastian played the national anthem at a Dodgers game for the first time in 2023 during Lūʻau Night. The team contacted him again this year to play The Star-Spangled Banner, but he had to turn down the original date offered due to a scheduling conflict. 

But the Dodgers called back with two more date options, including Sept. 10.

“The Dodgers said, ‘Hey, Shohei Ohtani is one of the biggest MLB events going into the season.’ I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, you guys are making me even more nervous,’ ” Sebastian said.

He got his first shot at playing the national anthem at a Major League Baseball stadium during a chance meeting with Arizona Diamondbacks CEO and president Derek Hall in 2009 while he was performing at Hula Grill in Kā‘anapali.

“We started talking baseball and he handed me over his card and he said, ‘You need to call me. I need to be the first one you call if you ever pass through Arizona,’ ” Derick Sebastian said.

After performing at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas in 2010, Sebastian was headed to San Diego for a couple days off before remembering his conversation with Hall on Maui.

“So I called Derek very last minute and … all the stars aligned and he said, ‘Hey, how about we divert you to Arizona? And can you play the national anthem on the ‘ukulele?’ I said, ‘Yes, I can,’ “ Sebastian said.

He admits now: “I didn’t even know how to play” the difficult song at the time. Sebastian practiced the complicated national anthem non-stop for the next 48 hours.

He pulled it off before a crowd at the Diamondbacks’ Chase Field.

“I was very nervous that first time because I never even thought of playing The Star-Spangled Banner before that,” Sebastian said Monday. “I still get nervous.”

Sebastian began playing ʻukulele in his youth, which turned out to be his passion and savior.

He was 3 years old when his father died after an industrial accident.

“It was just only mom working two, three jobs to make ends meet,” he said. “What happened was throughout my elementary years, I started to question how come dad’s not around? Or how come when I go to open houses and all my friends had their parents here. I am with my sister or my next door auntie kind of deal.”

Sebastian struggled to find the right path in his youth — “I started hanging around with the wrong crowd,” Sebastian said — until he found the ‘ukulele through Sam Ellis, a security guard at Maui Waena Intermediate School.

“My sixth grade year my asthma got really bad,” Sebastian said. “So the doctors took away baseball, said I needed to rest my lungs.”

Sebastian started hanging out with Ellis during lunch, recess and after school.

During one morning recess, Ellis was playing his ʻukulele on a bench, drawing a crowd of kids. Sebastian recalled: “They were like totally enjoying him playing ‘ukulele, laughing. He was ad-libbing, making up his own words.”

It was that moment that Sebastian knew what he wanted to do with his life.

“It was just pure joy, what I felt at that moment,” Sebastian said. 

Sebastian was nominated for a Na Hoku Hanohano Award in 2010 for his instrumental piece, “From His Heart.” He has shared stages with Jason Mraz, Raining Jane and Trombone Shorty. He has collaborated with Christian artists Michael W. Smith, Natalie Grant and Bernie Herms; and he has spent time with country music icons Lukas Nelson, Lily Meola, Chris Young and Sara Evans.

“The ‘ukulele world embraced me warmly, leading to collaborations with the likes of Jake Shimabukuro,” Sebastian said on his website. “I also shared cherished moments with R&B sensations like Boyz II Men and Brian McKnight. Even Oprah Winfrey sought a private performance and ʻukulele lesson!”

He also has written a book, “Daydreaming with Purpose” that is an Amazon best seller.

Sebastian also gives credit to teacher Dale Nitta, who ran the ‘ukulele ensemble at Maui High School, where Sebastian graduated from in 2000. 

The bottom line to perfecting the ʻukulele is to put in the hours, he said.

“I remember maybe practicing five, six hours a day … waking up early in the morning, going to school, playing ʻukulele, practicing in between classes, practicing after school as well as before dinner,” Sebastian said. “I was just obsessed … trying to master this instrument.”

He and wife Raymi have three sons who were all named for musical reasons: Santana, 20; Marley, 17; and Jackson, 15.

Boy or girl, the first kid was going to be named after the great Mexican-American musician, Carlos Santana.

“Carlos is one of my favorite guitarists in the world,” Sebastian said. “He inspired me to go beyond boundaries. And then, we were pregnant again. He was a boy and I was like, ‘Hey, let’s just go with ‘Marley’ because I love Bob Marley’s music.

“Then Jackson came along. … At that time, Santana and Marley were into Michael Jackson’s documentary. And we didn’t name the baby yet, but the two boys, they were calling him ‘baby Jackson, baby Jackson.’ So, really Jackson is named by his brothers because of Michael Jackson. So that’s the story, really.”

Today, Marley Sebastian, a standout senior second baseman for Baldwin High School’s baseball team, will be in the stands at Dodger Stadium watching his father play.

He admitted he will be a little nervous watching his dad perform in front of as many as 56,000 fans. 

“I’m really excited for my dad and I’m just along for the experience,” he said. “I’m just proud of him. He knows what he’s doing.”